Good evening,Two years ago to the day, standing right here, a leading Scientist and Anglican, Professor Norman Sheppard, reminded us, in a rather modern view, that Science and Religion share a common, vital need -
What did he mean? That people who venture beyond the (sometimes blinkered) comforts of certainty discover that great wide energy that thrives on discomfort, and is curiosity.
Such a man, Charles Darwin, changed the way we see the world, and see ourselves.
Thinkers, for ages, have pondered the mysteries of the sky above and our world beneath, mused on the chaotic and the divine, struggled to explain existence. One would occasionally propose a profoundly changed basic assumption or paradigm, a new pattern of thought. Charles Darwin brought to the world a paradigm shift.
Thomas Kuhn used this word for science, but the sciences (particularly the life sciences) don't live in a hermetic box. When paradigms shift, everything ripples, and literature records it, and so we get more dimensions to examine.
We will hear much of the early path-
Another angle on evolutionary thinking came in a phrase in Steve Jones' 1993 book, to the effect that "you can hear a man's genes in his language". With a bit of Max Müller, one had the idea: "Linguistics as Precursor and Mirror to the Study of Evolution". To my delight, Dr Nicholas Ostler, a philologist living near Bath, accepted the challenge of this theme, and will give us a talk, pleasantly entitled "Dante's Infernal Problem", showing how Dante's discovery, that gradual invisible language change could explain variety, became a tributary to theories of evolution.
Our main curtain-
Of necessity, Science provides the backbone to this Series, and David Cunliffe-
There is much to excite in the Science Programme, and indeed in some other scientific aspects, shown under Institution lectures or Botany. One of our biggest fish, a real catch indeed, is the ichtheologist and fisheries expert, Professor Daniel Pauly from British Columbia, who will speak about Leonard Jenyns and open our major exhibition, "Mr Darwin's Fishes", but you will hear more of that from Jude
BRLSI Darwin and Beyond launch event, 14th November 2008
Presentation by Martin Sturge,
Darwin and Beyond Programme Manager.
Presentation by Martin Sturge,
Darwin and Beyond Programme Manager.
Harris, the instigator of this brilliant idea, and indeed the editorial glue to our Darwin Series, and producer of the lovely programme you have in your hands.
Then in Botany, we have perceptive insights by Professor Michael Boulter, author of "Darwin's Garden", into Darwin's continuing perplexity with the questions that kept on puzzling him, particularly in the greenhouse and garden at Down.
For years, Darwin struggled to discover what might be the tiny agent, seemingly hidden in cells, which allowed species to reproduce and evolve. Perhaps like Epicurus, who in 300 BC in Athens imagined the atom, so Darwin, ever-perplexed by his elusive so-called Gemmules, would surely have been thrilled to meet his contemporary Gregor Mendel, and to know that his troublesome gemmules would at last, 90 years later, take shape as chromosomes and genes.
Then in Botany, we have perceptive insights by Professor Michael Boulter, author of "Darwin's Garden", into Darwin's continuing perplexity with the questions that kept on puzzling him, particularly in the greenhouse and garden at Down.
For years, Darwin struggled to discover what might be the tiny agent, seemingly hidden in cells, which allowed species to reproduce and evolve. Perhaps like Epicurus, who in 300 BC in Athens imagined the atom, so Darwin, ever-
In the field of Botany, a big mystery remains as to how flowering plants (Angiosperms they are called) came actually to develop flowers, quite late in evolutionary time, and we shall have a little glimpse of contemporary genetic research at NHM into "MADS-box" genes (like hox genes) in waterlily petals and sepals, by Kate Warner, which may throw new light on this question, and perhaps produce some new theories. Another, most important contribution on contemporary research will be given by Professor Sir John Hopwood, of the John Innes Institute, talking about Superbugs and how they may be outwitted.
Darwin was a huge reader, and in his turn knew and inspired many writers. His bookshelf on the Beagle was substantial, including no less than 17 volumes of Buffon, and was replenished by new works sent out to South America as they were published. His library at Down was simply colossal, and is now looked after by Cambridge.
In his younger years, Darwin enjoyed the Arts quite widely, particularly the works of Milton, Gray, Byron, Wordsworth, Coleridge and Shelley, indeed as a schoolboy, Shakespeare, but the fatigue of all his efforts, as he wrote in the last pages of his autobiography, cost him his taste for Shakespeare, and indeed for poetry, pictures or music. He noted: "my mind seems to have become a kind of machine for grinding general laws out of a large collection of facts". He could not understand how it should have caused "atrophy of that part of the brain alone on which the higher tastes depend".
Fortunately these dreadful frustrations, and indeed the personal timidity of a warm, kind man, who dreaded the notion that he might be thought to be cribbing another's idea, and increasingly found himself uneasy in London society, did nothing to diminish his huge volume of correspondence, served by 3 postal deliveries a day - just think! - nor dim the huge inspiration that writers draw from his work.
In our literature section, Darwin's great-granddaughter, Ruth Padel, will warm us up with readings from her new book, "Darwin - a Life in
Darwin was a huge reader, and in his turn knew and inspired many writers. His bookshelf on the Beagle was substantial, including no less than 17 volumes of Buffon, and was replenished by new works sent out to South America as they were published. His library at Down was simply colossal, and is now looked after by Cambridge.
In his younger years, Darwin enjoyed the Arts quite widely, particularly the works of Milton, Gray, Byron, Wordsworth, Coleridge and Shelley, indeed as a schoolboy, Shakespeare, but the fatigue of all his efforts, as he wrote in the last pages of his autobiography, cost him his taste for Shakespeare, and indeed for poetry, pictures or music. He noted: "my mind seems to have become a kind of machine for grinding general laws out of a large collection of facts". He could not understand how it should have caused "atrophy of that part of the brain alone on which the higher tastes depend".
