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DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE University of Houston NSF Science Ethics Series TITLE: Evolutionary Theory as Methodological FRIDAY, OCT 19, 2012 Anesthesia: Methodological and Philosophical Lessons 3:00 P.M. - 5:00 P.M. from Evolutionary Psychology 232 PGH Professor Richard N. Boyd Host: Dr. Ioannis Pavlidis According to mainstream ‘evolutionary psychology’ evolutionary theory makes an important methodological contribution to human social psychology. Consideration of plausible evolutionary scenarios regarding early human social behavior are said to provide a methodologically independent source of insights, identifying some psychological theories as those ‘predicted’ or otherwise especially supported by evolutionary theory. The methodological practices characteristic of ‘evolutionary psychology’ are such that the theories so identified are typically reductionist or nativist theories which minimize the role of social structures and of learning in explaining human social behaviors. In fact, the relevant sort of methodological independence guarantees that such scenarios do not favor reductionist or nativist theories over theories that emphasize the role of learning and of social structures (or vice versa). So, in practice, appeals to evolutionary theory function as a sort of methodological anesthesia, directing psychologists’ attention away from scientifically important alternatives to reductionist or nativist theories. About Professor Richard N. Boyd Richard Boyd is Susan Linn Sage Professor of Philosophy and Professor of Science and Technology Studies at Cornell University. He did his undergraduate work (mathematics) and graduate work (philosophy) at MIT. He has held teaching appointments at The University of Michigan, The University of California Berkeley, Harvard, MIT, The University of Canterbury (NZ), The University of Melbourne, and Claremont-McKenna College. He works on issues in philosophy of science, the philosophy of biology, the philosophy of mind, and metaethics. .

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Non-Cartesian Substance Dualism and Materialism Without Reductionism
Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers Volume 12 Issue 4 Article 5 10-1-1995 Non-Cartesian Substance Dualism and Materialism Without Reductionism Eleonore Stump Follow this and additional works at: https://place.asburyseminary.edu/faithandphilosophy Recommended Citation Stump, Eleonore (1995) "Non-Cartesian Substance Dualism and Materialism Without Reductionism," Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers: Vol. 12 : Iss. 4 , Article 5. DOI: 10.5840/faithphil199512430 Available at: https://place.asburyseminary.edu/faithandphilosophy/vol12/iss4/5 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at ePLACE: preserving, learning, and creative exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers by an authorized editor of ePLACE: preserving, learning, and creative exchange. NON-CARTESIAN SUBSTANCE DUALISM AND MATERIALISM WITHOUT REDUCTIONISM Eleonore Stump The major Western monotheisms, and Christianity in particular, are often supposed to be committed to a substance dualism of a Cartesian sort. Aquinas, however, has an account of the soul which is non-Cartesian in character. He takes the soul to be something essentially immaterial or configurational but nonetheless realized in material components. In this paper, I argue that Aquinas's account is coherent and philosophically interesting; in my view, it suggests not only that Cartesian dualism isn't essential to Christianity but also that the battle lines between dualism and materialism are misdrawn. Introduction Many philosophers suppose that the major monotheisms, and Christianity in particular, are committed to substance dualism of a Cartesian sort. Descartes explained his dualism in this way: "my essence consists solely in the fact that I am a thinking thing.
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1. in Formulating My Approach to Natural Kinds, I Have Benefited
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1 Department of Philosophy University of New Hampshire Hamilton Smith
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Animals, Brains, and Spirits
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