Epistemology Phylogeny and the history of language and culture 26 Aug 201226 Aug 2012 Increasingly, work is being done using the methods of phylogenetic systematics to uncover cultural and linguistic evolution. A leading lab on this work is Russell Gray’s lab at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. He and his collaborators have looked at the evolution of language, particularly Pacific languages, and… Read More
Ecology and Biodiversity Ecological speciation 30 Sep 201118 Sep 2017 A new paper in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology (link below) assesses the possibility of speciation by ecological differentiation in conjunction with geographical isolation. The interesting thing here is that it takes two views previously considered as antagonists and combines them into a single model. “Standard” views of speciation assume… Read More
Accommodationism Degrees of religion 8 Feb 201420 Feb 2014 Larry Moran quotes Jason Rosenhouse disputing Phil Plait: So, after all, that, let us return to Plait’s argument. He tells us that the problem is too many people perceiving evolution as a threat to their religious beliefs. Indeed, but why do they perceive it that way? Is it a failure of… Read More
Darwin Day, cool! John, your blurb says you’re looking for a position. Richard Dawkins is stepping down from the Charles Simonyi chair in Oxford. Maybe you should send a CV and apply…..
From Language Log: “Today is the 199th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, who freed the slaves, and Charles Darwin, who freed the mind.”