Resources for learning about evolution
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| Wikipedia - Evolution |
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Wikipedia's introduction to the theory of evolution.
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| How Stuff Works - Evolution |
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An easy-to-read illustrated introduction to evolution.
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| MSN Encarta - Evolution |
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Microsoft Encarta's encyclopedia entry for evolution - covering natural selection, genetic drift,
the origin of new species, patterns of descent, how scientists study evolution, the development
of evolutionary theory, the religious debate, and common misconceptions.
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| The Story of Human Evolution |
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An easy-to-read step-by-step explanation of natural evolution from the big bang through to the rise of civilization.
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| Human Evolution |
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A journey of human evolution from the earliest ape to modern man and industrial civilization.
Covers the different stages of man's development.
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| Teaching Evolution |
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An excellent online book for helping teachers to teach evolution.
Covers major themes in science and evolution, frequently asked questions,
activities, and other materials.
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| How Humans Evolved |
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An illustrated web book by Robert Boyd and Joan B. Silk.
Summarizes our current understanding of human evolution.
Includes an introduction to natural selection and population genetics,
human behavior and mating, and the fossil record.
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| Berkley - Understanding Evolution |
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Explains evolution and shows the evidence that supports it.
Discusses the relevance of evolutionary theory to our everyday lives.
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| PBS - Evolution |
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A high quality, interactive, illustrated, educational resource, explaining all aspects of evolutionary theory -
"A journey into where we're from and where we're going".
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| Nature - Triumph of Life |
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The companion website for Nature's six-part documentary series on the evolution of life on earth.
Features essays, video clips, and special interactive features.
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| Becoming Human |
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A journey through the story of human evolution in a broadband documentary experience.
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Advanced references on evolution
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| Evolution Education Wiki |
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A reader-built encyclopedia of evolution, biology, and human origins.
Promotes evolution education, and provides mainstream scientific responses to
the arguments of creationists and other anti-evolutionists.
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| Physical Anthropology Tutorials |
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An excellent presentation of information covering many aspects of evolution from
the department of behavioral sciences at Palomar College in California.
Includes information on primates and primate behavior, biology and genetics,
and the biological and cultural evolution of early humans through to modern humans.
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| New Scientist - Articles on Evolution |
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A special report by the New Scientist magazine listing selected articles on evolution.
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| Talk.Origins |
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A pro-evolution web site with articles and links relating to the debate against creationism.
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| Talk.Origins - Introduction to Evolutionary Biology |
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A comprehensive explanation of evolution that attempts to overcome many of the common misunderstandings and misconceptions.
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| KLI Theory Lab |
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Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research.
An excellent collection of topic introductions and other resources.
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| Kimball's Biology Pages |
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An online biology textbook by Dr John Kimball, a retired Harvard professor.
First published in 1965, his textbook 'Biology' has undergone successive revisions and has been
adapted by the author for the internet.
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| University of South Carolina - Lecture Notes |
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Lecture notes for Ecology and Evolution course at the University of South Carolina.
Includes mathematical equations for evolution.
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| Plato.Stanford - Evolution |
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Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy's introduction to the theory and history of evolution.
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Blogs with evolution news
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| Panda's Thumb |
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A popular blogsite where biologists and other scientists discuss evolutionary theory,
critique the claims of the anti-evolution movement,
and defend the integrity of both science and science education.
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| The Loom |
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Carl Zimmer, a highly respected journalist and science writer,
comments on the latest developments in evolutionary theory.
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| Stranger Fruit |
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John Lynch is an evolutionary researcher who teaches the history
and philosophy of biology, and is particularly interested in theological
and cultural responses to evolutionary ideas.
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| Evolution Blog |
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A daily commentary on issues relating to any aspect of the dispute between
evolution and creation.
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| The Proper Study Of Mankind |
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A blog on evolution, philosophy, and human nature by freelance writer Dan Jones.
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| Evolving Thoughts |
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John Wilkins writes about the philosophy of science and evolution.
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Evolutionary philosophy
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| Daniel Dennett - Life essay |
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How has Darwin's theory of natural selection transformed our view of humanity's place
in the universe?
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| Entelechy: Mind & Culture |
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An online journal that attempts to bring evolutionary scientific thinking to the arts and humanities.
An impressive line up of scholars contribute thought-provoking pieces of poetry, short stories, reviews,
and philosophical discourses.
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| Replicators - Evolutionary powerhouses |
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Replicators are the fundamental units of natural selection,
first defined by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins. This is a website
specifically designed to explore Dawkins' concept of replicators in an
interesting and interactive format.
