Philosophy 2330:
Science and Society
Fall, 2019

Professor Joel Velasco
Office: 265G (Eng/phil building)
Office Hours: M, Th, F 12-1:00 or by appointment

TA - Ali Razaei, email Ali.Rezaei@ttu.edu
Office 256 Philosophy, Office hours Th 2:15-4:15

TA - (honors) - Jaime Chapa, email Jaime.M.Chapa@ttu.edu
Office 256 Philosophy, Office hours Tu, Th 10:00-11:00

Class meets MWF, 10:00-10:50 (in Phil 163)
Honors (FYE) class meets MWF 11:00-11:50 (in Phil 264)

All of the boilerplate information such as course policies and the grading scheme can be found on the syllabus. The readings for the course are below.

Syllabus

Required Books:

Religion and the Sciences of Origins: Historical and Contemporary Discussions by Kelly James Clark. Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.

Science in a Democratic Society by Philip Kitcher. Prometheus Books, 2011.

All class assignments and any other readings will be found on this website. You should check this website reguarly for updates and bring copies of the assigned readings to class. All readings should be done before the date they are listed here. Come to class on that day prepared to discuss them.

This is a tentative schedule/reading list:

Week 1 -

Mon, 8/26
- Introduction
Wed, 8/28
- Okasha, Ch 1 of Philosophy of Science: A Very Short Introduction
Fri, 8/30
- Gould, NOMA defined and defended
- Dawkins, You can't have it both ways: Irreconcilable differences?
Extras
- Concepcion, How to read philosophy (the appendix especially)
- Popper, Conjectures and Refutations (short version)
- Popper, Conjectures and Refutations (all of chapter 1)
- Gould, Nonoverlapping Magisteria

Week 2 -

Mon, 9/2
- LABOR DAY - No class
Wed, 9/4
- Russell, The Conflict of Science and Religion
- Atkins, The Limitlessness of Science
Fri, 9/6
- Clark, Religion and the Sciences of Origins Ch 1, Ch 2
Extras:

Week 3 -

Mon, 9/9
- first short essay due (here is a sample written by me)
- Clark, Ch 3
Wed, 9/11
- DeWitt, The Ptolemaic System (ch 13 from Worldviews)
Fri, 9/13
- Singham, The Copernican Myths
- DeWitt, The Copernican System (ch 14 from Worldviews)
Extras:
- DeWitt, Worldviews: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science (chapters 9-12) - Blackboard
- Aaber, What every young person ought to know about naked-eye astronomy (ch 0 of Episodes from the Early History of Astronomy)
- Excerpts from Kuhn, The Copernican Revolution (the problem of the planets)
- Excerpts from Kuhn, The Copernican Revolution (Copernican astronomy - the sun)
- Some helpful animations of Ptolemy and Copernicus
- You tube video of retrograde motion

Week 4 -

Mon, 9/16
- more on Geocentrism vs. Heliocentrism
Wed, 9/18
- DeWitt, Galileo and the Evidence from the Telescope
Fri, 9/20
- Clark Ch 4
- Bellarmine, Letter to Foscarini
- Galileo, Letter to Grand Duchess Christina
Extras:
- PBS Nova documentary, Galileo's Battle for the Heavens
- Lindberg, Galileo, the Church, and the Cosmos
- Gingerich, Truth in Science: Proof, Persuasion, and the Galileo Affair
- Gingerich, The Galileo Affair
- McMullin, Galileo on Science and Scripture

Week 5 -

Mon, 9/23
- Plantinga, When Faith and Reason Clash: Evolution and the Bible
Wed, 9/25
- short essay due
Fri, 9/27
- Clark Ch 5
- Slides for class today (and next Monday)
Extras:
- Paley, from Natural Theology
- All of the Origin of Species
- Joel's second debate with Paul Nelson (of the Discovery Institute) about common ancestry

