[alife] Levels of Selection in Evolution Workshop at ECAL 2009: Deadline Extension

[Simon Powers]

EXTENDED SUBMISSION DEADLINE: 06 July 2009

Levels of Selection and Individuality in Evolution: Conceptual Issues and
the Role of Artificial Life Models
*******************************************************************************
Workshop at ECAL 2009 conference (13-16 September, Budapest, Hungary)

FINAL CALL FOR EXTENDED ABSTRACTS
*****************************************

Understanding how new levels of biological organisation, selection, and
individuality can arise are exciting and open challenges in both
evolutionary biology and artificial life. In attempting to understand these
issues we are forced to ask questions that challenge our existing
preconceptions of evolutionary theory, such as what kinds of entities can
natural selection act on, what are the properties that define an individual,
and how can new levels of heredity arise? In this workshop we aim to provide
a forum to discuss and debate these issues, drawing on the philosophical and
modelling expertise of artificial life researchers in areas such as
autonomy, emergence, and self organisation.

Confirmed Invited Speaker: Prof. Eors Szathmary

The main focus of this workshop will be on discussion of important
conceptual issues and the application of techniques and philosophy from
artificial life in addressing these. Submissions are invited that discuss
any aspect of levels of selection, organisation, and individuality in
evolution, including:

    * Multi-level selection
    * Evolution of cooperative behaviour
    * Prebiotic evolution and the origins of life
    * Philosophical issues in levels of selection and the major transitions
    * Comparisons of the utility of different types of model
    * Cultural evolution and other non-genetic sources of heredity
    * Inclusive fitness / kin selection
    * Species-level selection; ecosystem selection
    * How to recognise genuine higher-level selection
    * Niche construction
    * Self-organisation as a support for higher-level selection

Submission Process
***************
Extended abstracts of 1000 words are solicited. Please see the workshop
website
(http://www.sense.ecs.soton.ac.uk/levels-of-selection-workshop-2009/) for
formatting and submission instructions.

Important dates
************
Submission :   Monday 06 July 2009
Notification of acceptance :  Monday 27 July 2009
Workshop:    During ECAL 2009 (13-16 September 2009)

Organising Committee
*****************
Simon Powers
Rob Mills
Richard A. Watson
Alexandra Penn
Hywel Williams

Program committee
***************
John Bryden
Seth Bullock
Alastair Channon
James Dyke
Chrisantha Fernando
Andy Gardner
Philippe Huneman
Takashi Ikegami
Jan Kreft
Tom Lenaerts
Jason Noble
Samir Okasha
Joel Parker
Joel Peck
Denis Roze
Nobuto Takeuchi
Yannick Viossat
Bernhard Voelkl
Michael Wheeler

Workshop website:
http://www.sense.ecs.soton.ac.uk/levels-of-selection-workshop-2009/
ECAL 2009 website: http://www.ecal2009.org/