Evolutionary anthropologist Dr Thom Scott-Phillips will deliver the first Darwin Day Lecture organised by the British Humanist Association (BHA) in the North East of England, in Newcastle on 10 February.
Each February, people around the world come together for Darwin Day, a celebration of the life of Charles Darwin and his enormously influential discovery of evolution by natural selection. The BHA has organised a Darwin Day Lecture in London each year since 2003. It is the largest event of its kind in Britain, with over 1,000 people registering to attend the sold-out lecture in each year, the BHA plans to entertain more guests than ever in 2016 by hosting another entry in the popular series in Newcastle.
Dr Thom Scott-Phillips, Senior Research Fellow in Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology at Durham University will pose – and address – the question: ‘How Darwinian is cultural evolution?’ The suggestion that culture changes in broadly Darwinian ways goes back to Charles Darwin himself, who suggested that his explanation of species change might also apply to language change. However the idea of studying culture in Darwinian terms fell out of favour for most of the 20th century, after some early anthropologists misused Darwin’s ideas, for instance to defend distinctions between supposedly ‘primitive’ and ‘advanced’ cultures. The idea of cultural Darwinism was revived in the 1970s and 1980s in various forms, the most well-known of which is Richard Dawkins’ idea of the meme.
BHA Chief Executive Andrew Copson said, ‘Our annual Darwin Day Lecture is always one of our most popular events, so this year we are delighted to be hosting Darwin Day Lectures in both London and Newcastle.
‘Thom Scott-Phillips has already made huge contributions to his field and I’m confident that he will amaze and entertain us with this provocative lecture on cultural evolution. While people will be familiar with our cousins and ancestors Homo neanderthalensis and Homo erectus, the evolutionary forces acting on modern day humans are much less discussed. As an expert in the evolution of the human mind, Thom will make a fantastic Darwin Day Lecturer, and we’re sure that everyone who attends will agree.’
Tickets cost £10 for the general public, and £9 for students and BHA members. You can get yours at humanists.uk/darwindayNCL.
Notes
The British Humanist Association (BHA) is the national charity working on behalf of non-religious people who seek to live ethical and fulfilling lives on the basis of reason and humanity.
The Darwin Day Lecture, held each February as part of the British Humanist Association’s annual lecture series, explores Humanism and humanist thought, especially that related to science and evolution, Charles Darwin, and his works. It takes place every year on or around 12 February, coinciding with Darwin Day, the annual global celebration of the birth of Charles Darwin. In 2016 the BHA will host Darwin Day Lectures in both London and Newcastle.
Dr Thom Scott-Phillips is a Senior Research Fellow in Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology at Durham University, where he investigates evolutionary and cognitive approaches to the human mind and culture. His first book, Speaking our Minds, was published in November 2014. Among other awards, he is the recipient of the New Investigator Award from the European Human Behaviour and Evolution Association, as well as the British Psychological Society’s prize for Outstanding Doctoral Research.
Previous Darwin Day lecturers include Dr Eugenie Scott, Professor Alice Roberts, Professor Sir David King, Dr Adam Rutherford, and Dr Susan Blackmore.