Philosophy of Biology

Course content

This course offers a survey and critical examination of basic issues in the philosophy of biology: a brief history of biology and the philosophy of biology; the nature of evolutionary theory, with special reference to the status of natural selection; the rise of genetics; the scientific status of evolutionary theory; biological teleology; the implications of biology for human kind; the problem of reduction; the significance of Human Genome Project; challenges to the adaptationist programme; ethical and social issues, including the status of neo-Creationism(Intelligent Design).