DOCSLIB.ORG

Richard Dawkins a Devil's Chaplain (2003)

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Richard Dawkins a Devil's Chaplain (2003) Author of Unweaving the Rainbow and The Ancestor's Tale R I CHARD DAWKI N S A DEVIL'S CHAPLAIN FLECTIONS ON HOPE, LIES, S C I E N cfNt4J D L 0 V E - NEW YORK TIMES BOOK^fcEVIEW A superb writer . Dawkins unashamedly and gloriously delights in science." - NEW REPUBLIC MARINER BOOKS Praise for Richard Dawkins and A DEVIL'S CHAPLAIN "One of the best-known scientists and writers of our time .. Daw- kins unashamedly and gloriously delights in science. If anything is sacred to him it is the truth and the patient road to it... He is a superb writer, and a great advocate for sanity, and an endlessly informative resource." — New Republic "Dawkins ... is a man of firm opinions, which he expresses with clarity and punch." — Scientific American "Outstandingly good . What unifies the essays is also what ani­ mates them: a spirit of educated clarity, of intellectual probity, of truth and courage ... He is a joy to read, not only for the beauty of his prose but for the elegance and power of his arguments." — Literary Review "Science as a source of joy shines through these pages . The lucid- ness of his vision is extraordinary." — Time Out "This collection of essays penned by one of the world's preeminent evolutionary biologists plumbs the author's commitment to scien­ tific truth pursued through solid evidence and reason." — Science News "Dawkins's enthusiasm for the diversity of life on this planet should prove contagious." —Publishers Weekly "A pleasure-inducing voyage into scientific principles . brilliantly presented and celebrated." —Kirkus Reviews "A fierce advocate of empirical science over superstition . Even at his most uncompromising, he evokes a sincere sense of wonder at the physical world." — Library Journal, selected as a Best Sci-Tech Book of the Year T Books by Richard Dawkins The Selfish Gene The Extended Phenotype The Blind Watchmaker River Out of Eden Climbing Mount Improbable Unweaving the Rainbow A Devil's Chaplain The Ancestor's Tale A DEVIL'S CHAPLAIN REFLECTIONS ON HOPE, LIES, SCIENCE, AND LOVE Richard Dawkins A Mariner Book Houghton Mifflin Company Boston - New York First Mariner Books edition 2004 Copyright © 2003 by Richard Dawkins All rights reserved For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10003. Visit our Web site: www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Dawkins, Richard, 1941- A devil's chaplain : reflections on hope, lies, science, and love / Richard Dawkins. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-618-33540-4 ISBN 0-618-48539-2 (pbk.) 1. Evolution (Biology) 2. Science—Philosophy. 3. Religion and science. I. Title. QH366.2.D373 2003 500 — dc21 2003050859 Printed in the United States of America QUM 10 98765432 The author is grateful for permission to reprint the following: "What Is True?": published as "Hall of Mirrors" in Forbes ASAP, October 2, 2000. Reprinted by permission of Forbes ASAP, © 2003 Forbes Inc. • "Crystalline Truth and Crystal Balls": published in the Sunday Telegraph. Copyright © Richard Dawkins / Telegraph Group Ltd. 1998. • "Postmodernism Disrobed": reprinted by permission from Nature 394, pp. 141-3 (1998). Copyright © 1998 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. • "Darwin Triumphant": from Man and Beast Revisited, edited by Michael H. Robinson and Lionel Tiger, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. Copyright © 1991 by Smithsonian Institution. Used by permission of the publisher. • "The Information Challenge": originally published in December 1998 in the official journal of Australian skeptics, The Skeptic, vol. 18, no. 4. Reprinted by permission. • "Son of Moore's Law": from The Next Fifty Years, edited by J. Brockman, Vintage Books, Random House, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Vintage Books. • "Chinese Junk and Chinese Whispers": published as the foreword to The Meme Machine by Susan Blackmore, Oxford University Press, 1999. Reprinted by permission of Oxford University Press. • "Viruses of the Mind": published in Dennett and His Critics: Demystifying Mind, edited by B. Dahlbom, Blackwell, 1993. Reprinted by permission of Blackwell Publishing. • "The Great Convergence": published as "Snake Oil and Holy Water" in Forbes ASAP, October 4, 1999. Reprinted by permission