Hylas's Garden - Non-Fiction Readers' Club

We will discuss the essay "Lineages of the Feminine: An Outline of the History of Women", by Emmanuel Todd.

In the Anglo-Saxon world nowadays, assessment of the history of women is essentially based on the feminist, social-constructivist interpretation of the concept of "patriarchy", and, maybe as its only serious contenders, the contributions from evolutionary anthropology/psychology.

In this scenario, books coming from different intellectual traditions, like "Lineages of the Feminine: An Outline of the History of Women", by French anthropologist and historian Emmanuel Todd, are always refreshing.

PICTURE: "Rajasthan (India). A Group of Women in Colorful Traditional Dresses", photo by Varun Gaba.

It is the widespread assumption that criticism of the (neo)darwinian framework for the explanation of evolution comes exclusively from religious, creationist standpoints.

Books like this one from philosopher Fodor and cognitive scientist Piatelli-Palmarini constitute an overwhelming prove on the contrary.

Is (neo)darwinism inevitably heading towards its philosophical defeat, after which it will be replaced by a fresh paradigm free from the hidden, unacknowledged anthropomorphic and intentional bias that has always burdened it?

NB: We are not a religious group. (Needless to say, we are not anti-religious, either.) Please do not attend this meeting expecting a religious approach to the subject. We shall keep our analysis within strict logical, philosophical and biological terms.

PICTURE: "RNA strands", Christoph Burgstedt.