All are welcome to our events, including those sceptical of the cultural evolutionary project. In addition to philosophers and historians of science, we also hope to attract researchers from the biological sciences, psychology, and all branches of archaeology and anthropology. Please contact Samuel Murison (sjtm3@cam.ac.uk) if you have any problem finding the readings.
Lent Term 2016
This term's reading group will focus on the topic of evolution and ethics, including evolutionary debunking arguments, evolution and teleological ethics, environmental ethics and the ethics of human enhancement.
Meetings take place on Tuesdays 1-2pm, in Seminar Room 1, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, Free School Lane, CB2 3RH.
19 January
Street, S., 2006, “A Darwinian Dilemma for Realist Theories of Value”, Philosophical Studies 127: 109-166.
Introduced by Tim Lewens
26 January
Copp, D., 2008, “Darwinian Skepticism about Moral Realism,” Philosophical Issues 18: 186–206; Mogensen, A., forthcoming, "Do evolutionary debunking arguments rest on a mistake about evolutionary explanations?” Philosophical Studies.
Introduced by Adrian Boutel
2 February
Foot, P., 2001, Natural Goodness, ch.2 “Natural Norms”, ch.3 “The Transition to Human Beings” and ch. 5, “Human Goodness”.
Introduced by Christopher Clarke
9 February
Fitzpatrick, W. Teleology and the Norms of Nature, ch. 6 “Welfare and Natural Teleology”; Lott, M., 2012, "Have Elephant Seals Refuted Aristotle? Nature, Function, and Moral Goodness” Journal of Moral Philosophy 9: 1-23.
Introduced by James Hutton
16 February
Smith, I., 2010, “The Role of Humility and Intrinsic Goods in Preserving Endangered Species: Why Preserve the Humpback Chub?”, Environmental Ethics 32: 165-182.
Introduced by Riana Betzler
23 February
Nolt, J., 2006, "The Move from Good to Ought in Environmental Ethics", Environmental Ethics 28 (4):355-374 (2006).
Introduced by David Merry
1 March
Harris, J., 2009, “Enhancements are a Moral Obligation” and Juengst, E., 2009, “What’s Taxonomy Got to Do With It? Human Rights, Species Integrity and Science Policy” in Savulescu, J. and Bostrom, N. eds., “Human Enhancement”.
Introduced by Tim Lewens
8 March
Groll, D. and Lott, M., 2015, "Is There a Role for ‘Human Nature’ in Debates About Human Enhancement?”, Philosophy 90: 623-651.
Introduced by Ella Whiteley
Michaelmas Term 2015
This term's reading group will focus on the topic of emotion.
Meetings take place on Thursdays 1-2pm, in Seminar Room 1, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, Free School Lane, CB2 3RH.
We will be discussing recent work on the emotions by philosophers, evolutionary psychologists, anthropologists, historians and cognitive scientists. Does it make sense to talk of basic emotions, or of emotions grounded in biology? On the other hand, do emotions vary between societies or over time? Can these two competing ideas be reconciled? If so, how?
8 October
Philosophers on What a Theory of Emotions Should Do
Goldie, Peter. 2007. “Emotion.” Philosophy Compass 2 (6): 928–38. doi:10.1111/j.1747-9991.2007.00105.x.
Robinson, Jenefer M. 2004. “Emotion: Biological Fact or Social Construction.” In Thinking About Feeling: Contemporary Philosophers on Emotions, edited by Robert C. Solomon, 28–44. Oxford University Press.
Introduced by Christopher Clarke
15 October
Evolutionary Psychologists on the Function of Emotions
Cosmides, Leda, and John Tooby. “The Evolutionary Psychology of the Emotions.” In Handbook of Emotions. 3d ed. Edited by Michael Lewis, Jeannette Haviland-Jones, and Lisa Feldman Barrett, 114–137. New York: Guilford, 2008.
Ekman, Paul, and Daniel Cordaro. 2011. “What Is Meant by Calling Emotions Basic.” Emotion Review 3 (4): 364–70. doi:10.1177/1754073911410740.
