Human Nature after Neo-Darwinism

• Authors: de Mul Jos
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

In the course of the 20th century the so-called Modern Synthesis of Neo-Darwinism has become the dominant paradigm in modern biology. First, it is explained how and why Darwin’s broad definition of evolution, in which the environment plays an important role, was narrowed down by Neo-Darwinism to a radical gene-centric view. Next, the paradigm shift taking place today in ‘postgenomic’ evolutionary biology and genetics is discussed. It is argued that this shift opens the way to a more humane conception of evolution, more in line with Darwin’s view. Finally, I will discuss some of the implications of this paradigm shift for human self-reflection, taking The Music of Life. Biology Beyond Genes of systems biologist Denis Noble as a starting point.

Keywords

EN

Neo-Darwinism; Dennis Noble; gene-centrism; postgenomics; agency; human self-reflection

• Publisher: Uniwersytet Warszawski
• Journal: Eidos. A Journal for Philosophy of Culture
• Year: 2017
• Volume: 1
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 5-17

Dates

published

2017-09-02

Contributors

author

de Mul Jos

• Erasmus University Rotterdam

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Identifiers

DOI

10.26319/EIDOS-001-HUMAN-NATURE