By: Ronald F. White, Ph.D.

1
Evolutionary Philosophy

• By Ronald F. White, Ph.D.
• Professor of Philosophy
• College of Mount St. Joseph

2
Historical

• Adam Smith
• Thomas Malthus
• Charles Lyell
• Lamarck
• Charles Darwin
• Voyage of the Beagle
• The Origin of Species
• The Descent of Man
• Herbert Spencer

3
Darwinian Evolution

• Variation
• A mechanism for generating variable progeny
• Natural Selection
• Competition for survival of between progeny and
  other competitors within an environment

4
Cosmological Evolution

• Evolution of the Universe
• Principles
• Simple to Complex
• Microcosm to Macrocosm
• Nonliving to Living
• Unconscious to Conscious
• Cosmological Evolution
• Biological Evolution
• Cultural Evolution

5
Origin of the Universe

• Creation Myths
• The Big Bang Theory
• 10-20 billion years ago
• Movement of galaxies
• Background radiation
• The Earth
• Origin of Homo Sapiens

6
Origin of Life

• Primordial Soupsimple sea compounds, water
  vapor, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane,
  ammonia, and a source of energy (lightning or
  sunlight)
• Atoms and Molecules to Replicators (RNA then DNA)
• Nucleotides (adenine, cystocine, guanine, uracil)
  have been made in laboratories out of primordia
  soup.
• Survival Machines-survival of the complex
• More or less stable, more or less copies, more or
  less accurate copies.
• Exchange of energy and information.

7
Human Evolution

• Old World Monkeys
• Great Apes
• Chimpanzees
• Bonobos
• Gorillas
• Orangutans
• Hominids
• Homo Sapiens (200 thousand years to present)
• Neanderthal (220-30 thousand years ago)
• Homo Sapiens Archaic (400 to 200 thousand years
  ago)
• Homo Erectus (2 million to .4 million years ago)
• Homo Habilis (2.2 to 1.6 million years ago)
• Others

8
Game Theory

• Evolutionarily Stable Strategies
• Altruism
• Cheats
• Suckers
• Grudgers
• Violence
• Hawks
• Doves
• Bullies
• Retaliators
• Prober Retaliators

9
Universal Evolution

• Cosmological Evolution
• Biological Evolution
• Cultural Evolution
• Systems Theory (matter or information)
• Micro and Macro Systems
• Open Systems-Closed Systems
• Evolutionary, devolutionary, stable systems

10
Cultural Evolution

• Nature (genes) v. Nurture (social learning)
• Trial and Error, Creative Destruction
• Biological Environment
• Genes
• Individuals
• Species
• ecosystems
• Social Environment
• Ideas
• Beliefs of Individuals
• Cultural Beliefs

11
Philosophical Issues

• Unit of Selection
• Group selection
• Individual selection
• Genetic selection
• Evolutionary Direction
• Rate
• Gradual (Darwinism)
• Revolutionary (Punctuated Equilibrium)
• Progress, Complexity
• Stability
• Devolution
• Chance
• Ontological Status of Species
• Ontology of Origin