Introduced by Tim Lewens
22 October
Neuroscientists and Developmental Psychologists on Basic Emotions
Izard, Carroll E. 2011. “Forms and Functions of Emotions: Matters of Emotion–Cognition Interactions.” Emotion Review 3 (4): 371–78. doi:10.1177/1754073911410737.
Levenson, Robert W. 2011. “Basic Emotion Questions.” Emotion Review 3 (4): 379–86. doi:10.1177/1754073911410743.
Panksepp, Jaak, and Douglas Watt. 2011. “What Is Basic about Basic Emotions? Lasting Lessons from Affective Neuroscience.” Emotion Review 3 (4): 387–96. doi:10.1177/1754073911410741.
Introduced by Adrian Boutel
29 October
How Do Emotions Vary Between Places and Societies?
Tsai, Jeanne L., James N. Butcher, Ricardo F. Muñoz, and Kelly Vitousek. 2002. “Culture, Ethnicity, and Psychopathology.” In Comprehensive Handbook of Psychopathology, edited by Patricia B. Sutker and Henry E. Adams, 105–27. Springer US.
- Excerpt of pages 114-124 only
Wong, Ying, and Jeanne Tsai. 2007. “Cultural Models of Shame and Guilt.” The Self-Conscious Emotions: Theory and Research, 209–23.
Introduced by Riana Betzler
5 November
How Do Emotions Vary Between Places and Societies? II
Haidt, Jonathan, Paul Rozin, Clark Mccauley, and Sumio Imada. 1997. “Body, Psyche, and Culture: The Relationship between Disgust and Morality.” Psychology & Developing Societies 9 (1): 107–31. doi:10.1177/097133369700900105.
Introduced by Paulina Sliwa
12 November
Historians on Emotions in the Past
Matt, Susan J. 2011. “Current Emotion Research in History: Or, Doing History from the Inside Out.” Emotion Review 3 (1): 117–24. doi:10.1177/1754073910384416.
Reddy, William M. 1997. “Against Constructionism: The Historical Ethnography of Emotions.” Current Anthropology 38 (3): 327–51. doi:10.1086/204622.
- We will discuss Reddy’s article only (pages 327-339) not the commentary (pages 339-351).
Introduced by Paul White
19 November
Anthropologists on How to Write about Emotions
Beatty, Andrew. 2010. “How Did It Feel for You? Emotion, Narrative, and the Limits of Ethnography.” American Anthropologist 112 (3): 430–43. doi:10.1111/j.1548-1433.2010.01250.x.
Beatty, Andrew. 2013. “Current Emotion Research in Anthropology: Reporting the Field.” Emotion Review 5 (4): 414–22. doi:10.1177/1754073913490045.
Introduced by Christina Toren
26 November
Are Emotions a natural kind? Have Philosophers Anything to Contribute?
Griffiths, Paul E. 2004. “Is Emotion a Natural Kind?” In Thinking About Feeling: Contemporary Philosophers on Emotions, edited by Robert C. Solomon, 233–50. Oxford University Press.
Griffiths, Paul E. 2013. “Current Emotion Research in Philosophy.” Emotion Review 5 (2): 215–22. doi:10.1177/1754073912468299.
Lent Term 2015
This term's reading group will focus on the philosophy of the biology of race.
Meetings take place on Tuesdays 1-2pm, in Seminar Room 1, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, Free School Lane, CB2 3RH.
20 January
Mills, C. 1988. ‘But What Are You Really? The Metaphysics of Race’, Blackness Visible, Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, pp. 41-66
Introduced by Tim Lewens
27 January
Glasgow, J. 2009. ‘Breaking Nature's Bones’, A Theory of Race, Oxford: Routledge, pp. 80-112.
Introduced by Chris Clarke
3 February
Pigliucci, M. and Kaplan, J. 2003. ‘On the Concept of Biological Race and Its Applicability to Humans’, Philosophy of Science, 70, pp. 1161-72.
