Students

PHL 249 – Evolution, Mind and Culture

2016 – S2 Day

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convenor
Adam Hochman
Contact via adam.hochman@mq.edu.au
W6A, Rm 733
Thursdays 10:30-11:30
Credit points Credit points
3
Prerequisites Prerequisites
12cp or admission to GDipArts
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
This unit is devoted to examining the ways in which evolutionary biology can shed light on the nature of the human mind and culture. The unit begins with an introduction to evolutionary theory and a discussion of some foundational issues concerning its nature and structure. What is fitness? What is adaptationism? What is the unit of selection? A substantial part of the unit, however, involves investigating extensions of evolutionary theory to the explanation of human mind and culture. In particular, recent theories of cultural and cognitive evolution such as sociobiology, Evolutionary Psychology and gene-culture coevolution will be examined in detail. Issues, such as the ambitions and limitations of evolutionary explanations of human ethical and sexual behaviour will also be discussed. No background in biology or science is assumed.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • A working knowledge of some of the current major issues connecting philosophy and biology
  • The ability to understand and critically evaluate the theories and arguments studied, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and develop an appreciation of the ways in which these positions have developed in response to identification of problems in other views
  • An ability to express and expound the positions studied clearly and lucidly
  • Students should start to develop their own philosophically informed views on the issues studied and defend their views, clearly and courteously in response to critical evaluation from others in discussion and in writing

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Due
Tutorial participation 20% N/A
Essay 1 40% 23rd of September
Essay 2 40% 21st of November

Tutorial participation

Due: N/A
Weighting: 20%

The participation mark is based in part on the extent to which students come to class well prepared, having done the required reading and devised questions and discussion points. It is also based on the extent to which students make a constructive contribution to classroom discussion, so students should come to class with prepared questions and discussion points.

Class participation marking criteria:

  • Outstanding contributor: Contributions in class reflect extensive preparation. Ideas offered are usually substantive; provide major insights and direction for class discussion. Challenges are substantiated and persuasive. Makes an important contribution to class discussion overall.
  • Good contributor: Contributions in class reflect thorough preparation. Ideas offered are often substantive; provide useful insights and some direction for class discussion. Challenges are substantiated and often persuasive. Makes a significant contribution to class discussion overall.
  • Adequate contributor: Contributions in class reflect adequate preparation. Ideas offered are sometimes substantive; provide some insight but rarely offer direction for class discussion. Challenges are sometimes presented, substantiated and persuasive. Makes a contribution to class discussion overall.
  • Unsatisfactory contributor: Contributions in class reflect inadequate preparation. Ideas offered are rarely substantive; rarely provide insight but do not offer useful direction for class discussion. Contributions may be distractions rather than constructive. Does not make a positive contribution to class discussion overall.
  • Non-participant: This person says little or nothing in class. There is not an adequate basis for evaluation. Makes no contribution to discussion.

(Adapted from Tyler, J. (2004) Class Participation Assessment Guide. Department of Education, Brown University).

External students are required to post online a discussion point in response to set readings during the week (Mon-Fri) in which those readings are set. They should also provide courteous and relevant feedback on at least one other post each week for an absolute minimum of 7 weeks of the semester. The marking criteria are the same as for internal students.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • A working knowledge of some of the current major issues connecting philosophy and biology
  • The ability to understand and critically evaluate the theories and arguments studied, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and develop an appreciation of the ways in which these positions have developed in response to identification of problems in other views
  • An ability to express and expound the positions studied clearly and lucidly
  • Students should start to develop their own philosophically informed views on the issues studied and defend their views, clearly and courteously in response to critical evaluation from others in discussion and in writing

Essay 1

Due: 23rd of September
Weighting: 40%

Students will write a research essay of 2,000 words which provides a careful critical examination, based on reasons, argumentation and evidence, of one of the topics covered in the course. A list of essay questions will be made available on iLearn.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • A working knowledge of some of the current major issues connecting philosophy and biology
  • The ability to understand and critically evaluate the theories and arguments studied, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and develop an appreciation of the ways in which these positions have developed in response to identification of problems in other views
  • An ability to express and expound the positions studied clearly and lucidly
  • Students should start to develop their own philosophically informed views on the issues studied and defend their views, clearly and courteously in response to critical evaluation from others in discussion and in writing

