Niche construction

Massimo Pigliucci, Tim Lewens, Zanna Clay

 

The brutal mechanism of natural selection gave rise to all life on our planet, or so the Darwinian story goes. But from mice to great whales, it now appears that animals can inherit socially acquired characteristics. And after a century of hype, the tools to build a brave new world through intelligent design are within our grasp. Is the theory of natural selection a Victorian relic, about to be replaced by a new science of cultural evolution? Or does the promised paradigm shift provide no real challenge to Darwin’s theory?

 

The Panel: Philosophers of science Massimo Pigliucci, author of Cultural Evolution Tim Lewens, and psychologist and primatologist Zanna Clay ask if there is more to evolution than we might think. David Malone hosts.