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| Evolutionary Economics |
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A light and optimistic look at economic growth, wealth creation, and technological and institutional innovation from an evolutionary perspective.
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| Evolutionary World Politics |
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George Modelski at the University of Washington presents study resources for evolutionary approaches to the study of world politics.
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| William H. Calvin - Brain evolution |
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A neurophysiologist and professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
Studies great apes, and specializes in theories of brain evolution.
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| Plato.Stanford - Evolutionary Game Theory |
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Evolutionary game theory originated as an application of the mathematical theory of games
to biological contexts, arising from the realization that frequency dependent fitness introduces
a strategic aspect to evolution.
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| Stephen Jay Gould on ... |
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Stanford's excerpts taken from Gould's writings and a summary of Gould's influence on evolutionary thought.
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| Stephen Jay Gould - Darwinian Fundamentalism |
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Gould criticizes the minimalist ultra-Darwinian approach taken by some evolutionists like Dawkins and Dennet.
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| The Accidental Creationist |
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Author Robert Wright criticizes Gould for aiding the creationists by depicting a soul-less rendition of evolution.
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| Meaning of life TV |
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Robert Wright interviews all of the big names in cosmic evolutionary thinking.
Names like E.O.Wilson, Daniel Dennet, and John Maynard Smith.
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| Morphological Flows and Sustainable Growth |
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Mike Baharmast's courseware offers a fact based morphological model which attempts to answer the question of where we came from
and how we are going to tackle the existential dilemma of achieving sustainable development.
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| The Journal of Evolutionary Philosophy |
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Dedicated to promoting the theory of evolution as a solid foundation upon which to build a meaningful philosophy of human life.
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Evolutionary psychology
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| E.O. Wilson - Science and ideology |
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Edward O. Wilson, the father of Sociobiology, discusses the problem of anti-science
and psuedo-science that arise within the scientific community when political ideology
is seen as more important than objective truth.
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| Evolutionary Psychology: A Primer |
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An introduction to the subject from the Center for Evolutionary Psychology at the University of California.
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| Evolutionary Psychology - Frequently Asked Questions |
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Edward Hagen, formerly at the Center for Evolutionary Psychology,
and now at the Institute for Theoretical Biology in Berlin, answers some of the most commonly
asked questions about Evolutionary Psychology.
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| Steven Pinker - Why nature & nurture won't go away |
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People's beliefs about the relative importance of heredity and environment
affect their opinions on an astonishing range of topics. It is no surprise
that debates over nature and nurture evoke more resentment than just about
any issue in the world of ideas.
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| Evolutionary psychology - The emperor's new paradigm |
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For some, evolutionary psychology is merely a field of inquiry, but for
others it is a robust paradigm involving specific theories about the nature
and evolution of the human mind.
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| Denise Cummins - Questioning evolutionary psychology |
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Proponents of the dominant paradigm in evolutionary psychology argue that specific cognitive
capacities must be heritable and "quasi-independent" from other heritable traits, and that these
requirements are best satisfied by innate cognitive modules. This paper argues that neither of
these are required in order to describe and explain how evolution shaped the mind.
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| Ronald Mallon - Social Construction and Evolutionary Psychology |
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Social constructionists believe the enormous diversity of social and psychological phenomena
indicates the mind is a blank tablet on which experience writes. Evolutionary psychologists
advocate that brains have "mental organs" shaped by natural selection which play a major role
in shaping consciousness. Maybe these two ideas are compatible.
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| Daniel Dennet - The fantasy of first-person science |
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A written debate with David Chalmers and Alvin Goldman.
Dennet argues that the inside-the-head phenomenological approach of many cognitive
scientists is fundamentally flawed.
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| Psychobiological Criminology |
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Forensic scientists are not shy about looking for any kind of relationship between biological abnormalities and maladaptive behavior patterns.
These Criminology lecture notes explore plenty of connections.
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| Plato.Stanford - Sociobiology |
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Sociobiology is the application of evolutionary theory to social behavior.
It assumes that many social behaviors have been shaped by evolution and it
attempts to reconstruct the evolutionary histories of particular
behavioral strategies.
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| Wikipedia - Sociobiology |
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Wikipedia's introduction to the subject of Sociobiology.
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| Wikipedia - Evolutionary psychology |
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Wikipedia's introduction to the subject of Evolutionary Psychology,
the definition of which seems to be complicated by vast differences of opinion.
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| Psychology, Culture, and Evolution |
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The home page of Al Cheyne from the Department of Psychology at the University of Waterloo
with numerous articles on brain evolution and the evolution of consciousness.
