The Ascent of Man: Human Biodiversity & Evolution
Washington Summit, May 29, 2012
Thinkers and researchers in the fields of Human Bio-Diversity and Sociobiology stand at a fault line.
On one side, there is greater knowledge of man’s status as a natural being in an ongoing process of evolution. With the mapping of the human genome, science has achieved a fuller understanding of the deep history of the human races, the components of intelligence, and unities and divisions within mankind. Simply put, we know better how man became who he is.
On the other side, there is social pressure to disregard such breakthroughs and return to increasingly outmoded “Blank Slate” assumptions. The science of man has, much as in previous ages, become “dangerous knowledge” for the political, educational, and media elite. And at a moment when the study of Bio-Diversity has more to say about society than ever before — and could be used for much good — it is treated as heresy for its contradiction of the principle that all men are created equal, and thus interchangeable and malleable.
This fault line reveals much, not only about popular assumptions and illusions but also about a more fundamental division within the human experience.
On June 21-24, 2012, Washington Summit Publishers will host a gathering in Seattle, Washington, to discuss the future of the study of Human Bio-Diversity. Participants will come from academia as well as the budding “HBD” blogosphere.
The conference will take place in an intimate atmosphere of free and lively conversation; it will include talks, panels, as well as an excursion to the Seattle Waterfront. Registration is strictly limited.
