Professor Marion Blute

Email: marion.blute@utoronto.ca

Research Interests

Professor Blute's research interest is in theory, in particular evolutionary epistemology, generalized Darwinism or multi-process selection theory. The basic principle is that all knowledge acquiring and utilizing processes are selection processes. These include (gene-based) biological evolution by natural selection, (neural-based) individual learning by reinforcement and punishment, and (social learning-based) sociocultural evolution by sociocultural selection. She is also interested in how these processes interact including gene-culture coevolution and has particular interests in the philosophy and sociology of science/scholarship and genders.

She is a member of the Editorial Board of Biological Theory, Vice President of the Darwin Club for Social Science, and an Associate of Behavioral and Brain Sciences. She is a past member of the editorial board of Spontaneous Generations A Journal for the History and Philosophy of Science, of the student paper award committee, the Council and past Chair of the Evolution, Biology and Society section of the American Sociological Association. She is a past member of the nominations, of the Marjorie Grene and Werner Callebaut Prize, and of the travel support committees of the International Society for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology.

Her monograph, Darwinian Sociocultural Evolution: Solutions to Dilemmas in Cultural and Social Theory was published by Cambridge University Press.

Other Publications (On request or on Research Gate) Then Talks Below

“Philosophy or Science of Societies?” Comment on M. W. Moffett’s “What is a Society? Building an Interdisciplinary Perspective and Why That’s Important” Forthcoming in Behavioral and Brain Sciences

“Tarde and Cultural Evolution: The Consequence of Neglecting Our Mendel” Journal of Classical Sociology 24(2) 2024: 152-170. http://doi.org/10.1177/1468795X221136830

“Costs as a Key but Too Often Neglected Component of Evolutionary Theory.” 18 2023: 77-80. Biological Theory. https://rdcu.be/c4fhF

“The conceptions of autonomous development in Frantz Fanon and Ivan Illich” along with a note on “Florestan Fernandes at the University of Toronto”, the former a paper written 50 years ago as a graduate student in Prof. Fernandes course on Latin American Societies at the University of Toronto. Invited, introduced and translated into Portuguese by Diogo Valença. Novos Olhares Socials - UFRB V3(2) 2020: 334-367 - in a section commemorating the centenary of Prof. Fernandes birth.

“Gene-Culture and Potential Culture-Gene Coevolution: The Future of COVID-19” Sept. 2020, Invited by Magazine This View of Life.

“Life History Theory and the Industrial Revolution.” A comment on Nicholas Baumard’s The Psychological Origins of the Industrial Revolution. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 42 2019: e194.

“A new, new definition of evolution by natural selection.” Biological Theory 14(4) 2019: 280-281. DOI 10.1007/s13752-019-00328-4

“Mating markets: A naturally selected sex allocation theory of sexual selection.” Biological Theory 14(2) 2019: 103-111. DOI 10.1007/s13752-019-00315-9

Blute, Marion & Fiona Jordan, “The evolutionary approach to history: Sociocultural phylogenetics” Chpt. 28, Pp. 621-640 in In Rosemary L. Hopcroft, Ed. The Oxford Handbook of Evolution, Biology, and Society, Oxford University Press, 2018.

“Three modes of evolution and drift: A new or an extended evolutionary synthesis?” Biological Theory 12(2) 2017: 67-71.

“Evolution and learning: A response to Watson and Szathmáry.” Trends in Ecology & Evolution 31(12) 2016: 891-892.

“Density-dependent selection revisited: Mechanisms linking explanantia and explananda.” Biological Theory 11(2) 2016: 113-121.

“Modes of variation and their implications for an extended evolutionary synthesis.” Pp 59-75 in Jonathan H. Turner, Richard Machalek and Alexandra Maryanski, Eds. Handbook on Evolution and Society: Toward an Evolutionary Social Science. Paradigm Publishers, 2015.

“Review of James Tabery’s Beyond Versus: The Struggle to Understand the Interaction of Nature and Nurture. History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 36(3) 2015: 464-465.

“Hamilton: Heir of Darwin and Fisher?” A Review of Ullica Segerstrale’s Nature’s Oracle: The Life and Work of W. D. Hamilton. Biological Theory 9(2) 2014: 229-231.

