Natural Selection and Differential Reproduction
Philosopher Daniel Dennett talks about differential reproduction, which he says is the key idea of natural selection. With differential reproduction, some copies of the original are a little less perfect than others. Those that are less perfect tend...
Embarrassment
Psychologist and author Paul Ekman talks about embarrassment, which he claims does not qualify as a basic emotion because it doesn't have a universal signal. Dr. Ekman notes that embarrassment can be flattering or unflattering, and adds that Darwin ...
Darwin and Psychology
Psychologist and author Paul Ekman talks about significant contributions Charles Darwin made to the study of emotions. "He was very interested in a question that almost no one has asked since," Dr. Ekman notes, "...which is, why do we have the parti...
What is Human Nature?: Biology's Challenge to Traditional Western View of Human Nature
In the 17th and 18th centuries, scientists are fascinated with collecting specimens and classifying species. However, It will be Charles Darwin who creates a new picture of nature. In the 1830s he travels to the Galapagos Islands to research both li...
Building Blocks: Mass Extinctions
The ultimate example of an environmental change leading to the termination of a species is what's known as a mass extinction.
Building Blocks: Ancient Fossils, Modern Technology
As scientists work to answer vexing questions about the origins of life, they examine the fossilized remains of the primitive life forms which at one time populated early Earth. The challenge in doing this is not only a function of the age of the fo...
What is Real?: Arguments Against Metaphysical Speculation
Some philosophers object to the idea that there is a spiritual reality different from the physical world as mere metaphysical speculation. As one group contends anything we cannot perceive with our senses or prove scientically should not be conside...
Charles Darwin and the Problem of Continuity
Philosopher Daniel Dennett talks about the Darcy Thompson statement that "everything is the way it is because it got that way." Calling that a very fundamental Darwinian idea, Professor Dennett explains that it means everything either was something ...
Building Blocks: Role of Evolution in Early Life
The ability to adapt to changing or difficult conditions is clearly necessary if an organism is to be biologically successful.
Darwin and Human Nature
Philosopher Hubert Dreyfus talks about Charles Darwin, who wrote at about the same time as Kierkegaard, but wasn't drawn in by the same existentialist concerns. Darwin believed there is something like a human nature, even if unplanned by God. In fac...