BIO323E

Evolutionary theory raises many deep and complicated philosophical issues as well as questions about how science operates: Are concepts like function, selection, and optimality scientifically legitimate? How do we make inferences about the unobserved past? Can thinking about the evolutionary past help us understand how biological processes, such as the mind, work today? It also raises questions about who we are and where we come from: How do we relate to other species? Can we better understand our moral and intellectual strengths and weaknesses by looking to evolution? In this course, students approach these questions from an interdisciplinary perspective, including philosophy, biology, and the cognitive sciences. Prerequisite(s): one of the following: PHIL 211; two courses in philosophy; or one course in philosophy and one course in biology.