“ ‘Variation and selective retention’ as an evolutionary epistemology: Were Donald Campbell’s life histories sufficient?” Israel Journal of Ecology & Evolution 59(2) 2013: 109-116. http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/M7XJPFtAtz4XEaKqKG4W/full

“The evolutionary economics of science.” Spontaneous Generations: A Journal for the History and Philosophy of Science 7(1) 2013: 62-68.

“The evolution of anisogamy: More questions than answers.” Biological Theory 7(1) 2013: 3-9.

“It isn’t true, it isn’t new, we knew it all along.” Review of Maria Kronfeldner, Darwinian Creativity and Memetics.” Metascience 12(2) 2012: 379-382.

“Review of Lucio Vinicius, Modular Evolution: How Natural Selection Produces Biological Complexity.” Anthropos: International Review of Anthropology and Linguistics 107(1) 2012: 311-312.

“Condition-dependent Adaptive Phenotypic Plasticity and Gene-Culture Coevolution.” Comment on Fincher and Thornhill, Parasite-stress promotes in-group assertive sociality: The cases of strong family ties and heightened religiosity. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 35(2) 2012: 81.

“Super Cooperators?” Trends in Ecology and Evolution 26(12) 2011: 624-625.

With Paul Armstrong, “The Reinvention of Grand Theories of the Scientific/Scholarly Process.” Perspectives on Science 19(4) 2011: 391-425.

“Evolution’s First Law?” Review essay on D. W. McShea and R. N. Brandon, Biology’s First Law: The Tendency for Diversity and Complexity to Increase in Evolution.” Biological Theory 5(2) 2010: 194-197.

“Review of Martin Carrier, Don Howard and Janet Kourany (Ed’s.). “The Challenge of the Social and the Pressure of Practice: Science and Values Revisited.” The University of Pittsburgh Press, 2008. History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 32(4) 2010: 545-547.

With Paul Armstrong, “Reports of the Death of the Sociology of Science Have Been Greatly Exaggerated.” Canadian Review of Sociology 47(4) 2010:431-444.

“Review of W. G. Runciman, The Theory of Cultural and Social Selection.” Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009. Canadian Journal of Sociology 35(4) 2010: 645-647.

Dupré and O’Malley’s ‘Varieties of Living Things: Life at the Intersection of Lineages and Metabolism’.” Guest Blog Post, Jan. 16, 2010. Philosophy & Theory in Biology.

“Reflections on Trees of Knowledge.” Spontaneous Generations: A Journal for the History and Philosophy of Science, 3(1) Dec. 2009.

“Review of Myra J. Hird, The Origins of Sociable Life: Evolution After Science Studies.” Canadian Journal of Sociology 34(9) 2009. 1161-1163.

“Review of Kevin N. Laland and Bennett G. Galef, eds. The Question of Animal Culture.” Newsletter of the Evolution, Biology and Society Section, American Sociological Association, Fall 2009.

“Is it time for an updated ‘eco-evo-devo’ definition of evolution by natural selection?” Spontaneous Generations: A Journal for the History and Philosophy of Science. 2(1) 2008: 1-5.

“Concluding Statement: Some Issues That Might be Worth Discussing.” Open Semiotics Resource Centre, Virtual Symposium: Memory, Social Networks and Language: Probing the Meme Hypothesis II. May 2008.

“The Evolution of Replication.” Biological Theory 2(1) 2007:10-22.

“Cultural Ecology.” In D. M. Pearsall, ed. Encyclopedia of Archaeology. Academic Press, New York. 2008: 1059-1067.

“The Role of Memes in Cultural Evolution: Memes if Necessary but not Necessarily Memes.” Open Semiotics Resource Centre, Virtual Symposium. Imitation, Memory and Cultural Change: Probing the Meme Hypothesis. May 2007.

“Review of Robert K. Merton & Elinor Barber, The Travels and Adventures of Serendipity: A Study in Sociological Semantics and the Sociology of Science.” History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 28(2) 2006: 291-292.

“Review of Richard Dawkins, The Ancestor’s Tale: A Journey to the Dawn of Life.” The Quarterly Review of Biology, 81(4) 2006: 394-395.

“Origins and the Eco-Evo-Devo Problem.” Biological Theory, 1(2) 2006: 116-118.

“The Evolutionary Socioecology of Gestural Communication. “Gesture. 6(2), Nov.- Dec., 2006: 177-188.

“Gene-Culture Coevolutionary Games.” Social Forces, 85(1), September 2006: 151-166.