of Forbes ASAP, © 2003 Forbes Inc. • "Rejoicing in Multifarious Nature": reprinted by permission from Nature 276, pp. 121-3 (1978). Copyright © 1978 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. • "Human Chauvinism": reprinted by permission from Evolution 51, no. 3, pp. 1015-20 (1997). • "The Lion Children": published as the foreword to The Lion Children, by Angus, Maisie, and Travers McNeice, Orion Publishing Group, 2001. Reprinted by permission of the Orion Publishing Group Ltd. CONTENTS Introduction to the American Edition 1 1 Science and Sensibility 5 1.1 A Devil's Chaplain 8 1.2 What is True? 14 1.3 Gaps in the Mind 20 1.4 Science, Genetics and Ethics: Memo for Tony Blair 27 1.5 Trial By Jury 38 1.6 Crystalline Truth and Crystal Balls 42 1.7 Postmodernism Disrobed 47 1.8 The Joy of Living Dangerously: Sanderson of Oundle 54 2 Light Will Be Thrown 61 2.1 Light Will Be Thrown 63 2.2 Darwin Triumphant 78 2.3 The 'Information Challenge' 91 2.4 Genes Aren't Us 104 2.5 Son of Moore's Law 107 3 The Infected Mind 117 3.1 Chinese Junk and Chinese Whispers 119 3.2 Viruses of the Mind 128 3.3 The Great Convergence 146 3.4 Dolly and the Cloth Heads 152 3.5 Time to Stand Up 156 4 They Told Me, Heraclitus 163 4.1 Lament for Douglas 165 4.2 Eulogy for Douglas Adams 168 4.3 Eulogy for W. D. Hamilton 171 4.4 Snake Oil 179 5 Even the Ranks of Tuscany 187 5.1 Rejoicing in Multifarious Nature 190 5.2 The Art of the Developable 194 5.3 Hallucigenia, Wiwaxia and Friends 203 5.4 Human Chauvinism and Evolutionary Progress 206 5.5 Unfinished Correspondence with a Darwinian Heavyweight 218 6 There is All Africa and her Prodigies in Us 223 6.1 Ecology of Genes 225 6.2 Out of the Soul of Africa 228 6.3 I Speak of Africa and Golden Joys 231 6.4 Heroes and Ancestors 234 7 A Prayer for My Daughter 241 7.1 Good and Bad Reasons for Believing 242 Endnotes 249 Index 256 vi For Juliet on her Eighteenth Birthday I INTRODUCTION TO THE AMERICAN EDITION This book is a personal selection from among all the articles and lec­ tures, tirades and reflections, book reviews and forewords, tributes and eulogies that I have published (or in some cases not published) over 25 years. There are many themes here, some arising out of Darwinism or science in general, some concerned with morality, some with religion, education, justice, mourning, Africa, history of science, some just plain personal - or what the late Carl Sagan might have called love letters to science and rationality. Though I admit to occasional flames of (entirely justified) irritation in my writing, I like to think that the greater part of it is good-humoured, perhaps even humorous. Where there is passion, well, there is much to be passionate about. Where there is anger, I hope it is a controlled anger. Where there is sadness, I hope it never spills over into despair but still looks to the future. But mostly science is, for me, a source of living joy, and I hope it shows in these pages. The book is divided into seven sections, chosen and arranged by the compiler Latha Menon in close collaboration with me. With all the polymathic, literate intelligence you would expect of the executive editor of Encarta Encyclopedia's World English Edition, Latha has proved to be an inspired anthologist. I have written preambles to each of the seven sections, in which I have reflected on the pieces Latha thought worthy of reprinting and the connections among them. Hers was the difficult task, and I am filled with admiration for her simultaneous grasp of vastly more of my writings than are here reproduced, and for the skill with which she achieved a subtler balance of them than I thought they possessed. But as for what she had to choose from, the responsibility is, of course, mine. It is not possible to list all the people who helped with the individual pieces, spread as they are over 25 years. Help with the book itself came from Yan Wong, Christine DeBlase-Ballstadt, Michael Dover, Laura van l Dam, Catherine Bradley, Anthony Cheetham and, of course, Latha Menon herself. My gratitude to Charles Simonyi - so much more than a benefactor - is unabated. And my wife, Lalla Ward, continues to lend her encouragement, her advice and her fine-tuned ear for the music of language. Richard Dawkins A DEVIL'S CHAPLAIN •ill jstii SCIENCE AND SENSIBILITY The first essay in this volume, A Devil's Chaplain (1.1), has not previously been