Join the eminent scientist and activist Richard Levins for a
thought-provoking conversation on "Failures, Errors & the Boundaries of
Our Minds"
Saturday, August 21, 2010, 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
encuentro 5, 33 Harrison Ave, 5th floor, Boston, 02111
Celebrating the 35th anniversary of the New York's Brecht Forum
<http://www.brechtforum.org/>, Richard Levins will speak to how the
dialectical method allows us to understand and learn from our inevitable
failures, errors and misunderstandings of both nature and society.
A Harvard School of Public Health faculty member, mathematical
ecologist, philosopher of science and farmer, Richard will draw on a
wide range of scientific theories, policy experiments and natural
phenomena to illustrate sources of error and methods for overcoming (but
never completely avoiding) these. From the Green Revolution to
Corporate-driven Pharmacology to Sociobiology, Levins shows us how the
both the fragmentation and commodification of knowledge, together with a
static, reductionist philosophy produces conceptual errors. These are
systematic in nature and go beyond mere momentary and individual
miscalculations. Conversely, Richard will also lead a conversation on
how we may overcome these errors.
This philosophical but down-to-earth conversation takes place live and
in-person in Boston and will be teleconferenced to an audience at the
Brecht Forum in New York.
For more background on this topic, see Richard's essays attached here.
You may also wish to consult the following works recommended by Richard):
1. A short piece by Lenin called "Dialectics"
<http://www.cddc.vt.edu/marxists/archive/lenin/works/1914/cons-logic/summary.htm>.
2. Helena Sheehan's essays on Marxist science and on Caudwell
<http://webpages.dcu.ie/%7Esheehanh/mxphsc.htm>.
3. Richard Levins /Talking about Trees. /(Leftword Books, New Delhi.
2008). chapter 4, The Science of Dharma and the Dharma of science.
<http://books.google.com/books?id=I7Rj-drVW0gC&lpg=PA84&dq=isbn:8187496630&pg=PA84#v=onepage&q&f=false>
The Wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Levins> and the
Harvard School of Public Health
<http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/faculty/richard-levins/> websites offer
short biographical introductions to Richard's work.
The event is free and open to interested community members. For more
information on this presentation, contact Suren Moodliar,
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> or Liz Mestres,
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>. For directions, public
transport options and parking information, please visit
http://www.encuentro5.org <http://www.encuentro5.org/>.
--Forwarded Message Attachment--
From: [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 21:45:29 -0400
Subject: 8/21 Failures, Errors & the Boundaries of Our Minds, with
Richard Levins (Saturday, 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. @ e5)
To: [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Join the eminent scientist and activist Richard Levins for a
thought-provoking conversation on "Failures, Errors & the Boundaries of
Our Minds"
Saturday, August 21, 2010, 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
encuentro 5, 33 Harrison Ave, 5th floor, Boston, 02111
Celebrating the 35th anniversary of the New York's Brecht Forum
<http://www.brechtforum.org/>, Richard Levins will speak to how the
dialectical method allows us to understand and learn from our inevitable
failures, errors and misunderstandings of both nature and society.
A Harvard School of Public Health faculty member, mathematical
ecologist, philosopher of science and farmer, Richard will draw on a
wide range of scientific theories, policy experiments and natural
phenomena to illustrate sources of error and methods for overcoming (but
never completely avoiding) these. From the Green Revolution to
Corporate-driven Pharmacology to Sociobiology, Levins shows us how the
both the fragmentation and commodification of knowledge, together with a
static, reductionist philosophy produces conceptual errors. These are
systematic in nature and go beyond mere momentary and individual
miscalculations. Conversely, Richard will also lead a conversation on
how we may overcome these errors.
This philosophical but down-to-earth conversation takes place live and
in-person in Boston and will be teleconferenced to an audience at the
Brecht Forum in New York.
For more background on this topic, see Richard's essays will be
available on the website. You may also wish to consult the following
works recommended by Richard):
1. A short piece by Lenin called "Dialectics"
<http://www.cddc.vt.edu/marxists/archive/lenin/works/1914/cons-logic/summary.htm>.
2. Helena Sheehan's essays on Marxist science and on Caudwell
<http://webpages.dcu.ie/%7Esheehanh/mxphsc.htm>.
3. Richard Levins /Talking about Trees. /(Leftword Books, New Delhi.
2008). chapter 4, The Science of Dharma and the Dharma of science.
<http://books.google.com/books?id=I7Rj-drVW0gC&lpg=PA84&dq=isbn:8187496630&pg=PA84#v=onepage&q&f=false>
The Wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Levins> and the
Harvard School of Public Health
<http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/faculty/richard-levins/> websites offer
short biographical introductions to Richard's work.
The event is free and open to interested community members. For more
information on this presentation, contact Suren Moodliar,
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> or Liz Mestres,
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>. For directions, public
transport options and parking information, please visit
http://www.encuentro5.org <http://www.encuentro5.org/>.
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