(With Saleema Saioud.) "Some Empirical Trends in Theory." Perspectives, (Theory section of the American Sociological Association), 28(3) February 2006: 12-14.

“If the Genome Isn’t a God-like Ghost in the Machine, Then What Is It?” Biology and Philosophy, 20(2-3), 2005: 401-407.

Review of Gerhard Lenski, Ecological-Evolutionary Theory: Principles and Applications.” Canadian Journal of Sociology Online, July - August 2005.

“Memetics and Evolutionary Social Science.” Journal of Memetics, 9(1) 2005: 4 SsPp.

“Review of Alexander J. Field, Altruistically Inclined? The Behavioral Sciences, Evolutionary Theory, and the Origins of Reciprocity.” Canadian Journal of Sociology, 29(3) September 2004.

“The Evolutionary Ecology of Science.” Journal of Memetics, 7(1) 2003: 21SsPp.

“Review of Geoffrey Miller, The Mating Mind: How Sexual Choice Shaped the Evolution of Human Nature.” The Quarterly Review of Biology, 78(1) March 2003: 129-30.

“Remembering Lewis Feuer.” Sociology News, Dept. of Sociology, University of Toronto. Fall 2003.

“Review of Niklas Luhmann, Theories of Distinction: Redescribing the Descriptions of Modernity.” Edited with an introduction by William Rasch.” Canadian Journal of Sociology Online Nov. – Dec., 2002.

“Learning Theory and the Evolutionary Analogy.” 1979, 2002, 71pp. Preprint, Cogprints http://cogprints.org/858/

“A Single-Process Learning Theory.” Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 24(3) June, 2001: 529-31.

“Social Learning by Observation is Analogue, Instruction is Digital.” Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 24(2) April 2001: 327.

“History Versus Science: The Evolutionary Solution.” Canadian Journal of Sociology, 22(3) Summer 1997: 345-364.

“Review of John Maynard Smith & Eors Szathmáry, The Major Transitions in Evolution.” Politics and the Life Sciences, 15(2) September 1996: 347-9.

“Review of Richard Dawkins, River Out of Eden.” Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 10(12) December 1995: 504-505.

“Biologists on Sociocultural Evolution: A Critical Analysis.” Sociological Theory, 5(2) Fall 1987: 185-93.

"Comment on Findlay & Lumsden, The Creative Mind: Towards an Evolutionary Theory of Discovery and Innovation.” Journal of Social and Biological Structures, 11(1) January 1988: 65-67. Reprinted in book of same title, Academic Press, 1988.

“Chapter I, What is Sociology?” with James T. Teevan In W.E. Hewitt, J. White & J. J. Teevan (Eds.) Introduction to Sociology: A Canadian Focus. Pearson Education Canada., 2nd (1986) through 10th (2010) revised editions.

“The Sociobiology of Sex and Sexes Today.” Current Anthropology, 25(2) 1984: 193-212.

"Selfish DNA and Differential Parental Investment: Some Implications for Sex Chromosomes.” Journal of Theoretical Biology, 102(4) 1983: 603-610.

“Review of Karen E. and Jeffrey M. Paige, The Politics of Reproductive Ritual.” The Quarterly Review of Biology, 57(3) September 1982: 361-362.

"Evolutionary and Ecological Processes in Marketing: The Product Life Cycle.” in Ronald F. Bush and Shelby D. Hunt (eds.), Marketing Theory: Philosophy of Science Perspectives. Chicago: American Marketing Association, 1982: 71-74.

"Learning, Social Learning, and Sociocultural Evolutionism: A Comment on Langton.” American Journal of Sociology, 86(6) 1981: 1401-1406.

"Sociocultural Evolutionism: An Untried Theory.” Behavioral Science, 24(1) 1979: 46-59.

“Darwinian Analogues and the Naturalistic Explanation of Purposivism in Biology, Psychology and the Sociocultural Sciences.” Ph.D. Thesis, University of Toronto, 1977.

"Review Symposium on Edward O. Wilson's Sociobiology.” Contemporary Sociology, 5(6) November, 1976: 727-731

“The Growth of Science and Economic Development.” American. Sociological Review, 37(4) August 1972: 455-464.

Talks

American Sociological Association, August 2024. Paper titled “The Updated Evolutionary Ecological Theory of Density-dependent Selection: Applications and a Demographic Values Contradiction.” Delivered to the Biosociology and Evolutionary Sociology Section.

