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2012 - Biological Evolution and the Nature of Human Beings

University of San Marino, Ancient Monastery of Santa Chiara
August 22-24, 2012

International Symposium organized in collaboration with Rimini Meeting for Friendship amongst Peoples, CEUR Foundation, Republic of San Marino - Segreteria di Stato per le Finanze ed il Bilancio, University of San Marino.
Sponsored by “Piero Caldirola” International Center for the promotion of Science, NETS - Scuola Superiore Universitaria IUSS Pavia, Banca di San Marino e Ente Cassa di Faetano, Banca Asset, FIAV L. Mazzacchera SpA

The Symposium will focus on the current understanding of biological evolution and its relationship with the nature of human beings. Given the interdisciplinary character of the Symposium theme, biologists and paleo-anthropologists, , as well as linguists, philosophers and theologians have been invited.
The proceedings have been published on Euresis Journal.

Sessions outline
Following the successful scheme adopted in the previous editions of the San Marino Symposium, the above topic will be addressed in three sessions, each involving three outstanding thinkers from both science and humanities.

1st session - The nature of biological evolution

What is the status of our understanding of biological evolution? What are the well established facts and what are the open questions? What are, if any, the broader cultural implications of the different models of evolution? How does biological evolution relate to evolutionism in the philosophical debate?

2nd session - The emergence of humans

What are the distinguishing characters of the human nature that mark a difference from the other living creatures? How do paleo-anthropologists recognize the emergence of “human behaviour”? Are the category of infinity and the awareness of self-limitation unique of humans? Is human evolution limited to a biological process?

3rd session - Being humans: between finiteness and infinity

Is the notion of infinity essential to our human nature? We refer to infinity in various contexts: mathematics, metaphysics, recursive natural processes, existential experience: how are these levels related to each other? How can a finite mind grasp open-ended processes and structures?

Guest participants
The Symposium is open to a limited number of “guest participants” (PhD students, Postdocs, and Scholars) invited to attend the seminar sessions and to participate in the discussion sessions. Application informations can be found in sm2012-announcement.

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE:
Marco Aluigi
, Meeting for Friendship Amongst Peoples
Tommaso Bellini
, Department of medical biotechnology and translational medicine, University of Milano
Marco Bersanelli
, Physics Department, University of Milano
Andrea Moro, Department of General Linguistics, IUSS Pavia
Javier Prades
, Theology Faculty at San Damaso Academic Institute, Madrid (Spain)
Elio Sindoni
, CEUR Foundation
Carlo Sozzi,
Milano Plasma Physics Institute, National Research Council of Italy (CNR)
Carlo Soave, Department of Biology, University of Milano

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE:
Benedetta Cappellini,
Euresis Association
Tonino Ceccoli,
Euresis Association
Donatella Pifferetti,
Euresis Association
Matteo Turchi
, Meeting for Friendship Amongst Peoples

A few photos of the Symposium are available.