7th Munich-Sydney-Tilburg Conference
Evolutionary Thinking
Sydney, 20–22 March 2014
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Synopsis
Evolutionary thinking is hugely influential in various areas of science as well as
in philosophy. Philosophers of biology study core concepts of evolution, such
as fitness and selection. Ethicists use evolutionary models to shed light on social
institutions and moral practices. Evolutionary mechanisms are frequently
invoked in philosophical debates about cognition and the human mind. Finally,
evolutionary game theory has found its way into philosophy of language,
theories of rationality, political and social philosophy. This conference will
bring together scientists and philosophers from diverse backgrounds to explore
the extent of evolutionary thought in contemporary philosophy and to consider
the potential for future developments.
This is the 7th annual Munich-Sydney-Tilburg Philosophy of Science
Conference. It is jointly sponsored by the Munich Center for Mathematical
Philosophy (MCMP), the Sydney Centre for the Foundations of Science (SCFS)
and the Tilburg Center for Logic and Philosophy of Science (TiLPS). The
conference series focuses on topical subjects in philosophy of science, with an
eye towards modeling, applications and policy.
Keynote Speakers
The keynote speakers at this conference are Rob Brooks (University of New
South Wales), Anya Plutynski (Washington University, St Louis), and Kim
Sterelny (Australian National University).
Conference Organising Committee:
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Mark Colyvan (SCFS, Sydney)
Ofer Gal (SCFS, Sydney)
Paul Griffiths (SCFS, Sydney)
Stephan Hartman (MCMP, Munich)
Daniela Helbig (SCFS, Sydney)
Jan Sprenger (TiLPS, Tilburg)
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Program
Thursday March 20th
Veterinary Science Convention Center
Room 115--‐116 and Foyer
6.00
Anya Plutynski (Washington U. in St Louis) Nothing in evolution makes sense
except in light of population genetics? On formalization, contingency and
generality in biology.
7.15
Drinks reception
Friday March 21st
Veterinary Science Convention Center
Room 115--‐116
9.00
Rob Brooks (UNSW) Evolutionary sexual conflict, within--‐sex competition and
the origins of ideological variation
10.15
Anton Killin (Victoria U. of Wellington) and Kim Shaw--‐Williams (ANU) Tracing
the evolution of hominin musicality to music, from c. 4 mya to 40 kya
10.45
Coffee
11.15
Fabian Seitz (U. of Frankfurt) Hunting made us rational – the evolution of
domain--‐general reasoning in the hominin lineage
11.45
Maarten Boudry (Ghent U) and Michael Vlerick (U. of Johannesburg) Are
humans (ir)rational? Or is evolution? The locus shift of ecological rationality
12.00
Lunch
1.00
Kim Sterelny and Ben Fraser (ANU) Evolution and Moral Realism
2.15
Bryce Huebner (Georgetown U) Moral Minimalism
2.45
Elena Walsh (U of Sydney) The Machiavellian function of reactive attitudes: An
evolutionary perspective on moral responsibility
3.15
Coffee
3.45
Tim Taylor, Alan Dorin, and Kevin Korb (Monash U) Digital Genesis:
Computers, Evolution and Artificial Life
4.15
Paul E. Griffiths and John Matthewson (U. of Sydney) What is the heuristic role
of evolutionary thinking in biomedicine?
4.45
Anya Plutynski (Wash U in St Louis) The Evolution of Failure: Evolutionary
Thinking about Disease
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Saturday March 22nd
New Law Lecture Theatre 104
9.00
Karola Stotz (Macquarie U.) Evolutionary psychology and the extended
evolutionary synthesis: The importance of transgenerational developmental
plasticity
10.00
Kathleen E. Lynch and Darrell J. Kemp (Macquarie U) Evidence for Sources of
Phenotypic Variance and the Consequences for Evolutionary Prediction
10.30
Pierrick Bourratt (U. of Sydney) and Qiaoying Liu (Sun Yat--‐Sen University)
Nothing New for Evolutionary Theory with Epigenetic Inheritance 11.00.
Coffee
11.30
Christopher Lean (ANU) Biodiversity only makes sense in light of Phylogenetics
12.00
Adrian Currie (ANU) You tell me why and I’ll tell you how: evolution &
reconstruction
12.30
Concluding remarks
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