David Rothenberg and Jay Griffiths
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Survival of the Beautiful: Art, Science, and Evolution |
‘The peacock’s tail,’ said Charles Darwin, ‘makes me sick.’ That’s because the theory of evolution as adaptation can’t explain why nature is so beautiful. It took the concept of sexual selection for Darwin to explain that, a process that has more to do with aesthetics than the practical. David Rothenberg’s new book, Survival of the Beautiful, is a revolutionary examination of the interplay of beauty, art, and culture in evolution. Taking inspiration from Darwin’s observation that animals have a natural aesthetic sense, philosopher and musician Rothenberg probes why animals, humans included, have innate appreciation for beauty – and why nature is, indeed, beautiful. Sexual selection may explain why animals desire, but it says very little about what they desire. Why will a bowerbird literally murder another bird to decorate its bower with the victim’s blue feathers? Why do butterfly wings boast such brilliantly varied patterns? The beauty of nature is not arbitrary, even if random mutation has played a role in evolution. What can we learn from the amazing range of animal aesthetic behaviour about animals and about ourselves? A brilliant investigation into why nature is beautiful and how art has influenced science. Scientist Philip Ball said it ‘moves the debate about the biology of aesthetics beyond the cosy fables of evolutionary psychology to probe the deep nature of art and its origins. Both provocative and generous, Rothenberg’s work is pervaded with a sense of wonder at and appreciation of the world.’ David Rothenberg is in conversation with writer and commentator, Jay Griffiths, whose books include Wild: An Elemental Journey.
David Rothenberg is Professor of Philosophy and Music at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and the author of books including Thousand Mile Song and Why Birds Sing. His articles have appeared in Parabola, The Nation, Wired, Dwell, and Sierra. www.davidrothenberg.net – follow the links to Survival of the Beautiful for reviews etc. His last CD on ECM records was “One Dark Night I Left My Silent House.”
Jay Griffiths’ books include Anarchipelago, a story about the British anti-roads protests; Pip Pip: A Sideways Look at Time, a manifesto for time and against clocks; and the award-winning Wild: An Elemental Journey. Her latest book, A Love Letter from a Stray Moon, a fictionalised biography of Frida Kahlo, is a tribute to the Mexican painter and to Subcomandante Marcos and the rebellion at the heart of art. www.jaygriffiths.com
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February 9th, 2012 at 2:00 pm
[...] On the 16th of February the question of how art has influenced science is investigated by him and his guests. Above that, is asked what we can learn from the amazing range of animal aesthetic behaviour about animals and about ourselves. David Rothenberg will be in conversation with writer and commentator Jay Griffiths, whose books include Wild: An Elemental Journey. The event is topped of with music by David Rothenberg and Jaron Lanier and free and open to the public. For further information about the event or in order to book tickets, see http://www.ideasfestival.co.uk/?p=2500 [...]
February 9th, 2012 at 4:09 pm
[...] On the 16th of February the question of how art has influenced science is investigated by him and his guests. Above that, is asked what we can learn from the amazing range of animal aesthetic behaviour about animals and about ourselves. David Rothenberg will be in conversation with writer and commentator Jay Griffiths, whose books include Wild: An Elemental Journey. The event is topped of with music by David Rothenberg and Jaron Lanier and free and open to the public. For further information about the event or in order to book tickets, see http://www.ideasfestival.co.uk/?p=2500 [...]
February 20th, 2012 at 4:44 pm
In the recent past, some evolutionary biologists have been accused of peddling “just-so stories” – pat narratives that explain the evolution of any cultural trait or biological development you care to mention.
David Rothenberg was on hand tonight to present us with his “oh, its so lovely I want it to be true” stories.
In a rambling and unfocused talk Rothenberg claimed that the theory of sexual selection cannnot alone explain the beauty of nature, that other species have a built in aesthetic sense – birds sing because they just need to express themselves – and that art is not adaptive, “it’s what nature throws up”.
Apart from references to the controversial biologist Richard Prum, Rothenberg seemed to offer little hard evidence for his theories, but perhaps this is unsurprising. Half way through his talk, Rothenberg, while explaining how he has been criticised (accurately, in my opinion) for spinning “yarns out of fragments”, proudly announced that he is “not convinced by logic”.
He is, as the saying goes, entitled to his opinions, but I would suggest that he is deluding himself and misleading his audience if he believes that such an approach can bring any meaningful scrutiny to bear on anything.
Rothenberg was eagerly egged on by Jay Griffiths, who seemed to want him to agree that the creation of beauty is part of the evolutionary process and that ugliness is “maladaptive”. I began to suspect that she was looking for some pseudo-scientific back-up to label humans responsible for pollution and the despoilation of the planet as perversions of nature.
On the other hand, this is a woman who seemed mildly distressed that the world’s loudest insect was the horrid water beetle and not the more cuddly water boatman, so perhaps it was unlikely that she was going to question Rothenberg in any forensic way.
As for Rothenberg, he pointed out that the bower bird’s elaborate constructions were hardly an “economical” solution, and seemed to think that their “impracticality” added weight to his musings. In fact, these comments merely showed a misunderstanding of evolution by natural selection, which does not advance in some teleological manner through a series of optimum steps to a nice, tidy “economical” end point.
By the time Rothenberg told us that the reason that scientists can’t convince people that evolution is true is because they “don’t take beauty seriously enough”, and because people believe Darwin’s theories are “too boring to explain all this beautiful stuff”, I was beginning to lose patience.
Despite the title of this talk, much of what was said tonight was anti-science and indeed openly anti-rational thought. I do not claim that science has a definitive answer to all the issues raised here tonight. But a hankering after “something more” and wishful thinking, allied to a dismissive attitude towards logic, will never serve to provide genuine insight into the workings of the natural world.