Topics of the day:

 1. CFP Disputatio - International Journal of Philosophy
 2. Dawkins Quote
 3. New MA programmes in Dublin
 4. BUPS Undergraduate Winter Conference 2009
 5. 2nd CFP: EPSA09 (Amsterdam, 21-24 October 2009)
 6. BUPS Undergraduate Winter Conference 2009: Correction
 7. Postgraduate Study in Philosophy at Sussex
 8. Conf: Habit and Philosophy (reminder and extra info.)
 9. Conference Announcement: Political Theory and Realism (University of
    Birmingham, May 7th 2009)
10. Oxford Political Thought Conference

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really means nothing more than this; the thing about replicators is that =
if
they _can_ replicate, they _will_, regardless of the consequences for
anything else, not at all because they possess the human psychological tr=
ait
of selfishness, but because they're simple dumb things that don't have th=
e
capacity to consider the consequences of what they do, and what they do i=
s
make more copies of themselves. With this in mind, taking a "genes-eye" v=
iew
of evolution clarifies a lot of issues that otherwise would be puzzling. =
The
"moral" of the chapter on memes is simply that we should not get too hung=
up
on genes. Genes encoded in DNA (or occasionally RNA) have been the only f=
orm
of replicator on the planet for most of the history of the Earth, but
Dawkins' point with memes is that they are not the only form of replicato=
r
possible - look, here's another kind that's showed up on the planet
relatively recently; the point being made is a general one about
replicators, rather than a specific one about genes. As a computer scient=
ist
who works with evolutionary algorithms, thinking about replicators in thi=
s
way has made it a lot easier to understand the unexpected behaviours of m=
y code.

What evolution most definitely isn't is a theory of everything, and Dawki=
ns
never claimed it was. For instance, he has publicly acknowledged that
evolution does not explain how life originated from non-life.=20

Cheers,
Dave


On Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:39:59 +0100, Verelst Karin <kverelst@VUB.AC.BE> wr=
ote:

It's even worse. Dawkins's variant of evolution is not only a theory whi=

ch
anthropologises (or how do you say this?) material beings (genes), it als=
o
is a is a theory of everything (explains all life (and even culture:
"memes") in terms of the rest of material reality. As such it violates hi=
s
own principle. A nice example of a G=F6delian circularity!

Karin

I guess that we can fairly say that Evolution has the same role of God,=

in

Dawkins' metaphysics.

Best,

Antonio

----- Original Message -----=20

From: "Dave Cochran" <davec@CS.ST-ANDREWS.AC.UK>

To: <PHILOS-L@liverpool.ac.uk>; "Antonio Allegra"=20

<antonio_allegra@YAHOO.IT>

Cc: "Dave Cochran" <davec@CS.ST-ANDREWS.AC.UK>

Sent: Wednesday, November 26, 2008 9:01 AM

Subject: Re: Dawkins Quote

Not really all that surprising, when you think about it; both have ca=

use=20

to

consider the finite, circumscribed cognition of human beings in relat=

ion=20

to

something incomprehensibly more vast, complex and awesome; but for Pa=

scal,

the circumscription of human intellect is by the arbitrary fiat of th=

e

creator, whereas for Dawkins it is wholly explicable in terms of our=20=

actual

evolutionary history; and while Pascal pushes against his human=20

limitations

by means of an imagined God, Dawkins refers to the natural world as=20=

science

finds it, which, it turns out, stretches our imaginations in ways und=

reamt

of by theology.

But yes, it is a rather nice parallel ;-)

Dave

--

Dave W.H. Cochran

--

PhD student

Cognitive Systems Group,

School of Computer Science

University of St. Andrews

(01334) 46-1621

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interdisciplinary MA programmes beginning in September 2009:

* MA in Philosophy and Literature
* MA in Philosophy and Public Affairs

These will run alongside our existing MA General Programme as well as our=

specialized steams in Continental Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy, Analyti=
c
Philosophy ('Mind, Language and Knowledge'), and Cognitive Science.=20

Those interested should consult the School website for more details:
http://www.ucd.ie/philosophy/postgraduate.htm

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The British Undergraduate Philosophy Society is very happy to announce th=
at the BUPS Winter=20
Conference 2009 will be held on Saturday January 24th of September in the=
University of Oxford=20
philosophy department.

Our keynote speaker will be Professor John Hawthorne, widely known for hi=
s work within the fields=20
of metaphysics and epistemology.

You will have the opportunity to hear and discuss a cross section of unde=
rgraduate papers on a=20
variety of topics, selected for their academic excellence and clarity by =
professional philosophers.=20
The conference is non-profit-making: the cost of registration for the day=
conference is only 7=20
UKP. As it is a day conference we do not provide accommodation, but for e=
nquiries about=20
accommodation in or travel to Oxford contact info@bups.org.

