International conference

Evolution and Norms:
Concepts, Models, Challenges

Bucharest, 11-12 November 2011

Is there a ‘quest for meaning’ in the recent literature on the emergence of norms? How do evolutionary game theory and evolutionary economics fit into a larger concept of “evolutionism” as an epistemic profile? How do such models and theories influence the landscape of social sciences and political or moral philosophy? How do they enrich our concept of rationality? How can we assess the implicit relativism of the evolutionary approach to norms and culture? Is adding new variables and parameters to the utility function a fruitful extension of the standard theory or just an unnecessary complication? Can virtual interactions and computerized simulations provide a hoped-for testing ground for theories that try to account for the evolution of norms in real-life settings?

The recent development of a significant literature on the emergence and/or evolution of norms prompts such stringent questions across different disciplines. Our conference welcomes contributions on both technical problems in the evolutionary theories of norms and on more general philosophical questions related to their epistemological or moral presuppositions and implications.

Keynote speakers

We are pleased to announce that the first keynote lecture will be delivered by Professor Ken Binmore (University College London). Ken Binmore is a founder and leading researcher in evolutionary game theory.

Deadline for proposal submissions: August 30^th, 2011.

Prospective participants should send their proposal before August 30^th, 2011. The proposal must contain the academic affiliation of the author(s), the title and a 200 words abstract of the paper. The list of accepted proposal will be made available by September 10^th. Please use the e-mail given below for any correspondence.

Submission of papers
The language of the conference is English. Participants are invited to submit their papers in any of the areas mentioned above until October 15^th, 2011. The programme and the panels will be announced by November 5^th, 2011.

Follow-up
The organizers intend to publish a volume including papers from the conference. Acceptance of the paper for the conference does not guarantee the inclusion in the proceedings. However, the submission of the paper should be understood as an implicit agreement from the author(s) regarding the publication.

Fees and costs
The conference has no registration fees. The organizers will not support any travel or accommodation costs.

Contact:
Emanuel-Mihail Socaciu
Lecturer Phd
Faculty of Philosophy
University of Bucharest

E-mail: conference2011 [at] normev.ro