Darwin Club for Social Science, Virtual, August 2023. Talk titled “Joint Ecological & Social Models of the Coevolution of Somatic and Reproductive Functions: Biological, Sociocultural, & Gene-Culture.”

International Society for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology, Toronto, July 2023. Organized session on “The New, Extended or Inclusive Evolutionary Synthesis: Where is it at and Where, if Anywhere, Is It Going?” My paper titled “Joint Ecological & Social Models of the Coevolution of Somatic and Reproductive Functions: Biological, Sociocultural, & Gene-Culture.”

Canadian Society for the History and Philosophy of Science, special conference on Big Data, May, 2023. My paper titled “Both qualitative and quantitative research on science are useful - especially in a possible CSHPSSB!”

Virtual conferences attended:

Cultural Evolution Society Sept. 2022

Organismal Agency Conference, March 2022.

American Sociological Association, August 2021

Cultural Evolution Society, June, 2021

Society for the Study of Evolution, June 2021

This View of Life Sept. 2020. (Invited by this online magazine about evolution run by a

prominent evolutionist) Talk titled “Gene-culture and Potential Culture-gene

Coevolution: The Future of COVID-19.”

American Sociological Association, San Francisco, August 2020. Invited to speak along with Ronald L. Simons and Jonathan H. Turner at a session titled “On Human Nature: New Approaches in the 21^st Century” jointly sponsored by the Evolution, Biology and Society, Medical Sociology, and Disability in Society sections - delivered on-line. My paper was titled “On human nature: A decade of 20 books”.

American Sociological Association, New York. August 2019. Attended for a discussion session about a book published by Oxford in which I have an article.

International Society for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology, Oslo, Norway. July 2019. Organized a session titled, “Let’s talk about sexual selection and gender relations”. Paper given: “The puzzle of what compensates for the two-fold cost of sex solved: The advantages of specialization.”

The Challenges of Constructing a Theory of Scientific Change. Conference, University of Toronto May, 2019. Attended part of.

Evolution Evolving: Process, Mechanism and Theory. Conference, Cambridge University, April 2019.“Modes of innovation and the definition of evolution by natural selection.”

Abstract accepted but was unable to go for family reasons.

Science of Cities, Urban Genome Project, University of Toronto. April 2, 2019. Attended

Urban Genome Project, Workshop sponsored by School of Cities, University of Toronto, Nov. 2018. Invited talk: “Sociocultural Evolution: A Brief Introduction.”

Cultural Evolution Society, second meeting, Tempe, Arizona, Oct. 2018. Attended.

American Sociological Association, Montreal, August 2017. Attended for administrative purposes.

Canadian Sociological Association, Toronto, May 29, 2017. Paper “The Evolutionary Approach to History: Sociocultural Phylogenetics” delivered to the session on Comparative and Historical Sociology.

Participant, Discussion meeting of the Royal Society on “New trends in evolutionary biology:

biological, philosophical and social scientific perspectives.” London, U.K., November 7-9, 2016.

American Sociological Association, Denver, August 2016. Attended for administrative purposes and chaired open paper session of Evolution, Biology and Society section.

American Sociological Association, August 2015. Attended for administrative purposes and chaired paper session of Evolution, Biology and Society section.

International Society for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology, Montreal, July 2015. Session on “Rethinking Reproduction”, My paper titled “The Evolution of [Evolution by Natural Selection] and of Social Learning [Individual Learning]

Calgary Summit of Philosophers of Science, September, 2014. Attended.

American Sociological Association. San Francisco, August 2014. Attended for administrative purposes.

Association for the Sociology of Religion, San Francisco, August 2014. Invited panel member of session on Robert N. Bellah’s Religion in Human Evolution. My talk title “Bellah’s Evolutionism”.

Canadian Sociological Association annual meeting, Brock University, May 2014. Organized and chaired two sessions on the Sociology of Science and Technology.

Harvard University, March, 2014. Invited lecture “The Evolutionary Approach to History: Sociocultural Phylogenetics.”

American Sociological Association, New York, Aug. 2013. Attended for administrative purposes

International Summer School on Evolution, Applied Evolutionary Epistemology Lab, Faculty of Science, University of Lisbon. July 2013. Lectured 2 hours a day for 5 days to a class of graduate students from across Europe on Sociocultural Evolution.