Registration for the conference will close on Friday January 9th.=20

To register, via post or through our online booking system, or for more i=
nformation about the=20
British Undergraduate Philosophy Society, please visit our website =96 ww=
w.bups.org where the=20
information will be going up this week. All enquiries can be sent to info=
@bups.org

Call for Papers

Undergraduates at UK or Irish Universities are invited to submit papers o=
f 2,000-2,500 words=20
(15-20 minutes reading time).

Papers should be:

. carefully structured and clearly written

. argumentative rather than merely descriptive

Your audience will be fellow undergraduates: expect discussion to be focu=
sed, but relaxed and=20
friendly. Papers should be submitted via email to submit@bups.org and sho=
uld be prepared for=20
blind review with a separate cover sheet giving name, affiliation, contac=
t details and paper title.=20
The deadline for submission is Friday December 19th at 5pm. Authors who m=
ake the short list are=20
expected to be reachable after this date. Submission enquiries should als=
o be sent to=20
info@bups.org.

If you know any undergraduates who might be interested, please spread the=
word. We look=20
forward to seeing you at the conference!

Amanda Montgomery
pp. The BUPS Committee.

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Prolonged discussions should be moved to chora: enrol via
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The above section said 'January 24th of September' in the last message. S=
orry for this; the conference=20
is definitely on the 24th of January!

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The Department of Philosophy at the University of Sussex, in Brighton, on=
=20
the South Coast of England, is home to a large and vibrant post-graduate=20=

community - currently comprising 27 M.A. students and 30 DPhil students=20=

across all programmes, as well as 11/19 respectively in Social and=20
Political Thought.

We have teaching and research strengths in Continental philosophy, Analyt=
ic=20
Philosophy and the History of Philosophy, particularly Aesthetics, Critic=
al=20
Theory, Kant, German idealism, Metaphysics, Phenomenology, Philosophy of=20=

language and logic, and Social and Political Philosophy.  (For details se=
e:=20
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/philosophy/1-4.html)=20

Sussex is home to a various ongoing research activities, including our ev=
er=20
very well attended RIP funded Philosophy Society, which meets every Frida=
y,=20
as well as numerous other workshops, reading groups etc. We have hosted=20=

several recent International Conferences in Philosophy.  (For more detail=
s=20
see: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/philosophy/1-2-13.html)

For more details about the research activities in Philosophy at Sussex, s=
ee=20
www.philosophy.ed.ac.uk/new/research/, and about research activities
in  Social and Political Thought programme see=20
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/cspt/.

We are now accepting postgraduate applications for the academic year
2009-10 for the following degree programmes:

MA in Philosophy
(Pathways available in both analytic and continental philosophy or a=20
combination thereof.  For details see http://www.sussex.ac.uk/philosophy/=
1-
2-6-11.html.)

MA in Literature and Philosophy=20
An Interdisciplianry M.A. programme run jointly with the English=20
department. For details see http://www.sussex.ac.uk/english/1-2-2-12.html=
.

MA in Social and Political thought
An interdisciplinary degree programme in social and political philosophy =
is
jointly run by the  Departments of Philosophy, Sociology and includes IR=20=

and Intellectual History

M Phil/D Phil in Philosophy


We have a limited number of AHRC funded MA and D Phil places available fo=
r=20
2008/9

We can still consider applications for Newton Fellowships.
<http://www.newtonfellowships.org/>

Further details about our graduate programme can be found at:
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/philosophy/1-2-6.html
All inquiries about our graduate programme be addressed to our  Director =
of=20
Graduate Studies, Dr J.G .Finlayson

M Phil/D Phil in Social and Political Thought
For more details on admission see http://www.sussex.ac.uk/cspt/1-2.html
Enquiries should be addressed to either Dr. J. G. Finlayson, (Philosophy)=
=20
j.g.finlayson@sussex.ac.uk or Prof. Gerard Delanty (Sociology)=20
g.delanty@susex.ac.uk.



Dr. J. G. Finlayson,
Arts B340
Philosophy Dept.
University of Sussex,
Brighton BN1 9QN.

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Saturday 29th November 2008
Time: 10.30am-5.30pm
Venue: The Rain Bar (Boardroom), 80 Gt. Bridgewater St., M1 5JG

Speakers:
Clare Carlisle (Liverpool): 'Between Freedom and Necessity, Action and Passion, Nature and Grace: Ravaisson on Habit in the Moral
Life'
Mark Sinclair (MMU): 'The Force of Habit in 19th Century French Philosophy: Ravaisson after Maine de Biran'
Catherine Malabou (Paris): 'Habit Between Life and Death: Hegel, Ravaisson and Jack London'

The event is free of charge. Copies of the book will be available at a discount.