published. The title, borrowed by the book, is explained in the essay itself. The second essay, What is True? (1.2), was my contribution to a symposium of that name, in Forbes ASAP magazine. Scientists tend to take a robust view of truth and are impatient of philosophical equivocation over its reality or importance. It's hard enough coaxing nature to give up her truths, without spectators and hangers-on strewing gratuitous obstacles in our way. My essay argues that we should at least be consistent. Truths about everyday life are just as much - or as little - open to philosophical doubt as scientific truths. Let us shun double standards. At times I fear turning into a double standards bore. It started in child­ hood when my first hero, Doctor Dolittle (he returned irresistibly to mind when I read the Naturalist's Voyage of my adult hero, Charles Darwin), raised my consciousness, to borrow a useful piece of feminist jargon, about our treatment of animals.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Married Too Young? the Behavioral Ecology of 'Child Marriage'
    social sciences $€ £ ¥ Review Married Too Young? The Behavioral Ecology of ‘Child Marriage’ Susan B. Schaffnit 1,* and David W. Lawson 2 1 Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16801, USA 2 Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Abstract: For girls and women, marriage under 18 years is commonplace in many low-income nations today and was culturally widespread historically. Global health campaigns refer to marriage below this threshold as ‘child marriage’ and increasingly aim for its universal eradication, citing its apparent negative wellbeing consequences. Here, we outline and evaluate four alternative hypotheses for the persistence of early marriage, despite its associations with poor wellbeing, arising from the theoretical framework of human behavioral ecology. First, early marriage may be adaptive (e.g., it maximizes reproductive success), even if detrimental to wellbeing, when life expectancy is short. Second, parent– offspring conflict may explain early marriage, with parents profiting economically at the expense of their daughter’s best interests. Third, early marriage may be explained by intergenerational conflict, whereby girls marry young to emancipate themselves from continued labor within natal households. Finally, both daughters and parents from relatively disadvantaged backgrounds favor early marriage as a ‘best of a bad job strategy’ when it represents the best option given a lack of feasible alternatives. The explanatory power of each hypothesis is context-dependent, highlighting the complex drivers of life history transitions and reinforcing the need for context-specific policies Citation: Schaffnit, Susan B., and addressing the vulnerabilities of adolescence worldwide.
    [Show full text]
  • Virus of the Mind
    OF THE Also by Richard Brodie Getting Past OK: A Straightforward Guide to Having a Fantastic Life ttt Hay House Titles of Related Interest YOU CAN HEAL YOUR LIFE, the movie, starring Louise L. Hay & Friends (available as a 1-DVD program and an expanded 2-DVD set) Watch the trailer at: www.LouiseHayMovie.com THE SHIFT: the movie, starring Wayne W. Dyer (available as a 1-DVD program and an expanded 2-DVD set) Watch the trailer at: www.DyerMovie.com ttt ASK & IT IS GIVEN: Learning to Manifest the Law of Attraction, by Esther & Jerry Hicks THE BIOLOGY OF BELIEF: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter & Miracles, by Bruce H. Lipton, PhD DESTINY vs. FREE WILL: Why Things Happen the Way They Do, by David R. Hamilton, PhD FRACTAL TIME: The Secret of 2012 and a New World Age, by Gregg Braden POWER vs. FORCE: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior, by David R. Hawkins, MD, PhD STOP THE EXCUSES! How to Change Lifelong Self-Defeating Thinking Habits, by Dr Wayne W. Dyer Please visit Hay House UK: www.hayhouse.co.uk Hay House USA: www.hayhouse.com® Hay House Australia: www.hayhouse.com.au Hay House South Africa: www.hayhouse.co.za Hay House India: www.hayhouse.co.in OF THE The New Science of the Meme Richard Brodie Published and distributed in the United Kingdom by: Hay House UK Ltd, 292B Kensal Rd, London W10 5BE. Tel.: (44) 20 8962 1230; Fax: (44) 20 8962 1239. www.hayhouse.co.uk Published and distributed in the United States of America by: Hay House, Inc., PO Box 5100, Carlsbad, CA 92018-5100.
