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<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite>Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2005 14:30:27
-0500<br>
To: all-hs@fas.harvard.edu, events-hs@fas.harvard.edu<br>
From: HSDept <hsdept@fas.harvard.edu></blockquote><br><br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite><blockquote type=cite class=cite cite><blockquote type=cite class=cite cite><div align="center">SAVE
THE DATE SAVE THE DATE
SAVE THE DATE SAVE THE
DATE SAVE THE DATE<br><br>
<font size=4><b>The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study<br>
at Harvard University presents<br><br>
</b></font> <br>
<font size=5>INNATE CONFUSIONS: Nature, Nurture, and All of
That<br><br>
</font><font size=4><b>Evelyn Fox Keller<br>
</b>Professor of the History and Philosophy of Science<br>
Massachusetts Institute of Technology<br>
2004-2005 Radcliffe Institute fellow<br><br>
<br>
</font>Thursday, April 7, 2005<br>
4:30 p.m.<br>
Askwith Lecture Hall<br>
Longfellow Hall<br>
Appian Way<br>
Cambridge, MA<br><br>
<br>
</div>
The idea that there is a meaningful difference between innate and
acquired characteristics--that is, between nature and nurture--is so
widespread that it has become an established concept in popular culture.
Scientists have even suggested that this distinction is itself innate, a
dichotomous way of looking at ourselves that is programmed into the human
genetic code. But when researchers assert this inherent distinction, are
they speaking as scientists or as ordinary folk, caught up in their own
preconceptions of what it means to be human? Questions about innate and
acquired characteristics, about nature and nurture, are not only highly
charged but also, Keller will argue, subject to such intrinsic confusion
that it may not be possible to answer or even address them
scientifically.<br><br>
Evelyn Fox Keller received her PhD in theoretical physics at Harvard
University, worked for a number of years at the interface of physics and
biology, and is now professor of the history and philosophy of science in
the Program in Science, Technology, and Society at MIT. She is the author
of many articles and books, including <i>A Feeling for the Organism: The
Life and Work of Barbara McClintock</i>; <i>Reflections on Gender and
Science</i>; <i>Secrets of Life, Secrets of Death: Essays on Language,
Gender and Science</i>; <i>Refiguring Life: Metaphors of
Twentieth-Century Biology</i>; <i>The Century of the Gene</i>; and
<i>Making Sense of Life: Explaining Biological Development with Models,
Metaphors, and Machines</i>.<br><br>
<br>
For further information, please visit
<a href="http://www.radcliffe.edu/" eudora="autourl"><font size=4>www.radcliffe.edu</a></font>
or call 617-495-8600. This event is free and open to the public.<br>
<br><br>
This is the final lecture in the 2004-2005 Dean's Lecture Series.<br><br>
<br>
The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University is a scholarly community where individuals pursue advanced work across a wide range of academic disciplines, professions, and creative arts. Within this broad purpose, the Institute sustains a continuing commitment to the study of women, gender, and society. </blockquote></blockquote>_______________________________________________<br>
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Debbie Meinbresse<br>
STS Program, MIT<br>
617-253-4062</body>
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