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SUMMARY:The prospects for Darwinian imperialism - Andrew Buskell (Departme
 nt of History and Philosophy of Science)
DTSTART:20140307T120000Z
DTEND:20140307T130000Z
UID:TALK50156@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Toby Bryant
DESCRIPTION:Alex Mesoudi\, together with various co-authors\, has recently
  levelled serious allegations against contemporary social sciences (anthro
 pology\, archaeology\, sociology\, experimental psychology\, among others)
 . According to Mesoudi\, not only are their methods suspect and inefficien
 t\, but they also use mutually incommensurable vocabularies\, preventing a
 ny potentially fruitful interdisciplinary linkages.  In the light of such 
 a situation\, Mesoudi argues that the social sciences need a unifying fram
 ework\, one that provides efficient and productive methods\, while also al
 lowing for and promoting cross-disciplinary projects and analyses.\n\nMeso
 udi's preferred cure for this situation is a framework modelled on the Dar
 winian one he sees at play in the biological sciences. Just as the biologi
 cal sciences have been unified under the aegis of the Modern Synthesis\, M
 esoudi argues\, so too can the social sciences be unified under a new\, Cu
 ltural Synthesis\, based around Darwinian principles.  But what I will sho
 w is that what Mesoudi means by 'framework'\, let alone a 'Darwinian frame
 work' is far from clear.\n\nI will argue that we can isolate three differe
 nt interpretations\, or understandings\, of what Mesoudi means when he inv
 okes a 'Darwinian framework'\, and that Mesoudi plumps for the strongest o
 f the three.  However\, I will suggest that the two arguments he puts forw
 ard for this strong interpretation are flawed. Indeed\, I will close by su
 ggesting that only the weakest interpretation of what a 'Darwinian framewo
 rk' entails has any empirical support\, but that this weak interpretation 
 shares only a tenuous relationship to Darwinian evolution as it is used in
  the biological sciences.
LOCATION:Seminar Room 1\, Department of History and Philosophy of Science
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