'Darwin in Scotland'

Dr. Dominic McCafferty

As Senior Lecturer in Life Sciences at the University of Glasgow, Dr. McCafferty’s research interests are concerned with examining how birds and mammals are physiologically and behaviourally adapted to the constraints of foraging in cold or aquatic environments. During the course of his research he has been funded by the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland.

In this lecture celebrating the bicentenary of Charles Darwin’s birth and 150th anniversary of the publication of his work ‘On the Origin of Species’, Dr. McCafferty cites Darwin’s life as ‘an inspiration to naturalists and biologists everywhere and his theory of natural selection is the most important unifying theory in biology today.’ He speculates on how Darwin’s early student days, his observations of natural history in Scotland and his connections with Scottish scientists influenced his development as a naturalist.

During his lifetime, Andrew Carnegie attended many philosophical debates and held various beliefs including that of Social Darwinism (the theory that evolution takes place through natural selection affecting social as well as biological phenomena). Carnegie believed that it was the duty of the man of wealth to become ‘the agent and trustee for his poorer brethren’ and justified his philanthropy in this way.

Museum Exhibition Hall at 7pm - 8 October 2009