Jerry Fodor - 'What Darwin Got Wrong'

Time and place:  Sep 25, 2009 12:15 PM, Auditorium 2, Helga Engs hus, Blindern, Oslo

The American philosopher and cognitive scientist Jerry Fodor will hold a lecture for a general audience.

Abstract: I'll start by reviewing the way that the theory of Natural Selection fits into the overall Darwinist picture of how evolution works. I'll then argue that Natural Selection is fatally flawed: that it depends on arguments from premises of the form `creatures with trait “t” are selected' to conclusions of the form `such creatures are selected for having trait “t”. Such inferences are invalid and unwarranted; in fact, they are instances of intensional fallacies.