Universität Wien

180084 SE The Theory of Evolution (2024W)

Biology and Beyond

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 18 - Philosophie
Prüfungsimmanente Lehrveranstaltung
Moodle
Mo 21.10. 13:15-14:45 Hörsaal 3F NIG 3.Stock

An/Abmeldung

Hinweis: Ihr Anmeldezeitpunkt innerhalb der Frist hat keine Auswirkungen auf die Platzvergabe (kein "first come, first served").
Für diese LV an-/abmelden

Details

max. 25 Teilnehmer*innen
Sprache: Englisch

Lehrende

Termine (iCal) - nächster Termin ist mit N markiert

  • Montag 14.10. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 3F NIG 3.Stock
  • Montag 28.10. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 3F NIG 3.Stock
  • Montag 04.11. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 3F NIG 3.Stock
  • Montag 11.11. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 3F NIG 3.Stock
  • Montag 18.11. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 3F NIG 3.Stock
  • Montag 25.11. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 3F NIG 3.Stock
  • Montag 02.12. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 3F NIG 3.Stock
  • Montag 09.12. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 3F NIG 3.Stock
  • Montag 16.12. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 3F NIG 3.Stock
  • Montag 13.01. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 3F NIG 3.Stock
  • Montag 20.01. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 3F NIG 3.Stock
  • Montag 27.01. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 3F NIG 3.Stock

Information

Ziele, Inhalte und Methode der Lehrveranstaltung

This is a seminar course in philosophy of science/philosophy of biology, with a particular focus on evolutionary theory. In the first part of the course (Biology), we are going to look at the nature of scientific theory, taking the content and structure of evolutionary theory as a concrete example. This includes contemporary critical evaluations of the received view of evolutionary theory. In the second part of the course (Beyond), we are going to look at the application of evolutionary theory outside of its domain of origin. Specifically, we are going to look at evolutionary theory as applied in epistemology, psychology, origins of life research, and the social sciences, and we are going to discuss the scientific merit of these transplantations, as well as what these transplantations might be able to tell us about evolutionary theory itself.

The following main questions will be the focus of the seminar:
• How are theories in science conceptualised from a philosophical perspective?
• What is the place of models within scientific theories?
• How is contemporary evolutionary theory structured?
• What are the major contemporary scientific and philosophical criticisms of this structure?
• How is evolutionary theory applied outside its domain of origin?
• What is the scientific and philosophical status of these applications?
• What is the epistemological and metaphysical basis of these applications?
• What do applications of evolutionary theory beyond biology tell us about its structure and status?

Learning outcomes:
• Students will become familiar with philosophical views of scientific theory structure, particularly in the biological sciences.
• Students will become familiar with the content and structure of evolutionary theory and critical evaluations thereof.
• Students will become familiar with a variety of applications of evolutionary theory beyond its domain of origin.
• Students will be able to briefly recapitulate the central argument of literature in philosophy of science.
• Students will be able to critically discuss literature in philosophy of science in a group setting.
• Students will be able to develop their own position regarding one of the topics of the seminars and present this position in paper format.

Art der Leistungskontrolle und erlaubte Hilfsmittel

The first seminar consists of a general introduction to the topic. Each subsequent seminar requires students to read the assigned material and to write a brief reading report which is handed in before each seminar. Seminars consist of discussions of the assigned material based on student reading reports. Discussion participation forms part of the assessment. At the end of the course, students will hand in an individual term paper about one of the course topics (±3000 words). The precise requirements for the reading reports and discussion participation depend on the number of enrolled students.

Mindestanforderungen und Beurteilungsmaßstab

Presence at seminars is mandatory. Minimal requirements for obtaining a grade are an 85% attendance rate and an 85% timely submission rate for the reading reports.

Assessment is based on three components: the reading reports (20%), discussion participation (20%), and the term paper (60%). Grading takes place on a scale from 0-100. Each of the three components needs a minimum of 51 points to obtain a passing grade. Discussion participation and the term paper each receive a single score. The reading report score is the average score of the individual reports. Individual reports are marked unsatisfactory (0), satisfactory (51), good (70), or excellent (100), with a satisfactory or good being reasonably easy to obtain.

The combined score of the three components translates to the following final grades:
1 - 89-100
2 - 78-88
3 - 63-75
4 - 51-62
5 - 0-50

Prüfungsstoff

Literatur

The provisional reading list contains the following papers and selected chapters from books:

Callebaut, W., & Stotz, K. (1998). Lean Evolutionary Epistemology. Evolution and Cognition, 4(1), 11–36.
Godfrey-Smith, P., & Godfrey-Smith, P. (2009). Darwinian Populations and Natural Selection. Oxford University Press.
Hodgson, G. M., & Knudsen, T. (2011). Generalized Darwinism and Evolutionary Economics: From Ontology to Theory. Biological Theory, 6(4), 326–337.
Huneman, P., & Walsh, D. M. (Eds.). (2017). Challenging the Modern Synthesis. Oxford University Press.
Laland, K. N., & Brown, G. R. (2002). Sense and nonsense: Evolutionary perspectives on human behaviour (pp. ix, 369). Oxford University Press.
Laland, K. N., Uller, T., Feldman, M. W., Sterelny, K., Müller, G. B., Moczek, A., Jablonka, E., & Odling-Smee, J. (2015). The extended evolutionary synthesis: Its structure, assumptions and predictions. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 282(1813), 1–14.
Laland, K., Uller, T., Feldman, M., Sterelny, K., Müller, G. B., Moczek, A., Jablonka, E., Odling-Smee, J., Wray, G. A., Hoekstra, H. E., Futuyma, D. J., Lenski, R. E., Mackay, T. F. C., Schluter, D., & Strassmann, J. E. (2014). Does evolutionary theory need a rethink? Nature, 514(7521), Article 7521.
Mormann, T. (2007). The Structure of Scientific Theories in Logical Empiricism. In A. Richardson & T. Uebel (Eds.), The Cambridge Companion to Logical Empiricism (pp. 136–162). Cambridge University Press.
Potochnik, A. (2017). Idealization and the Aims of Science. University of Chicago Press.
Reydon, T. A. C. (2021). Generalized Darwinism as Modest Unification. American Philosophical Quarterly, 58(1), 79–94.
Reydon, T. A. C. (2023). The proper role of history in evolutionary explanations. Noûs, 57(1), 162–187.
Reydon, T. A. C., & Scholz, M. (2015). Searching for Darwinism in Generalized Darwinism. The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 66(3), 561–589.
Smith, J. M., & Szathmary, E. (1997). The Major Transitions in Evolution. Oxford University Press.
Stebbins, G. L., & Ayala, F. J. (1981). Is a New Evolutionary Synthesis Necessary? Science, 213(4511), 967–971.
Toulmin, S. E. (1967). The Evolutionary Development of Natural Science. American Scientist, 55(4), 456–471.

The literature will be provided on Moodle.

Zuordnung im Vorlesungsverzeichnis

Letzte Änderung: Mi 04.09.2024 08:06