“The Descent of Moral Sentiment” 

An interdisciplinary symposium on the ontogeny and evolution of human morality

February 13-15, 2017, Utrecht University, The Netherlands

*** limited spaces available – registration deadline December 23 ***

Theme
How did we come to be moral? It is beyond doubt that the capacity for morality is a product of evolution that develops robustly in living human beings. Yet the origins, function, and genealogy of this capacity continue to be subjects of intense debate. This three-day interdisciplinary symposium will host sixteen esteemed philosophers and scientists with presentations on the latest research related to the ontogeny and evolution of (the capacity for) morality.

Speakers
Nicolas Baumard (cognitive science) – Institut Jean-Nicod
Jonathan Birch (philosophy) ­– London School of Economics
Simon Blackburn (philosophy) – University of Cambridge
Christopher Boehm (anthropology) – University of Southern California
Sarah Brosnan (psychology) – Georgia State University
Judith Maria Burkart (anthropology) – University of Zurich
Kiley Hamlin (psychology) – University of British Columbia
Frank Hindriks (philosophy) – University of Groningen
Annemarie Kalis (philosophy) – Utrecht University
Webb Keane (anthropology) – University of Michigan
Philip Kitcher (philosophy) – Columbia University
Edouard Machery (philosophy) – University of Pittsburgh
Sarah Mathew (anthropology) – Arizona State University
Peter Railton (philosophy) – University of Michigan
Kim Sterelny (philosophy) – Australian National University
Felix Warneken (psychology) – Harvard University

Registration
We invite post-docs and faculty from any academic discipline and orientation to participate in this three-day symposium. For details on registration please refer to the symposium website: http://descent.sites.uu.nl. A limited number of places will be reserved for graduate students, free of charge. Graduate students can apply for participation via http://descent.sites.uu.nl/graduate-students/.

For any enquiries, please contact us at descentofmoralsentiment@gmail.com

Organization

organizer:  Joeri Witteveen (post-doc, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies)

support:  Allert van Westen (student assistant, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies)

Ariane den Daas (coordinator, Descartes Centre)

This conference is organised with generous financial support from the Descartes Centre for the History and Philosophy of the Sciences and the Humanities (www.descartescentre.com) and the NWO-funded research program Evolutionary Ethics? The (Meta-)Ethical Implications of Evolutionary Theory (www.evoethics.com).