    [Show full text]
  • Dawkins, 1991. Viruses of the Mind
    “Viruses of the Mind” Richard Dawkins 1991 The haven all memes depend on reaching is the human mind, but a human mind is itself an artifact created when memes restructure a human brain in order to make it a better habitat for memes. The avenues for entry and departure are modified to suit local conditions, and strengthened by various artificial devices that enhance fidelity and prolixity of replication: native Chinese minds differ dramatically from native French minds, and literate minds differ from illiterate minds. What memes provide in return to the organisms in which they reside is an incalculable store of advantages—with some Trojan horses thrown in for good measure. –Daniel Dennett, Consciousness Explained 1 Duplication Fodder A beautiful child close to me, six and the apple of her father’s eye, believes that Thomas the Tank Engine really exists. She believes in Father Christmas, and when she grows up her ambition is to be a tooth fairy. She and her school-friends believe the solemn word of respected adults that tooth fairies and Father Christmas really exist. This little girl is of an age to believe whatever you tell her. If you tell her about witches changing princes into frogs she will believe you. If you tell her that bad children roast forever in hell she will have nightmares. I have just discovered that without her father’s consent this sweet, trusting, gullible six-year-old is being sent, for weekly instruction, to a Roman Catholic nun. What chance has she? A human child is shaped by evolution to soak up the culture of her people.
    [Show full text]
  • Redalyc.Defining and Characterizing the Concept of Internet Meme
    CES Psicología E-ISSN: 2011-3080 [email protected] Universidad CES Colombia Castaño Díaz, Carlos Mauricio Defining and characterizing the concept of Internet Meme CES Psicología, vol. 6, núm. 2, julio-diciembre, 2013, pp. 82-104 Universidad CES Medellín, Colombia Available in: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=423539422007 How to cite Complete issue Scientific Information System More information about this article Network of Scientific Journals from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal Journal's homepage in redalyc.org Non-profit academic project, developed under the open access initiative Revista CES Psicología ISSN 2011-3080 Volumen 6 Número 1 Enero-Junio 2013 pp. 82-104 Artículo de investigación Defining and characterizing the concept of Internet Meme Definición y caracterización del concepto de Meme de Internet Carlos Mauricio Castaño Díaz1 University of Copenhagen, Dinamarca. Forma de citar: Castaño, D., C.M. (2013). Defining and characterizing the concept of Internet Meme. Revista CES Psicología, 6(2),82-104.. Abstract The research aims to create a formal definition of “Internet Meme” (IM) that can be used to characterize and study IMs in academic contexts such as social, communication sciences and humanities. Different perspectives of the term meme were critically analysed and contrasted, creating a contemporary concept that synthesizes different meme theorists’ visions about the term. Two different kinds of meme were found in the contemporary definitions, the meme-gene, and the meme- virus. The meme-virus definition and characteristics were merged with definitions of IM taken from the Internet in the light of communication theories, in order to develop a formal characterization of the concept.
