Evolution&Development：From Life to Mind

Date:  August 19th-20th

Location: Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Philosophy (CASIP)

Beijing, China (in-person)

Organizers:  Tung-Ying Wu (CASIP), Russell Meyer (CASIP), Zhixiang Cheng (CASIP), Pierrick Bourrat (Macquarie University), Qiaoying Lu (Peking University), Mingjun Zhang (Fudan University)


Workshop Description

The study of the evolution of development (“evo-devo”) has been fruitful for scientific and philosophical investigations alike. With an interdisciplinary scope spanning genetics, genomics, embryology, paleontology, among other diverse fields, it has stressed the complexity of the close relationship between developmental and evolutionary processes for diverse traits, from morphology and behavior to cognition. The intermingling of questions about development and evolution, as well as the domain-spanning nature of evo-devo, prompts a variety of conceptual questions.


Topics of interest for the workshop include:

●What exactly is evo-devo, and by what methods is it best carried out? What is its structure – a scientific theory, or something else? What is the relationship between evo-devo and evolutionary theory?

●Why do scientists conceptualize phenomena similarly or differently? How is this related to the nature and role of key evo-devo concepts (homology, conservation, or evolvability)?

●How are different types of explanations offered by developmental and evolutionary researchers evaluated? How are different standards of evaluation reconciled across disciplinary perspectives?

●What is the role of cognition in the context of evolution? How do living systems transition through different cognitive strategies over evolutionary timescales?

●Do basic processes of life and cognition inform us about the course of evolution and development? What role do features like agency and autonomy play?


Speakers (to be updated):

●Andrew Barron (Macquarie University)

●Pierrick Bourrat (Macquarie University)

●Ingo Brigandt (University of Alberta)

●Rachael Brown (Australian National University)

●Zhixiang Cheng (CASIP)

●Carrie Figdor (University of Iowa)

●Riin Koiv (University of Sydney)

●Alan Love (University of Minnesota)

●Richard Menary (Macquarie University)

●Russell Meyer (CASIP)

●Kate Nave (University of Edinburgh)

●Laura Nuño de la Rosa (Universidad Complutense de Madrid)

●Emily Parke (Waipapa Taumata Rau / University of Auckland)

●Mingjun Zhang (Fudan University)


Hosted by the Sino-Australian Philosophy of Life Sciences Network (SAPoLSN), sponsored by:

●Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Philosophy (CASIP).

●Fudan University, School of Philosophy.

●Macquarie University, Department of Philosophy.

●Peking University (PKU), Department of Philosophy.


To make a registration, please scan the QR code below or click the link:



https://www.wjx.top/vm/tUoJ8cq.aspx

For further information, please email us.

For participants in China: wudongying@ucas.ac.cn

For participants Overseas: russell.meyer92@gmail.com

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