Teaching
2007-8
Oliver Curry and Helena Cronin will be teaching
two courses on evolution and human nature this year, both
in Lent Term. Both courses cover the same material, but
one is at Masters level, the other is at PhD level. A coursepack
containing most of the readings for the two courses is available
from LSE Library.
PH411
Philosophy of Biological and Cognitive Sciences
We will be running a series of seminars for this
course, in Lent Term 2008. The seminars are in addition
to the usual seminars run at Kings.
The
seminars review the contribution that evolutionary theory
makes to some of the most fundamental philosophical questions:
What is life? Why are we here? Where did we come from? How
does the mind work? How do we come to know anything? Why
sex? Why two sexes? What is the nature of morality? And
how does an understanding of human nature help to make the
world a better place? Topics covered include: modern evolutionary
theory, evolutionary psychology, sex and sex differences,
cooperation and morality, and evolution and policy.
Seminars
take place on Wednesdays, 2pm-4pm, in weeks 1, 3, 5, 7 &
9 of Lent Term 2008, in room
T206, CPNSS, Lakatos Building (Map).
The first seminar will take place on Wednesday 9th January
2008.
The seminars
will consist of a short introductory lecture, followed by
short student presentations on specified papers followed
by discussion. (A copy of the
PH411 syllabus is available here.) Students should familiarise
themselves with the basics of evolutionary theory before
the course starts; we recommend reading Richard Dawkins'
The
Selfish Gene in its entirety.
Students
register to take this course in the usual way. The seminars
are also open to other interested Masters students, at LSE
and beyond. If you would like to attend, please send an
email expressing your interest -- and specifying which paper
you would like to present -- to Dr Curry (o.s.curry@lse.ac.uk)
by Friday 30th November 2007
The information given here supplements that given on the
official LSE page and the
official Kings page for the course.
PH551
Philosophy of Natural Science (Evolution and Human Nature)
We will be teaching the second half of this course,
in Lent Term 2008.
This section of the course reviews recent
developments in evolutionary theory, and considers
their relevance to understanding human affairs. Topics covered
include: modern evolutionary
theory, evolutionary psychology, sex and sex differences,
cooperation and morality, and
evolution and policy. The course is not designed to provide
a comprehensive overview of these
topics; students are expected to have made themselves familiar
with the basic issues. Instead, the
course will focus on intriguing and challenging ideas that
are taking the science forward.
Seminars take place on Wednesdays, 2pm-4pm,
in weeks 2, 4, 6, 8 & 10 of Lent Term 2008,
in room
T206, CPNSS, Lakatos Building (Map).
The first seminar will take place on Wednesday 16th January
2008.
The course will be run as a reading group,
with students giving short presentations on the specified
readings. (A copy
of the PH551 syllabus
is available here.)
The course is open to all graduate students
and staff in all disciplines, at LSE and beyond. However,
numbers are limited, and demand will be high. (Last year
we had over 60 applicants for around 15 places.) If you
would like to attend, please send an email expressing your
interest -- and specifying which paper you would like to
present -- to Dr Curry (o.s.curry@lse.ac.uk)
by Friday 30th November 2007.
LSE Philosophy PhD students can register to
take the course for credit. Assessment consists of
one essay, of up to 4,000 words. To register, contact Rebecca
Matthams (Departmental Manager,
Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, R.Matthams@lse.ac.uk).
The
information given here supplements and supersedes that given
on the
official page for the course.
Other Evolution Courses at LSE
Students interested in the application of evolutionary theory
to the social sciences might also be interested in the following
courses in other Departments at LSE:
SO215 Evolution
and Social Behaviour
SO418 Genes
and Society
MN428 (Half Unit) Evolutionary
Psychology and Management
PS421 (Half Unit) Issues
in Social Psychology: Evolutionary Social Psychology
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