Introduced by Adrian Boutel
10 February
Spencer, Q. 2014. ‘A Radical Solution to the Race Problem’, Philosophy of Science, 81, pp. 1025-38.
Introduced by Andrew Buskell
17 February
Appiah, A. 2006. ‘How to Decide if Races Exist’, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, 106, pp. 365-82.
Introduced by Ella Whiteley
24 February
Mallon, R. 2006. ‘“Race”: Normative Not Metaphysical or Semantic’, Ethics, 116, pp. 525-51.
Introduced by Marion Godman
3 March
Haslanger, S. 2005. ‘What Are We Talking About? The Semantics and Politics of Social Kinds’, Hypatia, 20, pp. 10-26.
Introduced by Riana Betzler
10 March
Gannett, L. 2010. ‘Questions Asked and Unasked: How by Worrying Less about the “Really Real” Philosophers of Science Might Better Contribute to Debates about Genetics and Race’, Synthese, 117, pp. 363-85.
Introduced by Dave Neale
Michaelmas Term 2014
This term, we will be reading selected chapters from Value-Free Science: Ideals and Illusions? (2007), edited by Harold Kincaid, John Dupre, and Alison Wylie (Oxford University Press).
Meetings take place on Tuesdays 1-2pm, in Seminar Room 1, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, Free School Lane, CB2 3RH.
14 October
Root, M. 'How Should Sociologists Study Social Problems?'
Introduced by Tim Lewens
21 October
Hankinson, L. and Wylie, A. 'Coming to Terms with the Value(s) of Science: Insights from Feminist Science Scholarship'
Introduced by Chris Clarke
28 October
Wray, B. 'Evaluating Scientists'
Introduced by Marion Godman
4 November
Sober, E. 'Evidence and Value Freedom'
and
Douglas, H. 'Rejecting the Ideal of Value Free Science'
Introduced by Riana Betzler
11 November
Alexandrova, A. 2014. 'Can the Science of Well-Being Be Objective?
Introduced by Steve John
18 November
Roush, S. 'Constructive Empiricism and the Role of Social Values in Science'
Introduced by Andrew Buskell
25 November
Doppelt, G. 'The Value Ladenness of Scientific Knowledge'
Introduced by Stijn Conix
2 December
Kincaid, H. 'Contextualist Morals and Science'
Introduced by Adrian Boutel
Easter Term 2014
This term's reading group will focus on the theme of sex and gender.
Meetings take place on Tuesdays 1-2pm, in Seminar Room 1, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, Free School Lane, CB2 3RH.
29 April
Lloyd, Elisabeth (1993) ‘Pre-Theoretical Assumptions in Evolutionary Explanations of Female Sexuality’, Philosophical Studies, 69, pp. 139-53
and
Longino, Helen (2012) ‘Defining Behavior’, Studying Human Behavior, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, Chapter 9, pp. 151-177.
Introduced by Tim Lewens
6 May
Pinker, Steven (2002) ‘Gender’, The Blank Slate, London: Penguin, excerpt pp. 346-51
and
Dupré, John (1986) ‘Sex, Gender and Essence’, Midwest Studies in Philosophy, 11, pp. 441-57.
Introduced by Riana Betzler
13 May
Jordan-Young, Rebecca M. (2010) ‘Taking Context Seriously’, Brain Storm: The Flaws in the Science of Sex Differences, Harvard University Press, Chapter 9, pp. 237-69.
Introduced by Andrew Buskell
20 May
Haslanger, Sally (2000) ‘Gender and Race: (What) Are They? (What) Do We Want Them To Be?’, Noûs, 34, pp. 31-55.
Introduced by Rae Langton
27 May
Wood, Wendy and Eagly, Alice (2002) ‘A Cross-Cultural Analysis of the Behavior of Women and Men: Implications for the Origins of Sex Differences’, Psychological Bulletin, 128, pp. 699-727.