    [Show full text]
  • Bovine Benefactories: an Examination of the Role of Religion in Cow Sanctuaries Across the United States
    BOVINE BENEFACTORIES: AN EXAMINATION OF THE ROLE OF RELIGION IN COW SANCTUARIES ACROSS THE UNITED STATES _______________________________________________________________ A Dissertation Submitted to the Temple University Graduate Board _______________________________________________________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ________________________________________________________________ by Thomas Hellmuth Berendt August, 2018 Examing Committee Members: Sydney White, Advisory Chair, TU Department of Religion Terry Rey, TU Department of Religion Laura Levitt, TU Department of Religion Tom Waidzunas, External Member, TU Deparment of Sociology ABSTRACT This study examines the growing phenomenon to protect the bovine in the United States and will question to what extent religion plays a role in the formation of bovine sanctuaries. My research has unearthed that there are approximately 454 animal sanctuaries in the United States, of which 146 are dedicated to farm animals. However, of this 166 only 4 are dedicated to pigs, while 17 are specifically dedicated to the bovine. Furthermore, another 50, though not specifically dedicated to cows, do use the cow as the main symbol for their logo. Therefore the bovine is seemingly more represented and protected than any other farm animal in sanctuaries across the United States. The question is why the bovine, and how much has religion played a role in elevating this particular animal above all others. Furthermore, what constitutes a sanctuary? Does
    [Show full text]
  • Integrative Anthropology and the Human Niche: Toward a Contemporary Approach to Human Evolution
    AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST Integrative Anthropology and the Human Niche: Toward a Contemporary Approach to Human Evolution Agustın´ Fuentes ABSTRACT A niche is the structural, temporal, and social context in which a species exists. Over the last two million years, the human lineage underwent clear morphological changes alongside less easily measurable, but significant, behavioral and cognitive shifts as it forged, and was shaped by, new niches. During this time period, core human patterns emerged, including the following: hypercooperation; lengthy childhood and complex parenting; intricate and diverse foraging and hunting patterns; novel and dynamic material and symbolic cultures; and complex communication and information sharing, eventually resulting in language. Approaches to human evolution grounded in paleoanthropology and archaeology offer fundamental insights into our past, and traditional evolutionary the- ory offers a strong grounding for explaining them. However, given the centrality of distinctive physiological, social, semiotic, and cognitive processes in human evolutionary histories, a broader anthropological approach can facilitate additional understanding of the human story. An integrative anthropology, reaching across subfields and foci, com- bined with contemporary evolutionary theory is an approach that can enhance our abilities to model and understand human evolution. [integrative anthropology, niche construction, evolution, extended evolutionary synthesis, Homo, semiosis, Pleistocene] RESUMEN Un nicho es el contexto estructural,
    [Show full text]
  • Canoes and Cultural Evolution
    COMMENTARY Canoes and cultural evolution Stephen Shennan* Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London WC1H 0PY, United Kingdom ver the last 30 years, the idea the way in which cultural entities and cultural traits that characterize agricul- that the processes producing processes closely match Darwin’s origi- ture spread and, in some cases, subse- cultural stability and change nal formulation of the theory of evolu- quently influenced genetic evolution are analogous in important tion has recently been shown in detail [e.g., the ability to digest lactose (6)]. Orespects to those of biological evolution by Mesoudi et al. (5)]. In the most gen- An analogous process of cultural selec- has become increasingly popular. Bio- eral terms, parallel mechanisms for in- tion can also operate if individuals with logical evolution is characterized by heritance, mutation, selection, and drift certain cultural traits are more likely to changing frequencies of genes in popula- act on culture as they do on genes. be taken as models for imitation than tions through time as a result of such In the case of culture, the inheritance others, by virtue of those traits, and processes as natural selection; likewise, mechanism is social learning: People these individuals in turn become suc- cultural evolution refers to the changing learn ways to think and act from others. cessful models as a result. The traits distributions of cultural attributes in Of course, the routes through which cul- concerned will become more prevalent populations, which are affected by pro- ture is inherited are much more diverse even if they have no bearing on repro- cesses such as natural selection but also than those for genes (1), and different ductive success whatsoever and, indeed, by others that have no analogue in ge- routes have different consequences for even if they are deleterious to it, be- netic evolution.
