News and Information
I made a couple of changes in the reading assignments. All are marked with a 
on the appropriate lists. First, the Wilson reading on group selection was replaced with an article I think will be more accessible. I moved from the recommended list to the required list for next week. Second, the first micro-essay is due soon and I replaced the Dawkins article with another that I think will be easier to read and summarize. If you've already started, I'll accept the earlier one, but I think you'll find the replacement more accessible. Let me know if you have any questions. The original Dawkins selection is still on our required list.
Sorry for the delay but I posted a new blogging assignment is due next Thursday. Next week we will continue discussing evolution and natural selection.
Interesting post on human evolution: Evolution Is Still Happening: Beneficial Mutations in Humans. Culture Speeds Up Human Evolution: Analysis of common patterns of genetic variation reveals that humans have been evolving faster in recent history
Very good blog post on evolution and chance.
Welcome
Some of Darwin's ideas about evolution and natural selection have been deemed to be “dangerous.” These ideas, along with the naturalistic methodology that endorses them, are alleged to challenge some very well established views philosophers and theologians (and others) have held about the status and origin of mankind, the meaning and purpose of life and the universe, the foundations of morality and value, the extent and uniqueness of human rationality, the nature of the mind, and the validity of theism. In this seminar we will examine Darwinian and neo-Darwinian views on evolution and natural selection. We will then consider carefully the extent to which these challenges are legitimate and dangerous. How have naturalistic philosophers attempted to meet these challenges, and to what degree are these responses promising or successful? Daniel Dennett's book Darwin's Dangerous Idea will serve as our guide.
- What is the philosophical significance of Darwin's theory? In what ways did Darwin influence philosophy?
- How does Darwin help us understand evolution and natural selection?
- What is an adaptation?
- What is a species and how are biological species related to the philosophical ideas of essential natures and natural kinds?
- Can Darwinian evolution contribute to an explanation for cultural change?
- Can Darwinian evolution contribute to an explanation for the human mind?
- Can Darwinian evolution contribute to an explanation for morality and politics?
Let me lay my cards on the table. If I were to give an award for the single best idea anyone has ever had, I'd give it to Darwin, ahead of Newton and Einstein and everyone else. In a single stroke, the idea of evolution by natural selection unifies the realm of life, meaning, and purpose with the realm of space and time, cause and effect, mechanism and physical law. But it is not just a wonderful scientific idea. It is a dangerous idea. (Daniel Dennett, Darwin's Dangerous Idea, 21)
NOTE: This web site is built on a wiki platform. You should expect revisions and additions throughout the semester. Any substantial changes to the syllabus will be announced in class and posted in the announcement box.
