The uniqueness of humans as a Darwinian illusion

The Department of Biological Sciences (UCY) organizes a public lecture titled ‘The uniqueness of humans as a Darwinian illusion’, by the Professor of Anatomy and Histology at the AUTH, Athanasios Dinopoulos, on Wednesday March 11 2015, at 19.30, in the ‘Andreas Patsalidis’ room of the Cultural Institute of the Bank of Cyprus, at Faneromenis Str., 86-90, Nicosia.

The aim of the lecture is to contradict the various, widespread misunderstandings and illusions regarding the evolution of humans. These mistaken views, largely held by most people on Earth, are called ‘Darwinian illusions’. The extensive anthropocentricism does not allow many people to accept that humans are a product of the same evolutionary procedure by which all other forms of life on Earth have been also originated. The speaker, based on evidence from human anatomy and neuroscience, will explore mistakes in the design of structural and functional organization of humans, which prove that there was no special providence for our species, and will show that all ‘higher’ features that make us human exist, albeit to a lesser extent, also in animals, a fact that proves our common descent. Accepting that we are also a product of evolution is of critical importance for understanding our relationships with the rest of the living world. Our basic difference from the other animals, that is our large brain, does not only confer advantages that allowed us to conquer Earth, but also and obligations that we all have to undertake.

The speaker, in addition to his rich research and technical scientific work in neuroscience, is also the writer of several books of popular science (all in Greek), like ‘Brain and art’ (2008), ‘The clumsy designer: mistakes in evolution and Darwinian illusions’ (2013), ‘Neuroesthetics or why men prefer blonds’ (2014), and ‘Short essay on humor: biology and origins of the comical and laugh’ (in press).

A short introduction of the speaker will be made by the Head of the Department of Biological Sciences, Associate Professor of Ecology and Biodiversity, Spyros Sfendourakis.

Informations: 22893998