Opening symposium 2009-2010
2009 marks the bicentenary of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck's Philosophie zoologique, the birth of Charles Darwin, and the 150th anniversary of The Origin of Species. The Collège de France had a duty to make an original contribution to the celebrations of this "year of evolution". Darwin is two hundred years old - and fortunately still has all his teeth, we might add. For he needs it at a time when, in various countries, and not the most scientifically backward, people are campaigning, sometimes successfully, for the fable of "intelligent design" to be taught on the same footing as the theory of evolution. If all species were subject to the evolutionary process, with the exception of homo sapiens, the offensive would be less violent and would arouse less credulity. But today, as in the past, the notion that man is an animal remains unacceptable to many human beings. This opening symposium aims to answer the questions raised by the contemporary debate. Firstly, it will take stock of the history of evolutionism and our current conceptions. The theory of evolution, unlike dogma, is itself evolutionary, and the subject of often impassioned scientific debate. The human will then be explored from the two angles of hominization and humanization, a way of linking biological evolution to its social and cultural dimensions. The examination of the relationship between science and art will be completed by an "installation". Speakers come from a wide range of disciplines - biology, of course, but also philosophy, law, sociology and anthropology. In keeping with the spirit of the Collège de France, this multiplicity of perspectives should enrich our understanding of the human phenomenon. It will be an opportunity to reflect together on the past and future evolution of our species.