125 | David Haig on the Evolution of Meaning from Darwin to Derrida

<p>Aristotle conceived of the world in terms of teleological “final causes”; Darwin, or so the story goes, erased purpose and meaning from the world, replacing them with a bloodless scientific algorithm. But should we abandon all talk of meanings and purposes, or instead conceptualize them as emergent rather than fundamental? Philosophers (and former Mindscape guests)&nbsp;<a href="https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2018/11/05/episode-21-alex-rosenberg-on-naturalism-history-and-theory-of-mind/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Alex Rosenberg</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2020/01/06/78-daniel-dennett-on-minds-patterns-and-the-scientific-image/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Daniel Dennett&nbsp;</a>recently had&nbsp;<a href="https://letter.wiki/conversation/1011" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">an exchange on just this subject</a>, and today we’re going to hear from a working scientist. David Haig is a geneticist and evolutionary biologist who argues that it’s perfectly sensible to perceive meaning as arising through the course of evolution, even if evolution itself is purposeless.</p><p><em>Support Mindscape on&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.patreon.com/seanmcarroll" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Patreon</em></a><em>.</em></p><p>David Haig received his Ph.D. in biology from Macquarie University. He is currently the George Putnam Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. His research focuses on evolutionary aspects of cooperation, competition, and kinship, including the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinship_theory_of_genomic_imprinting" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">kinship theory of genomic imprinting</a>. His new book is&nbsp;<a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/darwin-derrida" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>From Darwin to Derrida: Selfish Genes, Social Selves, and the Meanings of Life</em></a>.</p><ul><li><a href="https://haiggroup.o