The British Council presents E. O. Wilson on Darwin
Posted 24 November 2009 by Richard B. Hoppe
Here online. Unfortunately Wilson is recovering from pneumonia and so pre-recorded his talk. Following is a panel discussion with (among others) Peter Bowler.
1 Comment
Kevin B · 24 November 2009
The newspaper I read (the UK The Independent) had an excerpt from Wilson's lecture; the "Science Notebook" column was entirely about Wilson (under the title "A true heir of Darwin - minus the beard") and the "Days Like These" spot (which usually carries a quote from someone's diary entry for the day) had a quote from OOS.
Notably, the except from Wilson's talk is the part that refers to Darwin writing to Hooker about how the Origin might have to be updated if he (D) were still around 30 years after publication. The quote from OOS starts "Man selects only for his own good; nature only for that of the being which she tends. Every selected character is fully exercised by her...."
Both quotes would seem to be quite effective counters to some of the blather of the anti-Darwinists. The OOS quote in particular is an effective put-down of the "Social Darwinism" brigade.
1 Comment
Kevin B · 24 November 2009
The newspaper I read (the UK The Independent) had an excerpt from Wilson's lecture; the "Science Notebook" column was entirely about Wilson (under the title "A true heir of Darwin - minus the beard") and the "Days Like These" spot (which usually carries a quote from someone's diary entry for the day) had a quote from OOS.
Notably, the except from Wilson's talk is the part that refers to Darwin writing to Hooker about how the Origin might have to be updated if he (D) were still around 30 years after publication. The quote from OOS starts "Man selects only for his own good; nature only for that of the being which she tends. Every selected character is fully exercised by her...."
Both quotes would seem to be quite effective counters to some of the blather of the anti-Darwinists. The OOS quote in particular is an effective put-down of the "Social Darwinism" brigade.