From: Ted Davis (tdavis@messiah.edu)
Date: Mon Oct 06 2003 - 20:20:01 EDT
Given what we are presently discussing, this does seem to have come into my
mailbox at an opportune time...
ted
attached mail follows:
AAAS Program of Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion Presents:
Wild Justice and Fair Play:
Animal origins of social morality
http://www.aaas.org/spp/dser/seminar/
Thursday October 16, 2003 6:00 PM
AAAS, Auditorium, 2nd floor
1200 New York Avenue, NW Washington DC, 20005
Reception beginning at 5:15 pm in the foyer outside the auditorium.
Please RSVP from the above webpage if you plan on attending.
Description:
Dr. Bekoff will argue that we can learn much about "wild justice" and the evolutionary origins of social morality by studying social play behavior in group-living animals through interdisciplinary research. Among the questions that Dr. Bekoff will address are: What are the evolutionary roots of cooperation, fairness, trust, forgiveness, and morality? How do animals negotiate agreements to cooperate, to forgive, to behave fairly, to develop trust? Why did play behavior evolve? What is the taxonomic distribution of cognitive skills and emotional capacities necessary for individuals to be able to behave fairly, to empathize, to behave morally? Dr. Bekoff will conclude that there is strong selection for cooperative fair play in which individuals establish and maintain a social contract. Further, in studying the role of play behavior in the evolution of social morality, it is important to study a wide range of animal behaviors and to avoid "primatocentrism."
Speakers:
Marc Bekoff
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
University of Colorado
Nancy Howell
St. Paul School of Theology
Project Coordinator
AAAS Program of Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion
http://www.aaas.org/spp/dser/
ksypura@aaas.org
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