This course will examine a range of philosophical questions that arise within the study of evolutionary biology. We’ll discuss questions concerning fitness, the units of selection, systematics, and adaptationism. We’ll then look at Sociobiology and Evolutionary Psychology with an eye toward thinking about humans and human nature. We will then consider what connection, if any, there is between evolution and ethics. Finally, we’ll consider the nature of the history of life and whether there is any sense to be made of progress in evolution and to what extent the history of life is radically contingent.
Requirements:
Attendance in class and participation in discussion are required and will affect your grade. In addition to class presentations there will be one short paper, one medium-length paper, and one longer final paper.
Office hours:
My office hours are Mon 11:00-12:00 and Thur 3:00-4:00, or by appointment, in 228 Goldwin Smith Hall.
Books available at the university bookstore:
Kim Sterelny and Paul Griffiths, Sex and Death: An Introduction to Philosophy of Biology, University of Chicago Press, 1999 (= S&D)
This is a tentative schedule/reading list:
Week 1 (1/25) - Introduction
Required Reading
S&D Chapter 1, 2 (here if you don't have the book yet)
Beatty, John. 1995. "The Evolutionary Contingency Thesis." In Gereon Wolters and James G. Lennox (eds.), Concepts, Theories, and Rationality in the Biological Sciences, The Second Pittsburgh-Konstanz Colloquium in the Philosophy of Science. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. Reprinted in E. Sober (ed.). In press. Conceptual Issues in Evolutionary Biology. Cambridge: MIT Press. -- pdf on his website: http://faculty.arts.ubc.ca/jbeatty/publications.html
Beatty, John. 2006. "Replaying Life's Tape. Journal of Philosophy 103: 336-362. (on his website)
Beatty, John and Eric Cyr Desjardins. "Natural Selection and History." - in a recent biology and philosophy