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Living With Darwin
Associate Professor Peter Graham
Department of Philosophy
Course: HASS 092-01G
Call #: 20181
Wednesdays, 11:10am-12:00pm, HMNSS 1604 (Philosophy Department seminar room)

One place where Science and Religion seem to clash is over evolution by natural selection. This clash has taken various forms. The current controversy concerns "Intelligent Design." In this course we'll examine the philosophical roots of the clash as well as the scientific and religious background, all from a philosophical point of view.

Reading List:

David Hume, Dialogues on Natural Religion, 1779 (many editions, we'll
probably use an OUP edition).

William Paley, Natural Theology, 1802 (again, many editions).

Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species, 1859 (same).

Philip Kitcher, Living With Darwin (OUP, 2006)

Debating Design, ed. By Dembski and Ruse (Cambridge, 2004).

Selections from this material will be assigned. Students will be asked to readabout 10-25 pages per week. The idea is to present the historical
background, some of the contemporary discussion, and an understanding of at least one thinker's thorough examination of the issues (which means reading
a good part of Kitcher's book).

Brief Biographical Statement:

I grew up in a very religious family that also had a strong interest in science. Maybe that is why I ended up studying philosophy and becoming a philosophy professor.