RICHARDSON, Texas (Oct. 22, 2004) — As part of the Cecil and Ida Green Distinguished Lecture Series, Dr. Herbert Gintis, an emeritus professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts and a member of the external faculty at the Santa Fe Institute, will discuss “ The Unification of the Behavioral Sciences” on Friday, Oct. 29, at 4:15 p.m. in Room 2.302 of Green Hall at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD). A reception will follow.
In his lecture, which is free and open to the public, Gintis will examine recent theoretical and empirical developments that have created conditions for unification of the social and behavioral sciences, based on tools and data-gathering methods that cross disciplinary boundaries and incorporate insights from all fields.
Dr. Herbert Gintis
The social and behavioral sciences both include models of individual human behavior, according to Gintis.
“A unified social and behavioral science requires that there be a common underlying model of individual human behavior, specialized and enriched to meet the particular needs of each discipline. In the natural sciences, such unity was achieved in the course of the 20th century,” Gintis said. “In the social and behavioral sciences, such unity does not exist since the various disciplines have incompatible models and disparate research methodologies.”
Gintis will present a research proposal to achieve the unification and harmonization of the social and behavioral disciplines.
Gintis earned a bachelor of arts degree in mathematics from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.A. in mathematics and a Ph. D. in economics from Harvard University. He also is a visiting professor at Central European University and the University of Siena and is the author of numerous books and publications.
For additional information about Gintis’ lecture, please call (972) 883-4989 or e-mail murdoch@utdallas.edu.
About the Cecil and Ida Green Center for the Study of Science and Society
The Cecil and Ida Green Center for the Study of Science and Society was established at UTD to study the impact of scientific discoveries and rapid technical change about society and share that information with the public and policymakers. The center sponsors public lectures and seminars about societal concerns, and its research programs and invited speakers reflect a commitment to a multidisciplinary approach to achieving solutions to those problems. This exchange of ideas was a driving force behind many of the philanthropic activities of Cecil Green, a founder of both Texas Instruments, Inc., and the research institute that became UTD, and his wife, Ida. More information about the contributions of Cecil and Ida Green is available via the center’s Web site, www.utdallas.edu/research/greenctr, and in the Cecil and Ida Green archives, which is housed in the center.
About UTD
The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor®, enrolls more than 14,000 students. The school’s freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores. The university offers a broad assortment of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs. For additional information about UTD, please visit the university’s web site at www.utdallas.edu.