Week 6 -

Mon, 9/30
- Clark Ch 5
- Slides for class today (same as past Friday)
Wed, 10/2
- Clark Ch 6
- Dobzhansky, Nothing in Biology makes sense except in the light of evolution
- Dilley, Nothing in Biology makes sense except in the light of Theology?
Fri, 10/4
Extras:
- Kitcher, Believing where we cannot prove (ch 2 of Abusing Science)
- Ruse, Creation Science is not Science (pdf of all three)
- Laudan, Commentary: Science at the Bar: Causes for Concern
- Ruse, Response to the Commentary: Pro Judice
- Inherit the Wind movie (not all that historically accurate)
- PBS American Experience - Monkey Trial
- PBS Nova, Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial
- PBS, The Revisionaries (about the Texas School board textbook fights)

Week 7 -

Mon, 10/7
- Clark, Ch7
- Numbers, Scientific Creationism and Intelligent Design
- Slides (on Blackboard)
Wed, 10/9
- third short essay due
- Worrall, Science Discredits Religion
Fri, 10/11
- Mid-term in-class Exam BRING A BLUE BOOK (study guide)
Extras:
- Plantinga, Methodological Naturalism

Week 8 -

Mon, 10/14
- Levy, The Moral Consequences of Darwinism, ch1 of What Makes us Moral?
Wed, 10/16
- no new reading
Fri, 10/18
- Savulescu, Genetic Interventions and the Genetic Enhancement of Human Beings
Extras:
- Levine and Bashford, Eugenics and the Modern World
- A world of their own (about parents who want their child to be deaf)
- Eugenics never went away
- 'Difference' vs. 'Disease': A question of eugenics? (Atlantic video)
- The ethical dilemma of designer babies (TED talk)

Week 9 -

Mon, 10/21
- Clark chapter 9 (Evolution and ethics)
Wed, 10/23
- No new reading
Fri, 10/25
- Short Essay 4 due
- Rosenberg, Morality: The Bad News, ch 5 of The Atheist's Guide to Reality
Extras:
- Levy, The Evolution of Morality, ch2 of What Makes us Moral?
- Shermer, Toward a Science of Morality, ch1 of The Moral Arc
- RIchard Dawkins documentary on the selfish gene/prisoner's dilemma/altruism - Nice guys finish first

Week 10 -

Mon, 10/28
- Rosenberg, The Good News: Nice Nihilism, ch 6 of The Atheist's Guide to Reality
Wed, 10/30
- Clark ch 10 (God and the good life)
Fri, 11/1
- Sober, Prospects for an Evolutionary Ethics
Extras:

Week 11 - Start Kitcher

Mon, 11/4
- Kitcher chapter 1
Wed, 11/6
Fri, 11/8
- Fifth essay due
- Kitcher chapter 2
Extras:

Week 12 - Kitcher

Mon, 11/11
- Kitcher chapter 3
Wed, 11/13
- Kitcher chapter 4
Fri, 11/15
- Kitcher chapter 5
Extras:

Week 13 - Kitcher

Mon, 11/18
- Kitcher chapter 5 (continued)
Wed, 11/20
- Kitcher chapter 6
Fri, 11/22
- Kitcher chapter 7
Extras:

Week 14 - Kitcher

Mon, 11/25
- Short essay 6 due (upload to Blackboard)
Wed, 11/27
- NO CLASS - THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
Fri, 11/29
- NO CLASS - THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
Extras:

Week 15 - Kitcher

Mon, 12/2
- Kitcher chapter 9 (go ahead and skip chapter 8)
Wed, 12/4
- LAST DAY OF CLASS
- Sample essay on Kitcher (to help you study)
Extras:

Final Exam scheduled Tue, Dec 10th 8:30 -10:00 am (test starts at 8:30 so that we don't have to arrive so early!)

Final (honors) scheduled Fri, Dec 6th 1:30 - 4:00 pm
BRING A BLUE BOOK (Study Guide)