Charles Darwin’s great, great grandson, Chris Darwin will give a free public lecture on the Casuarina campus as a warm up event to the upcoming Charles Darwin Symposium.
Chris will provide a rare and personal insight into the theories and influence of Charles in his public lecture, entitled “Charles Darwin: His life and legacy, from the inside”.
The free lecture will provide a rare opportunity to go behind the scenes of the Darwin family and the impact of Charles.
With 2009 marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of his work On the Origin of Species, Chris said he believed that debating and even challenging Charles’ findings was imperative until a “consensus” was reached.
“We have to decide whether he is right or wrong, and until that is done dialogue such as that to be generated at the Charles Darwin Symposium needs to continue,” Chris said.
“How can we, as a civilisation, possibly decide where we want to go when we can’t even agree on where we came from?”
Chris said he believed that humanity as a whole did not have a plan for its future.
“We bumble along from opportunity to threat, sorting each out as it presents itself,” he said.
“We never think of where we want to be in 100 years time. Most companies do that, why can’t a civilisation?”
Chris Darwin’s free public lecture will start at 10.30am on Tuesday September 22 at the Mal Nairn Auditorium at Charles Darwin University.