Introduced by Tim Lewens
3 June
Thompson, Melissa Emery (2009) ‘Human Rape: Revising Evolutionary Perspectives’ in Martin N Muller and Richard W Wrangham (eds) Sexual Coercion in Primates and Humans: An Evolutionary Perspective on Male Aggression against Females, Harvard: Harvard University Press, Chapter 14, pp. 346-76.
Introduced by Marion Godman
10 June
Strathern, Marilyn (1988) ‘Anthropological Strategies’, The Gender of the Gift, Berkeley: University of California Press, Excerpt pp. 3-8.
and
Strathern, Marilyn (1988) ‘Groups: Sexual Antagonism in the New Guinea Highlands’, The Gender of the Gift, Berkeley: University of California Press, Chapter 3, pp. 43-65.
Introduced by Chris Clarke
17 June
Bach, Theodore (2012) ‘Gender Is a Natural Kind with a Historical Essence’, Ethics, 122, pp. 231-72.
Introduced by Adrian Boutel
Lent Term 2014
This term the reading group will focus on developmental systems theory and its critics. With the exception of week 5, we will be discussing various readings from Cycles of Contingency: Developmental Systems and Evolution, edited by Susan Oyama, Paul E. Griffiths, and Russell D. Gray.
Meetings take place on Tuesdays 1-2pm, in Seminar Room 1, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, Free School Lane, CB2 3RH.
21 January 2014
Lewontin, R. C., ‘Gene, Organism, and Environment: A New Introduction’ (pp. 55-7) and ‘Gene, Organism, and Environment’ (pp. 59-66).
Introduced by Tim Lewens
28 January 2014
Laland, K.N., Odling-Smee, F. J. and Feldman, M. W., ‘Niche Construction, Ecological Inheritance, and Cycles of Contingency in Evolution’ (pp. 117-26).
Introduced by Adriana Alexander
4 February 2014
Griffiths, P. E. and Gray, R. D., ‘Darwinism and Developmental Systems’ (pp. 195-218).
Introduced by Marion Godman
11 February 2014
Wimsatt, W. C., ‘Generative Entrenchment and the Developmental Approach to Evolutionary Processes’ (pp. 219-37).
Introduced by Andrew Buskell
18 February 2014
Thelen, E. and Smith, L. B. (2006) 'Dynamic Systems Theory', in W. Damon and R. M. Lerner (eds), Handbook of Child Psychology, Volume 1: Theoretical Models of Human Development, Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley, pp. 258-312.
Introduced by Riana Betzler
25 February 2014
Sterelny, K., ‘Niche Construction, Developmental Systems, and the Extended Replicator’ (pp. 333-49).
Introduced by Dave Neale
4 March 2014
Taylor, P., ‘Distributed Agency within Intersecting Ecological, Social, and Scientific Processes’ (pp. 313-32).
Introduced by Adrian Boutel
11 March 2014
Godfrey-Smith, P., ‘On the Status and Explanatory Structure of Developmental Systems Theory’ (pp. 283-97).
Introduced by Chris Clarke
Michaelmas Term 2013
Meetings take place on Tuesdays 1-2pm, in Seminar Room 1, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, Free School Lane, CB2 3RH.
15 October 2013
Defining Religion in Anthropology I
Eller, J. (2007) 'Studying religion anthropologically: Definitions and theories', in his Introducing the Anthropology of Religion, London: Routledge, pp. 1-28.
Introduced by Adrian Boutel
22 October 2013
Defining Religion in Anthropology II
Asad, T. (1982) Excerpt from 'The Construction of Religion as an anthropological category', Genealogies of Religion: Discipline and Reasons of Power in Christianity and Islam, Baltimore: John Hopkins, pp. 27-54
and
McCutcheon, R. T. (2012) 'More than a shapeless beast: Lumbering through the academy', from his Critics Not Caretakers: Redescribing the Public Study of Religion, Albany, New York: SUNY Press, Chapter 1.
