Annotation
Evolution and the Human Mind
Our aim is to investigate the impact of evolutionary biology on the understanding of the nature and powers of the human mind. We will examine the different challenges to the evolutionary account of mind posed by language, reason, ethics and aesthetics. Our course will begin with the thought of the nineteenth century originators of the theory of evolution by natural selection---Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace---and it will go on to discuss contemporary thinkers such as Daniel Dennett, Thomas Nagel, Stephen Pinker, Richard Dawkins, Noam Chomsky, Lida Cosmides and John Tooby. Central to our discussion will be the relation between biological evolution and cultural evolution; the impact of evolution on our power to know nature; and the dialogue of evolutionary theory and religious belief. This course, which will be conducted in English, is intended for bachelor's students in all the different areas of the humanities. It will not presuppose any particular knowledge of the relevant literature in biology, psychology or philosophy.