    [Show full text]
  • The Histories and Origins of Memetics
    Betwixt the Popular and Academic: The Histories and Origins of Memetics Brent K. Jesiek Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Science in Science and Technology Studies Gary L. Downey (Chair) Megan Boler Barbara Reeves May 20, 2003 Blacksburg, Virginia Keywords: discipline formation, history, meme, memetics, origin stories, popularization Copyright 2003, Brent K. Jesiek Betwixt the Popular and Academic: The Histories and Origins of Memetics Brent K. Jesiek Abstract In this thesis I develop a contemporary history of memetics, or the field dedicated to the study of memes. Those working in the realm of meme theory have been generally concerned with developing either evolutionary or epidemiological approaches to the study of human culture, with memes viewed as discrete units of cultural transmission. At the center of my account is the argument that memetics has been characterized by an atypical pattern of growth, with the meme concept only moving toward greater academic legitimacy after significant development and diffusion in the popular realm. As revealed by my analysis, the history of memetics upends conventional understandings of discipline formation and the popularization of scientific ideas, making it a novel and informative case study in the realm of science and technology studies. Furthermore, this project underscores how the development of fields and disciplines is thoroughly intertwined with a larger social, cultural, and historical milieu. Acknowledgments I would like to take this opportunity to thank my family, friends, and colleagues for their invaluable encouragement and assistance as I worked on this project.
    [Show full text]
  • Evolution of Wisdom: Major and Minor Keys
    EVOLUTION OF WISDOM: MAJOR AND MINOR KEYS AGUSTÍN FUENTES AND CELIA DEANE-DRUMMOND Center for Theology, Science, and Human Flourishing University of Notre Dame Evolution of Wisdom: Major and Minor Keys by Center for Theology, Science, and Human Flourishing is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. Copyright © 2018 Center for Theology, Science, and Human Flourishing, University of Notre Dame CONTENTS Contents v Acknowledgements vii List of Contributors viii Introduction: Transdisciplinarity, Evolution, and Engaging Wisdom 1 Agustín Fuentes and Celia Deane-Drummond PART I. INTERDISCIPLINARY WISDOM 1. Independent Reason, Faith, and a Distinctively Human Wisdom 7 Angela Carpenter 2. Re-Engaging Theology and Evolutionary Biology: The Nature of True Wisdom 15 Nicola Hoggard Creegan 3. Human Origins and the Emergence of a Distinctively Human Imagination 25 J. Wentzel van Huyssteen PART II. EVOLUTIONARY NARRATIVES 4. Technological Intelligence or Social Wisdom? Promiscuous Sociality, Things, 41 and Networks in Human Evolution Fiona Coward 5. The Palaeolithic Archaeological Record and the Materiality of Imagination: A 57 Response to J. Wentzel van Huyssteen Jennifer French 6. How did Hominins become Human? 64 Marc Kissel PART III. WISDOM AND THE MIND 7. De-Centering Humans within Cognitive Systems 83 Marcus Baynes-Rock 8. Practical Wisdom: Good Reasoning or Good Action? 89 Craig IfGand 9. Concepts of Reason and Wisdom 96 Maureen Junker-Kenny 10. Wisdom and Freedom as Reason - Sensitive Action Control 104 Aku Visala PART IV. WISDOM IN THE MINOR KEY 11. Evolution in the Minor Key 115 Tim Ingold 12. A Response to Tim Ingold: Evolution in the Minor Key 124 Karen Kilby 13.