Fortunately these dreadful frustrations, and indeed the personal timidity of a warm, kind man, who dreaded the notion that he might be thought to be cribbing another's idea, and increasingly found himself uneasy in London society, did nothing to diminish his huge volume of correspondence, served by 3 postal deliveries a day -
In our literature section, Darwin's great-
Poems". In Janet Cunliffe-Jones' Poetry Group, we are very honoured to welcome Professor Dame Gillian Beer, discussing "Early Reactions to Darwin - Satire, Scandal and Poetry", in Humanities, Marie-Louise Luxemburg on "Darwin's Shadow upon the Victorian Imagination", and in Philosophy, a more Continental perspective, in "Darwin's Influence on Marx, Freud and Nietzsche" by Dr Alison Scott-Bauman, a frequent speaker in our Philosophy group, and whom we are pleased to welcome here this evening.
Philosophy is one of our liveliest Groups, with quite a lot of young participants, and it will also give us "The Selective Advantage of Art" (touching upon humour, oratory, pattern recognition etc), an intriguing notion from Professor Julian Vincent, our Chairman, who in a separate lecture (he always keeps our minds on their toes), will enquire "Is Technology Darwinian?", another challenging question. Altogether, seven of our Institution members will talk in this Series
Adrienne Horswill's Visual Arts programme will include four exciting presentations on Darwinian themes, and conclude with an entertaining talk on the work of the so-called "Painting Men" whom Captain Fitzroy took with him on the Beagle, by James Taylor, a former curator and organiser at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, which should be most entertaining.
Other perspectives from the Arts will include in March a theatrical production, supported by The Arts Council, which imagines three mad boffins experimenting with Darwin's famous Worms, one of which suddenly mutates into a troublesome teenager. It's dark and challenging, and very funny, suits all ages, 9 to 99, and will run for two performances, matinee and evening. Book soon.
In addition we plan to organise two competitions, one a poetry competition to imagine oneself as some creature or plant under the theme "Whence and Whither, From What to What, or From Where to Where?" and another competition to design an imaginary creature, both with modest prizes provided by a kind benefactor from within our membership.
For brevity, I've had to skip some wonderful items, but I must mention, for our lunchtime audiences, Betty Suchar's series of biographical talks about Darwin and his family, and in addition, on 24th November, the 150th anniversary of the publication of "On the Origin of Species", we welcome a contribution on "Darwin's Greatest Friend - Sir Joseph Hooker", of Kew Gardens, by his great-grandson Dr Tim Hooker, a botanist also, and active member of this Institution.
Apart from our Collections and Convenors, I must also mention that this whole exciting project has been contributed to by the Open University, by the Galapagos Conservation Trust and the Gulbenkian Foundation, The Wedgwood Museum, by the Bath Literary Festival and by two other Bath societies close to us, the Bath Geological Society and the Bath Natural History Society. All of these have contributed interesting items to broaden perspectives on Darwin's legacy and to raise the fun and excitement of all working together on a common and important theme.
Many skeins of scholarship have been unravelled for our audiences over the years, and paths of adventurous thought discussed - discussion being often the pith of our meetings. It is exciting to hope that this Darwin theme, with hopefully others to follow, will continue to enhance our Institution's function within the cultural and intellectual life of Bath, and further afield.
Thank you very much.
Philosophy is one of our liveliest Groups, with quite a lot of young participants, and it will also give us "The Selective Advantage of Art" (touching upon humour, oratory, pattern recognition etc), an intriguing notion from Professor Julian Vincent, our Chairman, who in a separate lecture (he always keeps our minds on their toes), will enquire "Is Technology Darwinian?", another challenging question. Altogether, seven of our Institution members will talk in this Series
Adrienne Horswill's Visual Arts programme will include four exciting presentations on Darwinian themes, and conclude with an entertaining talk on the work of the so-
Other perspectives from the Arts will include in March a theatrical production, supported by The Arts Council, which imagines three mad boffins experimenting with Darwin's famous Worms, one of which suddenly mutates into a troublesome teenager. It's dark and challenging, and very funny, suits all ages, 9 to 99, and will run for two performances, matinee and evening. Book soon.
In addition we plan to organise two competitions, one a poetry competition to imagine oneself as some creature or plant under the theme "Whence and Whither, From What to What, or From Where to Where?" and another competition to design an imaginary creature, both with modest prizes provided by a kind benefactor from within our membership.
For brevity, I've had to skip some wonderful items, but I must mention, for our lunchtime audiences, Betty Suchar's series of biographical talks about Darwin and his family, and in addition, on 24th November, the 150th anniversary of the publication of "On the Origin of Species", we welcome a contribution on "Darwin's Greatest Friend -
Apart from our Collections and Convenors, I must also mention that this whole exciting project has been contributed to by the Open University, by the Galapagos Conservation Trust and the Gulbenkian Foundation, The Wedgwood Museum, by the Bath Literary Festival and by two other Bath societies close to us, the Bath Geological Society and the Bath Natural History Society. All of these have contributed interesting items to broaden perspectives on Darwin's legacy and to raise the fun and excitement of all working together on a common and important theme.
Many skeins of scholarship have been unravelled for our audiences over the years, and paths of adventurous thought discussed -
Thank you very much.
Thinkers, for ages, have pondered the mysteries of the sky above and our world beneath. One would occasionally propose a profoundly changed basic assumption or paradigm, a new pattern of thought. Charles Darwin brought to the world a paradigm shift.
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