International Society for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology, July 2013. With Alejandro Rosas of Colombia National University, organized and participated in a round table on Major Transitions in Evolution.

American Sociological Association, Denver, August 2012. Attended for administrative purpose.

Canadian Sociological Association, Waterloo, May-June, 2012. Organized and chaired two sessions on the Sociology of Science.

Society for Social Studies of Science, Cleveland, November, 2011. Paper delivered: “Some Implications of the Reinvention of Grand Theories of Science.”

American Anthropological Association, Montreal, November, 2011. Invited talk:

“Entanglements: Ecology and Evolution, Genes and Culture, Us and Others.”

American Sociological Association. Las Vegas, August 2011. Attended for administrative purposes.

International Society for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology, Salt Lake City, July 2011. Paper delivered “The Reinvention of Grand Theories of Science.”

International Society for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology, Off-year Workshop, University of Western Ontario on “Integrating Complexity: Environment and History”, Oct. 2010. Attended.

Institute for the History & Philosophy of Science & Technology, One day Philosophy of Biology Workshop, University of Toronto, September, 2010. Attended

American Sociological Association, Atlanta, August 2010. “Twelve Evolutionary Myths” Paper given to Evolution, Biology and Society section.

Canadian Sociological Association, Montreal, June, 2010. “The Reinvention of grand theories of Science II” Paper given with Paul Armstrong in a session we organized on the Sociology of Science/Science Studies.

Canadian Philosophical Association, Montreal, May 2010. Invited commentator for a session on Niche Construction.

Institut d’Histoire et de Philosophie des Sciences et des Techniques at the University of Paris, May, 2010. Invited lecture titled “Modeling the Foundations of Evolutionary Cooperation and Conflict in a Biological Market: The Role of Natural and Sexual Selection in Proto-gender Differences and Relations.”

History and Philosophy of Science and Technology, University of Toronto, March 2010. International weekend workshop on “Challenges to Darwinism”. Attended.

“The Origin of Species at 150: A Celebratory Conference.” University of Toronto, Nov. 2009. Paper titled “Darwinism in the Social Sciences Today.”

American Sociological Association, San Francisco, August 2009. Invited paper delivered to Evolution and Sociology section, “Issues in Testing Theories of Selection: Nomothetic or Ideographic? History and Necessity.”

International Society for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology, Brisbane, Australia. July 2009. Co-organized two sessions on “Darwinian Sociocultural Evolution: Beyond the Modern Synthesis” and delivered a paper titled “Darwinian Sociocultural Evolution: Evolutionary Solutions to Theoretical Dilemmas in Cultural and Social Theory.”

Canadian Sociological Association, Ottawa, May 2009. Paper delivered with Paul Armstrong “The Re-invention of Grand Theories of Science/Scholarship.”

Fondation Des Treilles, Provence, France, Special Conference on “Commemorating Charles Darwin: The Multidisciplinary Impact of the Theory of Evolution and Its Current Status.” April-May, 2009. Invited lecture titled “Darwinian Sociocultural Evolution: Solutions to Dilemmas in Cultural and Social Theory.”

History and Philosophy of Science and Technology, University of Toronto. Invited lecture “Darwinian Sociocultural Evolution: Evolutionary Solutions to Conceptual Problems in Cultural and Social Theory.” January 2009.

American Sociological Association, Boston, MA. August 2008. Attended for research purposes.

Canadian Sociological Association, Vancouver. June 2008.

Paper title: “Genes and Memes - Where Are We At?”

Paper title: (with Paul Armstrong) “Reports of the Death of the Sociology of Science Have Been Greatly Exaggerated.”

Consortium for the History and Philosophy of Biology, Research Workshop. Victoria University, Toronto. May 2008. Attended.

Pluridisciplinary Symposium on Memory, Social Networks and Language: Probing the Meme Hypothesis II. Victoria University, Toronto. May 2008.

Invited lecture: “Some Issues That Might Be Worth Discussing.”

Duke University, Durham, N.C. Center for the Philosophy of Biology 7^th Annual Conference. “Cooperative Alliances in the History of Life: Aggregation, Individuation and the Major Evolutionary Transitions.” April 2008. Attended.

Workshop on Trust in Science, SSHRC sponsored Cluster for the Humanistic and Social Studies of Science, CBC Toronto. October 2007. Invited participant.

Society for Social Studies of Science, Montreal, October 2007. Attended for research purposes.

