The Evolution of Human Aggression: Feb. 25-27 ...( SALT LAKE CITY As scientists celeb...)

SALT LAKE CITY As scientists celebrate 2009 as the bicentennial of Charles Darwin's birth, experts in anthropology, biology, psychology and other fields will gather at the University of Utah Feb. 25-27 to debate how evolution has shaped human aggression and violence, from war to domestic abuse and homicide.

"What evolutionary forces underlie human violence, and how can we use this knowledge to promote a more peaceful society?" asks Elizabeth Cashdan, a conference organizer and professor and chair of anthropology at the University of Utah.

The conference titled "The Evolution of Human Aggression: Lessons for Today's Conflicts" is presented by the university's Barbara L. and Norman C. Tanner Center for Nonviolent Human Rights Advocacy.

It will be held at various locations mostly at Fort Douglas on the University of Utah campus from Wednesday evening, Feb. 25 through Friday afternoon, Feb. 27.

The public and news media are invited to attend the free conference.

Conference highlights include keynote lectures on the evolution of peacemaking among primates and the relationship between homicide and economic competition; panel discussions on conflict and reconciliation among great apes, violence and warfare, hormones and human aggression, and domestic violence; a scientific poster session; and a community forum on violence.

"This conference helps to bring science fully into the conversation about violence, conflict management and peacemaking," says communication Professor George Cheney, director of the Tanner Center for Nonviolent Human Rights Advocacy. "This gathering, which is the third in our annual series, will include provocative presentations, lively debate and a roundtable discussion of how current research might be used to reduce violence in our own and other communities."

200 Years after Darwin's Birth, Evolution has Lessons for Modern Conflicts

"Curbing human violence
'/>"/>