Essay 2

Due: 21st of November
Weighting: 40%

Students will write a research essay of 2,000 words which provides a careful critical examination, based on reasons, argumentation and evidence, of one of the topics covered in the course. A list of essay questions will be made available on iLearn.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • A working knowledge of some of the current major issues connecting philosophy and biology
  • The ability to understand and critically evaluate the theories and arguments studied, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and develop an appreciation of the ways in which these positions have developed in response to identification of problems in other views
  • An ability to express and expound the positions studied clearly and lucidly
  • Students should start to develop their own philosophically informed views on the issues studied and defend their views, clearly and courteously in response to critical evaluation from others in discussion and in writing

Delivery and Resources

This unit uses an iLearn website and Echo360 lecture recordings (https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/MQ/). The website contains links to lecture notes, ilecture recordings, and other learning materials. Students will therefore require access to a computer and a good internet connection in order to access all the material, and participate in the unit effectively.

Together with a careful attention to the assigned readings, the lectures are designed to provide an important foundation for tutorial discussions.  In order to get the most of those discussions and to foster a sense of common intellectual purpose, attendance at all lectures is mandatory.  If you have a regular conflict that will prevent you from attending one or both of the lectures, you should consider enrolling as an external student.  

Lecture and Tutorial Times

Lectures are on Thursdays, 12-2pm, in E3B 218 Tute Rm

Tutorials meet Monday afternoons. Consult the University Timetable for details.

Tutorials will begin in week 2.

Required Materials:

Students are not required to purchase any books for this course. All readings for tutorials will be made available via iLearn. Further readings for essays will be recommended. 

  1. No tute week 1.
  2. Dupré, John. 2002. “Are Whales Fish?” In Humans and Other Animals, 42–56. New York: Oxford University Press.
  3. Kitcher, Philip. 2007. “Does ‘Race’ Have a Future?” Philosophy & Public Affairs 35 (4): 293–317.
  4. Fausto-Sterling, Anne. 2000. “The Sex/Gender Perplex.” Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 31 (4): 637–646.
  5. Pigliucci, Massimo, and Jonathan Kaplan. 2006. “A Quarter Century of Spandrels: Adaptations, Adaptationisms, and Constraints in Biology.” In Making Sense of Evolution: The Conceptual Foundations of Evolutionary Biology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
  6. Mayr, Ernst. 1961. “Cause and Effect in Biology.” Science 134 (3489): 1501–1506.
  7. Oyama, Susan. 2000. “Ontogeny and the Central Dogma: Do We Need the Concept of Genetic Programming in Order to Have an Evolutionary Perspective?” In Evolution’s Eye: A Systems View of the Biology-Culture Divide, 22:44–76. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
  8. No tute week 8.
  9. Cosmides, Leda, and John Tooby. 2003. “Evolutionary Psychology: Theoretical Foundations.” In Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science, 54–64. London: Macmillan.
  10. Gray, Russell D., Megan Heaney, and Scott Fairhall. 2003. “Evolutionary Psychology and the Challenge of Adaptive Explanation.” In From Mating to Mentality: Evaluating Evolutionary Psychology, edited by Kim Sterelny and Julie Fitness, 247–268. New York: Psychology Press.
  11. Jackson Jr, John P. 2016. “Cross-Cultural Research, Evolutionary Psychology, and Racialism: Problems and Prospects.” Philosophy & Theory in Biology 8: 1–17.
  12. Small, Meredith F. 1992. “The Evolution of Female Sexuality and Mate Selection in Humans.” Human Nature 3 (2): 133–156.
  13. Stotz, Karola. 2010. “Human Nature and Cognitive–developmental Niche Construction.” Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences 9 (4): 483–501.

For students looking for general resources I can recommend the following:

  • Peter Godfrey-Smith (2014) Philosophy of Biology. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

(This book is available to download in pdf on a chapter by chapter basis through the library website)

  • Kim Sterelny & Paul E. Griffiths (1999) Sex and Death: An Introduction to Philosophy of Biology. Chicago University Press. 
  • Kevin N. Laland & Gillian R. Brown (2011) Sense & Nonsense: Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Behaviour (2nd Ed.). Oxford University Press.

