Course syllabus

Welcome to PHIL750: Philosophy of Science 2: Concepts and Categories in Biology

Here is a link to the course outline.

Meeting Times: Fridays 12–2pm in Room 202, Building 206 (Humanities)

Course Coordinator: Dr Emily Parke
Email: e.parke@auckland.ac.nz 
Office hours: Wednesdays 3–4pm, Thursdays 11am–12pm, other times by appointment
Office: Room 427, Building 206 (Humanities)

Course Description:

Some concepts in science are (apparently) straightforward: ‘gold’, for example, is a chemical element with 79 protons and a series of other features agreed upon by chemists. Other concepts are more contentious, and scientists argue about how to define, understand, or make use of them: for example, ‘biodiversity’, ‘gene’, ‘intelligence’, ’species’, and ‘complexity’. Many of these concepts lie at the heart of other debates—for example, is there a “gene for intelligence?”—so reaching clarity and consensus on these topics is far from simply a matter of semantics. In this course we will focus on conceptual debates in science, and how philosophers can contribute to them. We will situate this more broadly in a discussion about different options (e.g., monism vs. pluralism) for how to address contentious concepts. After some general introductory discussion, we will look in depth at debates surrounding some key concepts in biology: natural selection, Darwinian populations, and life itself. Many of the readings will draw on examples and case studies from biology, but no particular background in biology is assumed.

Overview of Topics:

See "Reading Lists" in the left sidebar for links to electronic versions of readings. "Essential Readings" (at the top of the list for each week) are the assigned readings you must read before class each week. "Further Readings" are suggested (but not required) further background reading for each topic.

Names in red are the people responsible for presenting each week.

Part I: Concepts, Conceptual Change, and Categories

Week 1 (Emily) (20 July): Introduction

Week 2 (Emily) (27 July): Natural kinds and conceptual change

Week 3 (Nicole) (03 August): Pluralism through the lens of two case studies (species and planets)

Week 4 (10 August): No Class

Week 5 (Andrew) (17 August): (How) should we take scientists’ views into account? Another case study (genes)

Part I: Life

Week 6 (Nicole) (24 August): Defining life: The debates

[MID-SEMESTER BREAK]

Week 7 (Darryl) (14 Sept): ‘Defining’ life: Is it a kind or an individual?

Week 8 (Andrew) (21 Sept): ‘Defining’ life continued: some more alternative approaches

Part III: Darwinian Populations and Natural Selection

Week 9 (Emily) (28 Sept): Darwinian populations and natural selection I: Introduction and framework

Week 10 (Darryl) (05 Oct): Darwinian populations and natural selection II: Key concepts

Week 11 (Emily) (12 Oct): Darwinian populations and natural selection III: Completing the framework, levels & transitions

Week 12 (19 Oct): Course wrap-up, essay discussion and peer review

Other Details:

• This is a discussion based course. Everyone will be expected to come to class having done the assigned reading at least once, and prepared to discuss it. In addition, everyone will take turns leading the class discussion. 
• There is no textbook; all assigned readings will be available electronically through Canvas > Reading Lists. We will be reading the majority of Peter Godfrey-Smith's 2009 book Darwinian Populations and Natural Selection; this is available electronically through the library, but you might wish to purchase your own copy. All other readings will be individual articles or book chapters.
• Assessment is based on the following assignments:
• 85% 5000-word Essay: You are expected to meet with me throughout the semester to develop an original essay topic based on the course material.
• 15% Presentations: Students will be responsible for leading the class discussion twice during the semester. This means you will prepare a presentation outlining key points from the relevant reading(s) and guiding our group’s discussion with questions and other points of interest. It does not mean that you must become an expert in the relevant week’s topic, or have all the answers to questions about it. Further details of presentations will be discussed in the first weeks of class (and the course outline). The "deadline" below is arbitrarily set as the last class meeting; presentations will occur throughout the semester.

Resources:

• Authoritative, up-to-date entires on important philosophical topics, figures, and concepts: The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy and The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Both are excellent and will be helpful in further background reading for weekly topics and final essays; the SEP entries tend to go more in-depth and the IEP entries tend to be more generally accessible.
• An online Glossary of Biological Terms, which might be helpful for students without a background in biology navigating the readings.
• An excellent overview of how to write, read, and do philosophy: Helena De Bres's The Pink Guide to Philosophy.
• More helpful guides to reading and writing philosophy: Jim Pryor's Guidelines on Reading Philosophy and Guidelines on Writing a Philosophy Paper.
• Kyle Stanford's The Seven Deadly Sins of Argumentative Writing.