Contact: m.sinclair@mmu.ac.uk 

Sponsored by the Manchester European Research Institute and Continuum press.



Mark Sinclair
Research Fellow in European Philosophy
Manchester Metropolitan University


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the Manchester Metropolitan Universitys' email disclaimer available
on its website http://www.mmu.ac.uk/emaildisclaimer

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Keynote Speakers: Professor William Galston (The Brookings Institution),=20=

Professor John Horton (Keele University),Professor Richard Bellamy=20
(University College, London), Dr. Adam Swift (Oxford University), Dr. Mar=
k=20
Philp (Oxford Univesity), Professor Glen Newey (Keele University)

Conference to be held at:
Department of Political Science and International Studies=20
University of Birmingham, UK
=20
Thursday, May 7th 2009=20

(In partnership with the European Journal of Political Theory)

An increasingly evident standpoint in recent political thought suggests=20=

that much modern political philosophy =96 and particularly liberalism of =
the=20
sort developed by thinkers such as Rawls and Dworkin - misunderstands, or=
=20
perhaps misrepresents, the nature of politics. This view is common to a=20=

set of otherwise disparate thinkers who, drawing on the writings of, inte=
r=20
alia, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Nietzsche, Weber and Arendt, advocate a view o=
f=20
politics that can broadly be described as =91realist=92 (under this broad=
=20
rubric may be included: Bernard Williams, Stuart Hampshire, John Gray,=20=

Richard Bellamy, Glen Newey, Judith Shklar, Jeremy Waldron, Raymond Geuss=
,=20
Mark Philp, Michael Freeden, Chantal Mouffe, Bonnie Honnig, Sheldon Wolin=
=20
and William Connolly). The =91realist=92 conception of the political=20
challenges neo-Kantian liberal political philosophy as abstract and=20
utopian. More particularly, it charges that liberalism: a) displaces=20
politics and constrains democracy with antecedent moral principles and=20=

constitutional law; b) fails to appreciate the depth of conflict and=20
disagreement in modern societies; and c) does not recognize the autonomy=20=

and uniqueness of the political. Instead, and in differing ways,=20
political =91realists=92 call for a re-engagement with the political as a=
=20
distinct sphere of human activity, where distinctive human qualities are=20=

called for and in which vice, conflict, and competition for power are=20
ineradicable elements.

The purpose of this conference is to bring together political theorists=20=

who share an interest the nature of the political and, in particular, the=
=20
(alleged) failure of Kantian liberals to understand or properly represent=
=20
politics as it is and not simply as (they think) it should be.=20


Schedule

10.15-10.45am=09  Coffee/Registration:=20

Panel 1:=20
11.00 =96 11.30=09Prof. John Horton (Keele University)
=09=09Modus Vivendi and the Question of Political Legitimacy
11.30 =96 12.00 =09Prof. Richard Bellamy (University College London)
=09=09Private Virtue,Public Vice:On the Nature of Political=20
Morality=20
12.00 =96 12.30 =09Q & A


Panel 2:=20
1.30 =96 2.15 =09Prof. William Galston (Brookings Institution, USA)
=09=09Realism in Political Theory=20
2.15 =96 2.30    =09Dr. Adam Swift (Oxford University)
=09=09Discussant
2.30 =96 3.15=09Q & A=20


Panel 3:=20
3.45 =96 4.15 =09Prof. Glen Newey (Keele University)
=09=09Two Dogmas of Liberalism=20
4.15 =96 4.45=09Dr. Mark Philp (Oxford University)=20
=09=09What is to be Done?  Political Theory and the Place of=20
Realism
4.45 =96 5.30 =09Q & A


For further information and booking, please contact:

Dr Steve Buckler or Dr. Richard North=20
Department of Political Science and International Studies
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham B15 2TT

Email: n.e.buckler@bham.ac.uk
Email: r.north.2@bham.ac.uk

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The annual Political Thought Conference will be held at St Catherine's =
College, Oxford University on 8-10 January 2009.

Our speakers this year are: Thom Brooks, Terrell Carver, Jason Frank, =
Bonnie Honig, Kimberly Hutchings, Duncan Kelly, Janice Richardson and =
Jonathan Wolff

The programme and registration form are available on the conference =
webpage:
http://huss.exeter.ac.uk/politics/events/politicalthought2009/

In case of query please contact the organiser, Andrew Schaap: =
A.W.Schaap@exeter.ac.uk

The deadline for registration is 12 December.

Messages to the list are archived at http://listserv.liv.ac.uk/archives/philos-l.html.
Prolonged discussions should be moved to chora: enrol via
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