Unit Schedule

Wk. Lecture A Topic Lecture B Topic Tutorial Topic Key Events
Topic 1. Classification        
1

The Tree of Life

Species and Subspecies

No tutorials this week  
2

Race I

Race II

Biological classification  
3

Sex and Gender I

Sex and Gender II

Race  

Topic 2.

Evolution, Development, Inheritance

       

4

Natural Selection

Adaptation

Sex/gender  
5 Genes and Genetic Programs What Does Evolution Act On? Adaptationism  
6 Extended Inheritance Niche Construction and Evo-Devo Proximate vs evolutionary explanation  
7 Developmental Systems Theory I Developmental Systems Theory II Beyond gene-centrism  
  MID-SEMESTER BREAK    

Essay Due

23/9

Topic 3.

Mind & Culture

       
8 Evolutionary Psychology I Evolutionary Psychology II PUBLIC HOLIDAY  
9 EP and its Critics I EP and its Critics II For evolutionary psychology  
10

Case-study 1: Racial Cognition I

Case-study 1: Racial Cognition II Against evolutionary psychology  
11

Case-study 2: mate/date selection I

Case-study 2: mate/date selection II Did we evolve to think racially?

 

 

12

Is There a ‘Human Nature’? I

Is There a ‘Human Nature’? II Why do we choose our mates?  
13

Human Uniqueness Post-Darwin

Science, Sentience, and Animal Welfare

Human nature  
        Essay Due 21/11

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html

New Assessment Policy in effect from Session 2 2016 http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy_2016.html. For more information visit http://students.mq.edu.au/events/2016/07/19/new_assessment_policy_in_place_from_session_2/

Assessment Policy prior to Session 2 2016 http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy.html

Grading Policy prior to Session 2 2016 http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html

Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html

Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/complaint_management/procedure.html​

Disruption to Studies Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html The Disruption to Studies Policy is effective from March 3 2014 and replaces the Special Consideration Policy.

In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/

Results

Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Graduate Capabilities

Creative and Innovative

Our graduates will also be capable of creative thinking and of creating knowledge. They will be imaginative and open to experience and capable of innovation at work and in the community. We want them to be engaged in applying their critical, creative thinking.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • The ability to understand and critically evaluate the theories and arguments studied, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and develop an appreciation of the ways in which these positions have developed in response to identification of problems in other views
  • Students should start to develop their own philosophically informed views on the issues studied and defend their views, clearly and courteously in response to critical evaluation from others in discussion and in writing

Capable of Professional and Personal Judgement and Initiative

We want our graduates to have emotional intelligence and sound interpersonal skills and to demonstrate discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgement. They will exercise initiative as needed. They will be capable of risk assessment, and be able to handle ambiguity and complexity, enabling them to be adaptable in diverse and changing environments.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcome

  • Students should start to develop their own philosophically informed views on the issues studied and defend their views, clearly and courteously in response to critical evaluation from others in discussion and in writing

Commitment to Continuous Learning

Our graduates will have enquiring minds and a literate curiosity which will lead them to pursue knowledge for its own sake. They will continue to pursue learning in their careers and as they participate in the world. They will be capable of reflecting on their experiences and relationships with others and the environment, learning from them, and growing - personally, professionally and socially.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcome

  • Students should start to develop their own philosophically informed views on the issues studied and defend their views, clearly and courteously in response to critical evaluation from others in discussion and in writing

Discipline Specific Knowledge and Skills

Our graduates will take with them the intellectual development, depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content in their chosen fields to make them competent and confident in their subject or profession. They will be able to demonstrate, where relevant, professional technical competence and meet professional standards. They will be able to articulate the structure of knowledge of their discipline, be able to adapt discipline-specific knowledge to novel situations, and be able to contribute from their discipline to inter-disciplinary solutions to problems.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • A working knowledge of some of the current major issues connecting philosophy and biology
  • The ability to understand and critically evaluate the theories and arguments studied, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and develop an appreciation of the ways in which these positions have developed in response to identification of problems in other views
  • An ability to express and expound the positions studied clearly and lucidly
  • Students should start to develop their own philosophically informed views on the issues studied and defend their views, clearly and courteously in response to critical evaluation from others in discussion and in writing