Introduced by Tim Lewens
29 October 2013
Religious Symbols I: Structural Functionalism
Evans-Pritchard, E. E. (1956) Excerpt from 'The problem of symbols', in his Nuer Religion, Oxford: Clarendon Press.
and
Malinowski, B. (1954) Excerpt from 'Myth in primitive psychology', in his Magic Science and Other Essays, Doubleday Anchor, pp. 100-26.
Introduced by Christina Toren
5 November 2013
Religious Symbols II: Geertz and Hermeneutics
Hamilton, M. (2001) 'Religion and meaning' and 'Secularization', in his The Sociology of Religion, London: Routledge, pp. 177-214
Introduced by Matthew Drage
12 November 2013
Interpreting Religious Behaviour
Winch, P. (1964) 'Understanding a primitive society', American Philosophical Quarterly, 1, pp. 307-324
Introduced by Zina Ward
19 November 2013
Interpreting Irrational Behaviour
Risjord, M. (2000) Woodcutters and Witchcraft: Rationality and Interpretive Change in the Social Sciences, Albany, New York: SUNY Press, Chapter 6.
Introduced by Chris Clarke
26 November 2013
Cognitive Approaches to Religion I
Boyer, P. (2001) Excerpt from 'What are the origins?', in his Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins of Religion, Basic Books, pp. 1-51.
Introduced by Andrew Buskell
3 December 2013
Cognitive Approaches to Religion II
Lawson, E. T. and McCauley, R. N. (1990) 'Connecting the cognitive and the cultural' in their Rethinking Religion : Connecting Cognition and Culture, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 170-84.
Introduced by Riana Betzler
Easter Term 2013
Meetings take place on Wednesdays 11-12pm, in Seminar Room 1, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, Free School Lane, CB2 3RH.
1 May 2013
Hull, D. (1986) ‘On Human Nature’, PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association, pp. 3-13
(Also in Stephen M. Downes and Edouard Machery (2013) Arguing About Human Nature: Contemporary Debates, Oxford: Routledge.)
8 May 2013
Geertz, C. (1973) ‘The Impact of the Concept of Culture on the Concept of Man’, in his The Interpretation of Cultures: Selected Essays, New York: Basic Books.
15 May 2013
Machery, E. (2008) ‘A Plea for Human Nature’, Philosophical Psychology, 21, pp. 321-329
(Also in Stephen M. Downes and Edouard Machery (2013) Arguing About Human Nature: Contemporary Debates, Oxford: Routledge.)
22 May 2013
Ramsey, G. (2013) ‘Human Nature in a Post-Essentialist World’, in Stephen M. Downes and Edouard Machery (eds) Arguing About Human Nature: Contemporary Debates, Oxford: Routledge.
29 May 2013
Henrich, J., Heine, S. J. and Norenzayan, A. (2010) ‘The Weirdest People in the World’, Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 33, pp. 61-83.
(Also in Stephen M. Downes and Edouard Machery (2013) Arguing About Human Nature: Contemporary Debates, Oxford: Routledge.)
5 June 2013
Responses to ‘The Weirdest People in the World’ (2010), Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 33, pp. 84-135.
12 June 2013
No reading group this week
19 June 2013
Strathern, M. (1980) ‘No Nature, No Culture: The Hagen Case’, in C. P. MacCormack, M. Strathern (eds) Nature, Culture and Gender, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 174-222.
26 June 2013
Bloch, M. (2012) Anthropology and the Cognitive Challenge, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Chapter 4.
Lent Term 2013
Meetings take place on Fridays, 2-3pm, in Seminar Room 1, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, Free School Lane, CB2 3RH.
Please contact emh57@cam.ac.uk if you have any difficulty locating the reading material.
18 January 2013: Culture Naturalized?
Dan Sperber (1996) 'How To Be a True Materialist in Anthropology' in his Explaining Culture, pp. 9-31.
Introduced by Chris Clarke.
25 January 2013: Culture as an Organic Whole?
Bronislaw Malinowski (1922) 'Introduction' in his Argonauts of the Western Pacific, pp. 1-20
and
Mark Risjord (2007) Sections 1-3, 'Ethnography and Culture' in Stephen Turner and Mark Risjord (eds) Philosophy of Anthropology and Sociology, pp. 399-410.