Origins Program, McMaster University. September 2007. Invited lecture: “The Evolution of Replication.”

Café Scientifique, Organized by the Ontario Science Centre, on “Can We Change Before the Climate Does?” September 2007. Invited Panel Member: My topic: “Who Can We Trust on Climate Change?”

International Society for the History Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology, Exeter, U.K. July 2007. Paper title: “What are the Prospects for a Biological Theory of Everything?”

Chaired same session on Theoretical Unification.

Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution, Toronto, May 2007. Attended.

Symposium on “Imitation, Memory and Cultural Changes: Probing the Meme Hypothesis”, Victoria College, University of Toronto, May 2007.

Paper title: “The Role of Memes in Cultural Evolution: Memes if Necessary But Not Necessarily Memes.”

American Sociological Association, Montreal. August 2006. With undergraduate student Saleema Saioud, Poster title: “Some Empirical Trends in Theory.”

Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association, York University. June 2006. Paper title: “Gene-Culture Coevolutionary Games.” Organized two other sessions on “The Sociology of Science/Science Studies.”

Workshop on Memetics, sponsored by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) and organized by Robert Finkelstein, University of Maryland, Arlington, Virgina. April 2006. Invited participant.

Symposium on the Semiotics and Pragmatics of Gesture, Conversation and Dialogue. Victoria College, University of Toronto. April 2006. Attended.

Evolution Lunch, Department of Zoology, University of Toronto, Feb. 2006.

Paper title: “Gene-Culture Coevolutionary Games.”

International Society for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, On. July 2005. Paper title: “If the Genome Isn’t a God-like Ghost in the Machine, Then What Is It?” Chaired another session.

Special conference on “Origins”, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont. May-June, 2005.

Paper title: “The Evo-Devo-Eco of Origins.”

Weeklong workshop participant.

Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association, University of Western Ontario, May 2005.

Paper title: “If the Genome Isn’t a God-like Ghost in the Machine, Then What Is It?”

Discussion meeting on “Sexual Conflict”. The British Royal Society, London, England, May 2005. Attended.

Symposium on Risk, Trust and Civility. Victoria College, University of Toronto. May 2005. Participant and session chair.

Sociology Department, University of Toronto. April 2005. Panel member: “Is Canadian Sociology Doomed?”

Symposium on “Gestures, Rituals and Memory” Victoria College, University of Toronto. May, 2004. Paper title: “The Evolutionary Socioecology of Communication.”

International Society for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology, Vienna, Austria. July 2003. Paper title: “Is the Sexual Arena a Battlefield or a Marketplace?”

Co-organized double session on “Issues in Sociocultural Evolution.” and chaired one of them.

Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association, Halifax. June 2003. Paper title: “The Socioecology of Science.” Chaired another session.

The University of Western Ontario, London, Ont. Sept. 2002. Invited Lecture: “Symbols, Subjectivity and Social Construction: An Evolutionary Interpretation.”

International Society for Behavioral Ecology, Montreal, July 2002. Poster title: “Are There General Principles of Evolutionary Ecology?” Accepted but undelivered for medical reasons.

Duke University Special Conference on the Relationship Between Development and Evolution, Durham, N.C. June 2002. Paper title: “Origins and the Evo-Devo Problem in an Ecological Context.”

Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association, Toronto. May 2002.

Organized and chaired two sessions on Contemporary Cultural and Social Theory.

International Society for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology, Quinnipiac University, Hamden CT. July 2001. Paper title: “Origins and the Evo-Devo Problem.”

Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association, Laval. May 2001. Paper title: “The Logic of Functional Analysis: The Evolutionary Solution.”

Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association, Edmonton. May 2000.

Paper title: “Symbols, Subjectivity and Social Construction: An Evolutionary Interpretation.” (Also accepted for American Sociological Association, Washington. Aug. 2000)

International Society for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology, Oaxaca, Mexico. July 1999. Paper title: “The Evolutionary Ecology of Science.”

Memory and Community: Theorizing About Ethnic Relations - A Tribute to Wsevolod W. Isajiw, Toronto. May 1999. Paper title: “Wsevolod Isajiw’s Contribution to the Functionalist Debate.”

International Sociological Association: World Congress of Sociology, Montreal. July 1998.

Paper title: “Some Principles of Evolutionary Ecology Applied to the Sociology of Science.”

Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. Conference on “Variations in Organizational Science: In Honor of Donald T. Campbell.” Nov. 7-9, 1997. Attended.

Third International Conference on Semiotics, “Semiosis Evolution Energy,” Victoria College, University of Toronto. Oct. 17-19, 1997. Attended.

American Sociological Association, Toronto. August 1997. Chaired Roundtable on “Ethnographic Approaches to Gender”

Human Behavior and Evolution Society, University of Arizona, Tucson. June 4-8, 1997.

Paper title: “Ecological and Social Evolution: Competition, Conflict and Cooperation.”

Chaired another session.

Human Behavior and Evolution Society, Northwestern University. June 1996. Attended.

Department of Sociology, University of Toronto, Faculty Graduate Student Seminar. February 14,1996. Paper title: “History Versus Science: The Evolutionary Solution.”

March 6, 1996. Panel Member, Symposium on Sociological Theory.

Society for the Study of Evolution, McGill University. July 1995. Attended with undergraduate student Raven Rowanchilde: Paper title: “Male Genital Modification: A Sexual Selection Interpretation.”

Department of Zoology, Evolution Discussion Group, University of Toronto, November 30, 1994. Chose a paper and introduced discussion of tests of evolutionary hypotheses.

American Genetic Association, Symposium on “The Evolution of Sex”, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, Blacksburg, Virginia. July 1992. Invited Participant.

Department of Sociology, University of Western Ontario. March 18, 1991. Invited lecture title lost.

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Centennial Symposium on “Evolution: From Molecules to Culture”. September 24-27, 1990. Invited Participant.

Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association, Windsor. June 1988. Paper title: “Evolutionary Stable Strategies - the Rosetta Stone of Sociological Theory?”

Institute for History and Philosophy of Science and Technology, University of Toronto. November 1986. Invited Lecture: “The Evolution of Sex Chromosomes.”

Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association, Winnipeg. June 1986. Paper title: “The New Evolutionism: A Critical Review.”

Family Therapy Seminar, Clarke Institute of Psychiatry. May 1985. Invited Lecture title lost.

The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Symposium on “Genetics, Evolution and Society”. June 1984. Invited Participant.

The University of Western Ontario, Continuing Education Series, Public Lecture Series “From Darwin to DNA”. April 1984. Invited Lecture: “Sociobiology and Sociocultural Evolution: Beyond Biology What is Important?”

The University of Western Ontario, Demography Colloquium. April 1984.

Invited Lecture: “Some Thoughts on Evolutionary Theory and the Demographic Transition.

London Area Regional Mensa Gathering. March 1983. Invited Lecture: “The Sociobiology of Sex, Sexes and Sexual Dimorphism Today.”

The University of Western Ontario, Sociology Departmental Theory Colloquium. February 1983. Paper title: “The Sociobiology of Sex, Sexes and Sexual Dimorphism Today.”

Ontario Association of Sociology and Anthropology Conference on Women, Work and the Family in the 80's, University of Ottawa, Ottawa. October 1982. Invited Lecture: “The Sociobiology of Sex, Sexes and Sexual Dimorphism Today.”

Third International Conference on Evolutionarily Stable Strategies, Queen's University, Kingston. June 1982. Paper title: “Are Males Parasites? Some Implications for Sex Chromosomes.”

Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association, Ottawa. Spring 1982.

Paper title lost but paper given in session on “Sex, Gender and the Reproduction of Labor.”

Third Special Conference on Marketing Theory, San Antonio, Texas. February 1982.

Paper title: “Evolutionary and Ecological Processes in Marketing: The Product Life Cycle.”

Department of Sociology, Queen's University, Kingston. November 7, 1980.

Invited Lecture: “Evolutionary and Ecological Processes Among Consumer Products.”

Organizational Taxonomies Workshop, University of Kansas. June 5, 1980.

Invited participant.

Conference on Sociobiology, University of Toronto. March 3, 1979. Paper title: “Biological and Cultural Evolution.”

Development Theory Group, Department of Zoology, University of Toronto. February 27, 1979. Invited Lecture: “Multicellular Development as an Encapsulated Evolution.”

Philosophy Club, Glendon College, York University. October 27, 1978.

Invited Lecture: “The Acquisition and Execution of Purposes in Evolution and Learning.”

Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association, Edmonton. May 1975.

Paper title: “Darwinian Analogues as Scientific Theories of Historical Processes.”

Last updated Nov 7, 2024.