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“I could not have believed how wide was the difference between savage and civilized man: it is greater than between a wild and domesticated animal, inasmuch as in man there is a greater power of improvement.” —Darwin, Voyage of the Beagle, 1839 “Darwin’s work is most important and suits my purpose in that it provides a basis in natural science for the historical class struggle.” —Marx, 16 January 1861 “But the essence of man is no abstraction inherent in each single individual. In reality, it is the ensemble of the social relations.” —Marx (Thesis on Feuerbach, 1845) Darwin . . . and the Humanities? Charles Darwin, age 6 John Edmonstone and Charles Darwin, age 17 Darwin’s rice recipe, written into—and published within—his wife’s cookbook The science “genius” e.g., Richard Feynman, physicist, bongo hobbyist 5 x 12 = . . . hrmmm. Can’t figure it. How’s about boilin’ some rice? Darwin’s dad, the fat cat Captain FitzRoy, gentleman John Henslow, friend of Darwin’s at Cambridge, professor of Botany and Anglican Priest, gentleman Catastrophism: the belief that existing natural forms— the size and shape of hills, bodies of water, rock formations, and so forth—were caused by a series of sudden, violent global events that forever changed the face of the earth (Lewens 19) Catastrophism: the belief that existing natural forms—the size and shape of hills, bodies of water, rock formations, and so forth—were caused by a series of sudden, violent global events that forever changed the face of the earth (Lewens 19). E.g., Noah’s Flood (R. Crumb) Transmutation, or Transformisme, in French, was Jean-Baptiste Lamarck’s pre-Darwinian term for the change of one species into another in response to changing environmental conditions. Transmutation: Lamarck’s pre-Darwinian term for the change of one species into another in response to changing environmental conditions. ? Lamarck’s theory of Giraffe’s willing their necks to extend. Through willful self-exertion, a giraffe’s neck could extend and this growth could then be passed on to the giraffe’s children. Evolutionary mechanism: use or disuse of biological form. Illustrations from Darwin’s Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals Uniformitarionism (gradualism): geological theory introduced by Charles Lyell; it posits that a set number of universal laws govern the formation of natural phenomena, laws that, once discovered, can explain any natural phenomena at any given time, not just on earth but anywhere in the known universe. Himalayan Mountain Range, Nepal 70 Millions Years In 2 Minutes Christ . . . and dinosaurs? Natural selection: occurs when random variations in biological morphology—the structure of protein cells that form every aspect of our bodies and minds—give an organism a fitness advantage (the ability to produce more offspring) relative to other organisms in a population. Galápagos Finches Galápagos Finches How could the island ecologies be the same but the finches different? Finch from island 1 Islands’ ecosystems more or less identical yet different finches were on each island. Finch from island 16 Natural selection (contrasted with artificial selection): when an advantageous change in an organism, caused randomly, increases its reproduction and the genetic difference passes on to future generations. Organism changing in ways to further exploit preexisting environmental conditions. Natural selection (contrasted with artificial selection): when an advantageous change in an organism, caused randomly, increases its reproduction and the genetic difference passes on to future generations. Organism changing in ways to further exploit preexisting environmental conditions. Wolf’s speed increased hunting success increased offspring Evolution is not teleological; undesirable traits may offer fitness advantages; war, sexual coercion, and some of our worst tendencies may (or may not) be in part caused by adaptive design. Question: Is Darwin teleological in our reading? Proposition: if we’re to learn anything from HUM102 shouldn’t it have something to do with the very stuff values are made on, that is, the emotions? Your hypothetical response: “Why, yes, of course, I need to know exactly what the emotions are so I can understand human values in turn.” 1. Human nature principle: we all have biological blueprints that code for specialized systems in the brain and body (systems for sight, smell, touch, cardiovascular function, and emotion) 1. Human nature principle: we all have biological blueprints that code for specialized systems in the brain and body (systems for sight, smell, touch, cardiovascular function, and emotion) 2. Social emotion principle: feeling an emotion isn’t a universal biological response but a byproduct of variable social conditions. Amygdalae activation in Response to perceived threat Snake! Mammals’ beginning (290 million years) Homo sapiens (160k years) Hominid divergence from lesser apes (15 to 20 m years) Amygdala: Evolved Emotional System Shared by Vertibrates Although humans possess a number of cognitive abilities that differentiate us from other animals, we share emotional behaviours — defined as behavioural responses to emotionally significant stimuli such as food or threats — with other vertebrates [all animals that have a spinal cord]. The amygdala is a brain region that is important for emotional processing, the circuitry and function of which has been well-conserved across evolution (Fig. 1), although species differences do exist1. Even non-mammalian species such as reptiles, birds and fish have an amygdala-like brain region with similar circuits and functions to the amygdala in mammals2–5. Janak, Patricia H., and Kay M. Tye. 2015. "From circuits to behaviour in the amygdala." Nature 517 (7534):284-292. nosce te ipsum! • Psy exp