Inverse Darwinism – Nov 12

Darwin’s theory of natural selection sheds light on nearly every aspect of evolutionary biology. However, it does not address the source of varying structures and functions that are subsequently culled or preserved by natural selection. Advances in cellular and molecular biology are now bringing these generative processes to light. Such technical advances hint at processes that are complementary to natural selection (but on which natural selection depends) that can be called Inverse Darwinism — and that are changing our understanding of evolution.

Our speaker, Dr. Terrence Deacon, is Professor of Anthropology at UC Berkeley. He is the author of two particularly influential books: The Symbolic Species: The Co-evolution of Language and the Brain and Incomplete Nature: How Mind Emerged from Matter.