SYLLABUS FOR MONKEY BUSINESS
DATE
TOPIC
READING
INTRODUCTION
1/19 (Tues)
Course Overview &
Episode of "The Day the Universe Changed"
None
SITUATING EVOLUTION
1/21 (Thurs)
Philosophy & Evolution
In NCE:
pp. 511-517 (De Waal)
pp. 517-524 (Ridley)
1/26 (Tues)
Psychology & Evolution
In NCE:
pp. 409-414 (Wilson)
pp. 415-419 (Gould)
pp. 465-477 (Pinker)
pp. 477-480 (Jones)
DARWIN & DARWINISM
1/28 (Thurs)
Evolution in Gestation:
E. Darwin, Lamarck, Malthus, & Co.
In NCE:
pp. 33-39 (De Beer)
pp. 39-40 (Malthus, 1798)
pp. 44-49 (Lamarck, 1809)
2/2 (Tues)
Introducing C. Darwin
In NCE:
pp. 61-64 (Wallace, 1858)
pp. 23-29 (Mayr)
pp. 67-81 (Darwin)
pp. 85-87 (Darwin)
On Sakai:
"Darwin's Delay" (Gould) (There’s also an extra Gould piece in
this PDF, which you’re welcome to read)
2/4 (Thurs)
Darwin Breaks Through
In NCE:
pp. 95-115 (Darwin)
DATE
TOPIC
READING
2/9 (Tues)
The Origin of Species
In NCE:
pp. 133-147 (Darwin)
In BB:
"The Panda's Thumb of Technology"
"Glow, Big Glowworm"
FILM NIGHT: Tuesday, February 9 @ 7:30 p.m. “Darwin’s Darkest Hour” on Nova (location TBA)
2/11 (Thurs)
The Descent of Man
In NCE:
pp. 175 - 213 (Darwin)
2/16 (Tues)
Descending Further...
In NCE:
pp. 213 - 254 (Darwin)
2/18 (Thurs)
In Darwin's Wake
In NCE:
pp. 287-288 (Wallace)
pp. 289-300 (N. Acad. Sci.)
pp. 319-325 (Bowler)
In BB:
"Kropotkin Was No Crackpot"
APE LANGUAGE?
2/23 (Tues)
“Apes have language!”
On Sakai:
“Bringing up Kanzi” (Savage-Rumbaugh & Shanker)
2/25 (Thurs)
Kanzi, the movie star
None
3/2 (Tues)
“No, they don’t!”
On Sakai:
“First Words” (Wade)
“The Human Paradox” (Deacon)
ADAPTATIONISM & ANTHROPOMORPHISM
3/4 (Thurs)
Adaptationism
On Sakai:
“Introduction: Evolutionary Psychology and Conceptual
Integration” (Cosmides, Tooby, & Barkow)
“The Spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian Paradigm: A
Critique of the Adaptationist Programme” (Gould & Lewontin)
DATE
TOPIC
READING
3/9 (Tues)
More on Adaptationism & Other Challenges
On Sakai:
“Why Pigs Don’t Have Wings” (Fodor)
“More Things in Heaven and Earth” (Gould)
3/11 (Thurs)
Anthropomorphism
On Sakai:
Excerpts from The New Anthropomorphism (Kennedy)
"Anthropomorphism, Primatomorphism, &
Mammalomorphism" (Keeley)
3/16 (Tues)
SPRING BREAK
3/18 (Thurs)
SPRING BREAK
THE MISSING LINK: DEVELOPMENT!!
3/23 (Tues)
Evolution ←and→ Development: A bit of history
On Sakai:
“Individual Development and Evolution” (Gottlieb)
3/25 (Thurs)
Some Mechanics of Heredity
On Sakai:
“Dependent Genes” (Moore)
“Running Noses, Smelling Feet” (Moore)
FILM NIGHT: “What Darwin Never Knew” on Nova (Week of 3/29)
3/30 (Tues)
The Importance of Development
On Sakai:
“A Turtle in the Shade” (Moore)
“The Dutch Hungerwinter and The Cat in the Hat” (Moore)
“Chicken Shoes and Monkey Foods” (Moore)
In BB:
“Here Goes Nothing”
4/1 (Thurs)
Developmental Systems Theory
On Sakai:
“Developmental Systems and Evolutionary Explanation”
(Griffiths & Gray)
DATE
TOPIC
READING
THE SPECIES PROBLEM
4/6 (Tues)
Problems with the Species Concept
On Sakai:
“Species” (Sterelny & Griffiths)
“On the Impossibility of a Monistic Account of Species”
(Dupré)
“On the Plurality of Species: Questioning the Party Line” (Hull)
4/8 (Thurs)
Problems with the Species Concept, continued
None
CREATIONISM & INTELLIGENT DESIGN
FILM NIGHT: Inherit the Wind (Week of 4/12)
4/13 (Tues)
Scopes Monkey Trial
In NCE:
pp. 542-549 (Scopes transcript)
In BB:
"Genesis and Geology"
"William Jennings Bryan's Last Campaign"
4/15 (Thurs)
Creationism, Old School
In NCE:
pp. 555-557 (I.C.R)
pp. 557-564 (Morris)
pp. 564-569 (Wheeler)
pp. 534-541 (Scott)
FILM NIGHT: Flock of Dodos (Week of 4/19)
4/20 (Tues)
Meet the New Boss (same as the old boss):
Johnson, meet Paley
In NCE:
pp. 41-44 (Paley, 1802(!))
pp. 581-586 (Johnson)
On Sakai:
"Evolution as Dogma: The Establishment of Naturalism"
(Johnson)
“Naturalism, Evidence, and Creationism: The Case of Phillip
Johnson” (Pennock)
“Response to Pennock” (Johnson)
Recommended – “Phillip Johnson’s Assault Upon Faith-based
Darwinism” (Berton)
DATE
TOPIC
READING
4/22 (Thurs)
More Intelligent Design
In NCE:
pp. 592-601 (Behe)
On Sakai:
“The Logical Underpinnings of Intelligent Design” (Dembski)
Recommended – “The Flagellum Unspun: The Collapse of
‘Irreducible Complexity’” (Miller)
4/27 (Tues)
One Philosopher’s Response
In LD:
Chapters 1, 2, & 3
4/29 (Thurs)
Kitcher, continued
In LD:
Chapters 4 & 5
5/4 (Tues)
The broad implications: Why this all matters to
non-biologists
In BB:
"Justice Scalia's Misunderstanding"
On Sakai:
"Why Creationism Should not be Taught in the Public Schools"
(Pennock)
"Creation and Evolution: A Modest Proposal" (Plantinga)
5/6 (Thurs)
NO CLASS: READING DAY
FINAL EXAM: WEDNESDAY, MAY 12, 2010 @ 2:00 PM
NCE = Norton Critical Edition
BB = Bully for Brontosaurus
LD = Living with Darwin
Sakai = Course copy of various selections made available on Sakai