Assessment tasks

  • Tutorial participation
  • Essay 1
  • Essay 2

Critical, Analytical and Integrative Thinking

We want our graduates to be capable of reasoning, questioning and analysing, and to integrate and synthesise learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments; to be able to critique constraints, assumptions and limitations; to be able to think independently and systemically in relation to scholarly activity, in the workplace, and in the world. We want them to have a level of scientific and information technology literacy.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • A working knowledge of some of the current major issues connecting philosophy and biology
  • The ability to understand and critically evaluate the theories and arguments studied, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and develop an appreciation of the ways in which these positions have developed in response to identification of problems in other views
  • Students should start to develop their own philosophically informed views on the issues studied and defend their views, clearly and courteously in response to critical evaluation from others in discussion and in writing

Assessment tasks

  • Tutorial participation
  • Essay 1
  • Essay 2

Problem Solving and Research Capability

Our graduates should be capable of researching; of analysing, and interpreting and assessing data and information in various forms; of drawing connections across fields of knowledge; and they should be able to relate their knowledge to complex situations at work or in the world, in order to diagnose and solve problems. We want them to have the confidence to take the initiative in doing so, within an awareness of their own limitations.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • A working knowledge of some of the current major issues connecting philosophy and biology
  • The ability to understand and critically evaluate the theories and arguments studied, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and develop an appreciation of the ways in which these positions have developed in response to identification of problems in other views
  • Students should start to develop their own philosophically informed views on the issues studied and defend their views, clearly and courteously in response to critical evaluation from others in discussion and in writing

Assessment tasks

  • Tutorial participation
  • Essay 1
  • Essay 2

Effective Communication

We want to develop in our students the ability to communicate and convey their views in forms effective with different audiences. We want our graduates to take with them the capability to read, listen, question, gather and evaluate information resources in a variety of formats, assess, write clearly, speak effectively, and to use visual communication and communication technologies as appropriate.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • The ability to understand and critically evaluate the theories and arguments studied, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and develop an appreciation of the ways in which these positions have developed in response to identification of problems in other views
  • An ability to express and expound the positions studied clearly and lucidly
  • Students should start to develop their own philosophically informed views on the issues studied and defend their views, clearly and courteously in response to critical evaluation from others in discussion and in writing

Assessment tasks

  • Tutorial participation
  • Essay 1
  • Essay 2

Engaged and Ethical Local and Global citizens

As local citizens our graduates will be aware of indigenous perspectives and of the nation's historical context. They will be engaged with the challenges of contemporary society and with knowledge and ideas. We want our graduates to have respect for diversity, to be open-minded, sensitive to others and inclusive, and to be open to other cultures and perspectives: they should have a level of cultural literacy. Our graduates should be aware of disadvantage and social justice, and be willing to participate to help create a wiser and better society.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • A working knowledge of some of the current major issues connecting philosophy and biology
  • The ability to understand and critically evaluate the theories and arguments studied, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and develop an appreciation of the ways in which these positions have developed in response to identification of problems in other views
  • Students should start to develop their own philosophically informed views on the issues studied and defend their views, clearly and courteously in response to critical evaluation from others in discussion and in writing

Socially and Environmentally Active and Responsible

We want our graduates to be aware of and have respect for self and others; to be able to work with others as a leader and a team player; to have a sense of connectedness with others and country; and to have a sense of mutual obligation. Our graduates should be informed and active participants in moving society towards sustainability.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcome

  • The ability to understand and critically evaluate the theories and arguments studied, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and develop an appreciation of the ways in which these positions have developed in response to identification of problems in other views

Changes since First Published

Date Description
02/08/2016 There has been a room change for the lectures. They will no longer take place in E3B 118 Tute Rm, they will be held in E3B 218 Tute Rm.
17/07/2016 Changes made to assessment structure to conform to new assessment policy