Philosophy 2330:
Science and Society
Fall, 2018

Professor Joel Velasco
Office: 265G (Eng/phil building)
Office Hours: M, W, F 12-1:00 or by appointment

TA Pat Brooks - email Patrick.Brooks@ttu.edu
Office 256 Philosophy, Office hours Th: 12:30 - 2:30

Class meets MWF, 10:00-10:50 (in Phil 164)
Honors (FYE) class meets MWF 11:00-11:50 (in Phil 164)

All of the boilerplate information such as course policies and the grading scheme can be found on the syllabus. The readings for the course are below.

Syllabus

Required Books:

Religion and the Sciences of Origins: Historical and Contemporary Discussions by Kelly James Clark. Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.

Science, Policy, and the Value-Free Ideal by Heather E. Douglas. University of Pittsburgh Press, 2009.

All class assignments and any other readings will be found on this website. You should check this website reguarly for updates and bring copies of the assigned readings to class. All readings should be done before the date they are listed here. Come to class on that day prepared to discuss them.

This is a tentative schedule/reading list:

Week 1 -

Mon, 8/27
- Introduction
Wed, 8/29
- Okasha, Ch 1 of Philosophy of Science: A Very Short Introduction
Fri, 8/31
- Gould, NOMA defined and defended
- Dawkins, You can't have it both ways: Irreconcilable differences?
Extras
- Concepcion, How to read philosophy (the appendix especially)
- Popper, Conjectures and Refutations (short version)
- Popper, Conjectures and Refutations (all of chapter 1)
- Gould, Nonoverlapping Magisteria

Week 2 -

Mon, 9/3
- LABOR DAY - No class
Wed, 9/5
- Russell, The Conflict of Science and Religion
- Atkins, The Limitlessness of Science
Fri, 9/7
- Clark, Religion and the Sciences of Origins Ch 1, Ch 2
Extras:

Week 3 -

Mon, 9/10
- first short essay due (here is a sample written by me)
- Clark, Ch 3
Wed, 9/12
- DeWitt, The Ptolemaic System (ch 13 from Worldviews)
Fri, 9/14
- Singham, The Copernican Myths
- DeWitt, The Copernican System (ch 14 from Worldviews)
Extras:
- Aaber, What every young person ought to know about naked-eye astronomy (ch 0 of Episodes from the Early History of Astronomy)
- Excerpts from Kuhn, The Copernican Revolution (the problem of the planets)
- Excerpts from Kuhn, The Copernican Revolution (Copernican astronomy - the sun)
- Some helpful animations of Ptolemy and Copernicus
- You tube video of retrograde motion

Week 4 -

Mon, 9/17
- DeWitt, Galileo and the Evidence from the Telescope
Wed, 9/19
- Clark Ch 4
Fri, 9/21
- Bellarmine, Letter to Foscarini
- Galileo, Letter to Grand Duchess Christina
Extras:
- PBS Nova documentary, Galileo's Battle for the Heavens
- Lindberg, Galileo, the Church, and the Cosmos
- Gingerich, Truth in Science: Proof, Persuasion, and the Galileo Affair
- Gingerich, The Galileo Affair
- McMullin, Galileo on Science and Scripture

Week 5 -

Mon, 9/24
- short essay due
- Plantinga, When Faith and Reason Clash: Evolution and the Bible
Wed, 9/26
- Clark Ch 5
Fri, 9/28
- Clark Ch 6
- Slides from class today (and next Monday)
Extras:
- Paley, from Natural Theology
- All of the Origin of Species
- Joel's second debate with Paul Nelson (of the Discovery Institute) about common ancestry

Week 6 -

Mon, 10/1
- Dobzhansky, Nothing in Biology makes sense except in the light of evolution
- Dilley, Nothing in Biology makes sense except in the light of Theology?
Wed, 10/3
- Read Dobzhansky and Dilley again (and look at evidence for common ancestry slides)
Fri, 10/5
- Numbers, Scientific Creationism and Intelligent Design
Extras:
- Kitcher, Believing where we cannot prove (ch 2 of Abusing Science)
- Ruse, Creation Science is not Science (pdf of all three)
- Laudan, Commentary: Science at the Bar: Causes for Concern
- Ruse, Response to the Commentary: Pro Judice
- Inherit the Wind movie (not all that historically accurate)
- PBS American Experience - Monkey Trial
- PBS Nova, Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial
- PBS, The Revisionaries (about the Texas School board textbook fights)

Week 7 -

Mon, 10/8
- third short essay due
- Clark, Ch7
- Slides (on Blackboard)
Wed, 10/10
- Worrall, Science Discredits Religion
Fri, 10/12
- Mid-term in-class Exam BRING A BLUE BOOK (study guide)
Extras:
- Plantinga, Methodological Naturalism

Week 8 -

Mon, 10/15
- Levy, The Moral Consequences of Darwinism, ch1 of What Makes us Moral?
Wed, 10/17
- no new reading
Fri, 10/19
- no new reading
Extras:
- Levine and Bashford, Eugenics and the Modern World
- A world of their own (about parents who want their child to be deaf)

Week 9 -

Mon, 10/22
- Clark chapter 9 (Evolution and ethics)
Wed, 10/24
- Levy, The Evolution of Morality, ch2 of What Makes us Moral? (through page 55)
Fri, 10/26
- fourth short essay due
- Levy ch 2 (continued)
Extras:
- Shermer, Toward a Science of Morality, ch1 of The Moral Arc

Week 10 -

Mon, 10/29
- Levy ch 2 (continued)
Wed, 10/31
- Levy ch 2 (reciprocal altruism)
Fri, 11/2
- Levy ch 2 (reciprocal altruism+conclusion)
Extras:
- RIchard Dawkins documentary on the selfish gene/prisoner's dilemma/altruism - Nice guys finish first

Week 11 -

Mon, 11/5
- Rosenberg, Morality: The Bad News, ch 5 of The Atheist's Guide to Reality
Wed, 11/7
- Clark ch 10 (God and the good life)
Fri, 11/9
- Rosenberg, The Good News: Nice Nihilism, ch 6 of The Atheist's Guide to Reality
- fifth short essay due
Extras:

Week 12 -

Mon, 11/12
- Sober, Prospects for an Evolutionary Ethics
Wed, 11/14
- Clark Ch 11 (In search of the soul)
Fri, 11/16
- Douglas, Science, Policy, and the Value-Free Ideal chapter 1
Extras:
- Boghossian, What the Sokal Hoax Ought to teach us

Paper Assignment Due!

Mon, 11/19 Paper assignment due

Tips on writing philosophy papers (they might seem to slightly disagree, but all of this advice is very good):

Week 13 -

Mon, 11/19
- Douglas Ch 2
Wed, 11/21
- NO CLASS - THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
Fri, 11/23
- NO CLASS - THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
Extras:

Week 14 -

Mon, 11/26
- Douglas Ch 3
Wed, 11/28
- Douglas Ch 4
Fri, 11/30
- Review day for final exam Study Guide for final
Extras:

Week 15 -

Mon, 12/3
- Douglas Ch 5
Wed, 12/5
- Douglas Ch 5 + epilogue of the book
- Short essay 6 due
- LAST DAY OF CLASS
Extras:

Final Exam scheduled Tue, Dec 11th 7:30-10:00 am

Final (honors) scheduled Fri, Dec 7th 1:30 - 4:00 pm
BRING A BLUE BOOK (Study Guide)