Syllabus
Course Plan: NB There will be no class on Wednesday, October 5th
1. Introduction
2. Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace on the Evolution of Man’s Intellectual Powers
3. T.H. Huxley and William James on Consciousness and Epiphenomenalism
4. Daniel Dennett’s Darwinism: Two “Strange Inversions of Reason”
5. Noam Chomsky: The Challenge of Language for Darwinism
6. Daniel Dennett and Richard Dawkins: Memes and Cultural Evolution
7. Steven Pinker’s Critique of Mimetics
8. Michael Tomasello and the 'Shared Intentionality Hypothesis'
9. Thomas Nagel: The Challenge of Consciousness for Darwinism
10. Daniel Dennett: Consciousness as Evolved User-Illusion
Annotation
In this course we will investigate the evolutionary approach to the origin and development of the mind and the 'higher' faculties. We will begin by considering Charles Darwin's own account of the evolution of the mind and the opposition to it from his contemporary and fellow evolutionist, Alfred Russel Wallace. Against this background we will then consider neo-Darwinist approaches to the emergence and evolution of mind. Of central importance for us will be Daniel Dennett’s recent book From Bacteria to Bach and Back (2017). 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 critique of the theory of memes in Steven Pinker, doubts about an evolutionary explanation of language in the work of Noam Chomsky and the claim, by Thomas Nagel, that consciousness itself cannot be explained in the framework of Darwinian theory. We will also study another approach to the evolution of language and thought in the work of primatologist and philosopher, Michael Tomasello.
The 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, with the agreement of the instructor.
NB There will be no class in the first week of the semester on Wednesday October 5th.