Annotation
Topic Description
In this course we will investigate the evolutionary approach to the origin of the human mind. Of central importance for us will be Daniel Dennett’s recent book From Bacteria to Bach and Back (2017) which offers a neo-Darwinist theory of the emergence of consciousness and the higher mental faculties. Special attention will be given to Dennett’s extension of Darwinism into the field of cultural evolution and to the concept of “memes” which this move relies upon. We will also consider views that diverge from Dennett’s Darwinist approach, in particular the doubts about an evolutionary explanation of human intellectual powers that have been advanced in the work of Noam Chomsky and Thomas Nagel.
This course, which will be conducted in English, is intended for students on Bachelor’s or Master’s programmes in Philosophy. It may also be taken by non-specialists, but only on the agreement of the instructor.
Course Requirements
Each week there will be a reading available on Moodle which will be the subject of our discussion in the seminar. The reading is an essential part of the course, and students will lose their way if they fail to do it. Our course will be graded according to two criteria: attendance and written work.
(i) To be eligible for the grade, students should not be absent from the seminar more than three times over the semester.
(ii) The written work will be a short essay, of around 1,000 words on one subject from the course. This essay, written in English, should show knowledge of one specific problem, and the work of one philosopher on that problem, as included in the course. The student should choose the topic and essay title themselves, and in the essay they should include their own argued standpoint. The essay should be handed in on paper by May 1st, 2018. Essays cannot be accepted after this date, nor can they be accepted in electronic form. All essays will undergo a routine check for plagiarism.