Unit 2 -- Christian Spirituality

Unit 3--Psychology and the Unconscious

A new coursepack for Unit 4 is available at the Mail Center

Class	11b
Date	11/17
Title	"Monkey Movies" -- Looking at social and behavioral parallels to humans in our nearest relatives, the chimpanzees and bonobos
Readings	No new reading, film in class
Prior thought questions

Class	12a Slides
Date	11/29
Title	Background on Evolutionary theory
Readings	Eliot Sober, "What is Evolutionary Theory" (Coursepack for Unit 4, at Mail Center)
Prior thought questions

Class	12b
Date	12/1
Title	The Selfish Gene
Readings	Dawkins, "Selfish Genes and Selfish Memes" in Coursepack
Prior thought questions	What does it mean to describe a gene as "selfish"? What difference does it make if we interpret the "interests" involved in selection as those of the gene rather than those of the individual organism? The group? What does Dawkins mean by a 'meme'? Does Dawkins' theory imply that human beings are selfish? What would be the implications of this for the explanation of altruistic actions?

Class	13a
Date	12/6
Title	Sociobiology, pro and con
Readings	Ruse, Michael and Edward O. Wilson, "Moral Philosophy as Applied Science," Kitcher, Philip, "Four Ways of 'Bioligicizing' Ethics", both in coursepack
Prior thought questions	What do Ruse and Wilson see as the implications of evolutionary science for the project of philosophical ethics? What are Kitcher's four ways of "biologicizing" ethics? Into which of these categories might the Ruse and Wilson piece fit? What sorts of things might evolutionary biology be suited to explain about moral psychology? Are there things that it would in principle be incapable of answering?

Class	13b
Date	12/8
Title	Applying evolutionary psychology
Readings	Horst, "Our Animal Bodies"
Prior thought questions	What conclusions does the author draw from biological aspects of our bodies? How are the conclusions he wishes to draw from biology weaker than those of Ruse and Wilson?