Introduced by Tim Lewens.
1 February 2013: Actors' vs Analysts' Categories
Marvin Harris (1976) 'History and Significance of the Emic/Etic Distinction', Annual Review of Anthropology, 5, pp. 329-50
and
Mark Risjord (2007) Section 4, 'Ethnography and Culture' in Stephen Turner and Mark Risjord (eds) Philosophy of Anthropology and Sociology, pp. 410-3.
Introduced by Chris Clarke.
8 February 2013: Culture as a Text?
Clifford Geertz (1973) 'Thick Description', in his The Interpretation of Culture, pp. 1-32
and
Mark Risjord (2007) Section 5, 'Ethnography and Culture' in Stephen Turner and Mark Risjord (eds) Philosophy of Anthropology and Sociology, pp. 413-6.
Introduced by Riana Betzler.
15 February 2013: Contemporary Culture
Marilyn Strathern (1995) The Relation: Issues in Complexity and Scale.
Introduced by Adrian Boutel.
22 February 2013: Culture Naturalized or Relativized?
Alex Mesoudi (2011) 'A Cultural Species' in his Cultural Evolution: How Darwinian Theory Can Explain Human Culture, pp. 1-24
and
Mark Risjord (2007) Section 6, 'Ethnography and Culture' in Stephen Turner and Mark Risjord (eds) Philosophy of Anthropology and Sociology, pp. 416-21.
Introduced by Andrew Buskell.
1 March 2013: Culture Evolution Biology
Alex Mesoudi (2011) 'Evolutionary Ethnography: Cultural Evolution in the Field' in his Cultural Evolution: How Darwinian Theory Can Explain Human Culture, pp. 161-76
and
Franz Boas (1948) 'The Aims of Anthropological Research' in his Race, Language and Culture, pp. 243-259.
Introduced by Andrew Buskell.
8 March 2013: Culture and Theory
Patrick Baert (2006a) 'Social Theory and the Social Sciences' in G. Delanty (ed.) Handbook of Contemporary European Social Theory, pp. 14-24
and
Patrick Baert (2006a) 'The Relationship between Social Theory and Empirical Research', The International Journal of the Humanities, 3, pp. 265-76.
Introduced by Adrian Boutel.
Michaelmas Term 2012
This term we will be reading a series of articles drawn from the recent special issue of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B (2012: 367) entitled ‘New Thinking: The Evolution of Human Cognition’, edited by Cecilia Heyes and Uta Frith.
This new group is supported by Tim Lewens’s SCINAT ERC Grant. All are welcome, including those sceptical of the cultural evolutionary project. In addition to philosophers and historians of science we also hope to attract researchers from the biological sciences, psychology and all branches of archaeology and anthropology. The papers can all be accessed online from http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/367/1599.toc.
Cecilia Heyes: “New thinking: the evolution of human cognition”, Fridays 2-3pm, HPS Lodge
Peter Godfrey-Smith: “Darwinism and cultural change”, Friday 2-3pm, Seminar Room 1, HPS
Cecilia Heyes “Grist and mills: On the cultural origins of cultural learning”, Friday 1-2pm, Seminar Room 2, HPS
Kim Sterelny “Language, gesture, skill: The co-evolutionary foundations of language”, Friday 2-3pm, HPS Lodge
Daphna Buchsbaum, Sophie Bridgers, Deena Skolnick Weisberg, and Alison Gopnik “The power of possibility: Causal learning, counterfactual reasoning, and pretend play”, Friday 2-3pm, HPS Lodge
Nicholas Shea “New thinking, innateness, and inherited representation”, Friday 2-3pm, HPS Lodge
Chris D. Frith “The role of metacognition in human social interactions”, Friday 2-3pm, HPS Lodge
Nikolaus Robalino and Arthur Robson “The economic approach to ‘theory of mind’”, Friday 2-3pm, HPS Lodge