    [Show full text]
  • Doctoraat FINAAL .Pdf
    Here be dragons Here Exploring the hinterland of science Maarten Boudry Here be dragons Exploring the hinterland of science Maarten Boudry ISBN978-90-7083-018-2 Proefschrift voorgedragen tot het bekomen van de graad van Doctor in de Wijsbegeerte Promotor: Prof. dr. Johan Braeckman Supervisor Prof. dr. Johan Braeckman Wijsbegeerte en moraalwetenschap Dean Prof. dr. Freddy Mortier Rector Prof. dr. Paul Van Cauwenberghe Nederlandse vertaling: Hic sunt dracones. Een filosofische verkenning van pseudowetenschap en randwetenschap Cover: The image on the front cover is an excerpt of a map by the Flemish cartographer Abraham Ortelius, originally published in Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (1570). ISBN: 978-90-7083-018-2 The author and the promoter give the authorisation to consult and to copy parts of this work for personal use only. Every other use is subject to the copyright laws. Permission to reproduce any material contained in this work should be obtained from the author. Faculty of Arts & Humanities Maarten Boudry Here be Dragons Exploring the Hinterland of Science Proefschrift voorgedragen tot het bekomen van de graad van Doctor in de Wijsbegeerte 2011 Acknowledgements This dissertation could not have been written without the invaluable help of a number of people (a philosopher cannot help but thinking of them as a set of individually necessary and jointly sufficient conditions). Different parts of this work have greatly benefited from stimulating discussions with many colleagues and friends, among whom Barbara Forrest, John Teehan, Herman Philipse, Helen De Cruz, Taner Edis, Nicholas Humphrey, Geerdt Magiels, Bart Klink, Glenn Branch, Larry Moran, Jerry Coyne, Michael Ruse, Steve Zara, Amber Griffioen, Johan De Smedt, Lien Van Speybroeck, and Evan Fales.
    [Show full text]
  • Meme (French Mème, German Mem), a Term Coined by Richard Dawkins
    This is my (slightly revised) English translation of my article “Mem”, which appeared in: J. Mittelstraß (ed.), Enzyklopädie Philosophie und Wissenschaftstheorie, 2nd edn, vol. 5, Stuttgart/Weimar 2013, pp. 318–24. C.v.B. Meme (French mème, German Mem), a term coined by Richard Dawkins in analogy to “gene”, intended to desig- nate pieces of culture (‘units of cultural transmission’ or ‘units of imitation’; Dawkins 1976, p. 206) which are subject to a Darwinian process of evolution. 2 In The Selfish Gene (1976, 1989), Dawkins tries among Dawkins: Generalized theory of evolution other things to give a general characterization of the phe- nomenon of evolution by natural selection. This charac- terization is intended to be general in the sense that it is independent of particular ‘substrates’ like, say, organic molecules or (populations of) organisms. What is essential for the evolution of complex struc- Replicators tures by natural selection, according to Dawkins, is the existence of ‘replicators’, i.e., objects which (in a suitable environment) generate copies of themselves. Replicators which are better able to multiply than others consequently spread more strongly than these do. In view of the result- ing exponential growth (and the more so as the available resources of space, energy, materials etc. will ordinarily be limited) better replicators will, in the course of not too many copying-‘generations’, drive worse ones to numerical marginality or even obliteration. If such displacement of old variants by superior new ones takes place again and again over a protracted period of time, eventually replica- tors with extremely sophisticated mechanisms of action will hold the stage.
    [Show full text]
  • Paleodemographic Modeling in the Lower Mississippi River Valley
    PALEODEMOGRAPHIC MODELING IN THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY A Dissertation presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School at the University of Missouri In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy BY JEFFREY S. ALVEY Michael O’Brien & Karthik Panchanathan, Co-Dissertation Supervisors JULY 2019 The undersigned, appointed by the dean of the Graduate School, have examined the dissertation entitled PALEODEMOGRAPHIC MODELING IN THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY presented by Jeffrey S. Alvey, a candidate for the degree of doctor of philosophy, and hereby certify that, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance. Michael J. O’Brien (co-chair) Karthik Panchanathan (co-chair) R. Lee Lyman Michael D. Glascock DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to Dr. Janet Rafferty for teaching me the meaning of dedication and for helping me to always see the bigger picture. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation represents the conclusion of my 14-year academic career. Countless individuals have contributed to this journey and I thank them all. My formative undergraduate years at Mississippi State University were spent under the mentorship of a number of dedicated professors including Janet Rafferty, Evan Peacock, Homes Hogue, Jimmy Hardin, Joe Seger, and Paul Jacobs. All of these individuals played critically important roles in my development as an archaeologist. During my time at the University of Missouri I had the great luck to study with a group of individuals whose work I had long admired. I thank my dissertation committee, Michael O’Brien, Karthik Panchanathan, Lee Lyman, and Michael Glascock, for their encouragement and guidance in navigating this long and stressful process.
    [Show full text]