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| Summary of Evolutionary Psychology |
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A detailed summary of the ideas that have led to the development of evolutionary psychology.
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| The Whole Brain Atlas |
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Harvard Medical School introduction to neuroimaging with a diverse collection of brain scan images.
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Cultural evolution and memes
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| Anthropology.Net |
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Expanding the understanding of humanity by creating a cohesive online community of individuals interested in anthropology.
This website intends to lead the anthropological community by promoting discussion, reviewing research, managing resources,
and by the dissemination of knowledge.
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| Anthropological Theories |
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A study guide to anthropological theories, prepared by graduate students at the University of Alabama.
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| Wikipedia - Sociocultural evolution |
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Wikipedia's introduction to the theories and the history of the theories of how cultures and societies have developed over time.
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| Cultural Anthropology Tutorials |
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An excellent introduction to the characteristics of culture and the methods that anthropologists
use to study it - from the department of behavioral sciences at Palomar College in California.
Includes information on language, economy, kinship, marriage, ethnicity, politics, and religion.
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| The Origin and Evolution of Culture and Creativity |
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A comprehensive introduction to memetics by Liane Gabora at the Center for the Study of the Evolution
and Origin of Life at the University of California.
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| Large scale human cooperation and conflict |
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The only animal species that have societies that engage in extensive cooperation are the social insects (bees, termites, ants, and wasps), and humans.
Francisco Gil-White and Peter Richerson analyze the evolutionary advantages of human cooperation between unrelated individuals.
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| Cultural Evolution of Human Cooperation |
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Richerson, Boyd, and Henrich examine evolutionary theories of human cooperation and selfishness.
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| The Evolution of Religion |
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A paper by James Dow examining three anthropological theories explaining how religion has evolved and continues to evolve.
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| The Selfish Text: The Bible and Memetics |
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Hugh Pyper at the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Leeds
analyzes the success of the Bible using the theory of memetics.
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| Richard Dawkins - Viruses of the Mind |
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According to Dawkins, the human mind is created when memes restructure the human brain in order to make it a better habitat to survive in.
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Chapter 11 from "The Selfish Gene"
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This is the chapter of the book by Richard Dawkins published in 1976 that started off the science of memetics.
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| Susan Blackmore - Memes, Minds and Selves |
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An introduction to the controversial concept of memes as the replicators of the mind.
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| Susan Blackmore - The evolution of meme machines |
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The concept of the meme emerged from evolutionary biology and the theory of replicators,
and within this context it is well understood. But out on the web, and in popular discourse,
the word 'meme' is horribly abused.
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| Daniel Dennet - Memes: myths, misunderstandings and misgivings |
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Dozens of websites are now promoting memes,
but according to Dennet, very few people know what they are talking about.
Ironically, people cannot tell the difference between the right ways to think about
memes and the wrong ways.
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| Summary of Cultural Evolution |
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A brief summary of the main themes that underpin popular explanations of the emergence of modern human culture.
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Evolutionary ethics and morality
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| Evolutionary Ethics |
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Some say that natural selection has instilled human beings with a moral sense.
If this were true, morality could be understood as something that arises naturally
through the evolution of sociable, intelligent beings. Morality would be interpreted
as a useful adaptation that increases the fitness of its holders by providing a selective advantage.
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| The Evolution of Ethics |
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An online book about evolutionary ethics that attempts to construct a conceptual bridge between biology and human behavior by examining
the cultural and biological feedback system that inspires the evolution of social rules.
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| Soshichi Uchii - Darwin on the Evolution of Morality |
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An analysis of Charles Darwin's own biological considerations on morality.
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| Evolution and Ethics - An Idea Whose Time Has Come? Part1
Part2 |
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Dr Peter Corning presents an insightful and knowledgeable summary of important ideas
concerning evolutionary ethics from the time of ancient Greece to the present.
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| The Evolution of Strong Reciprocity |
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How do human groups maintain a high level of cooperation despite a low level of genetic relatedness among group members?
This paper offers a mathematical model of cooperation and punishment.
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| Alex Rosenberg - Darwinism in moral philosophy and social theory |
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Surveys contemporary strategies for proving a naturalistic understanding and
vindication of morality, ethical norms, our conception of justice, and the cooperative human
institutions which these norms and conceptions underlie.
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| Analysis of Ancient Moral Beliefs |
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Outlines the historical patterns behind the formation of systems of cooperative morality such as those used by traditional philosophy and religion
from a purely naturalist evolutionary perspective.
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| Plato.Stanford - Biological Altruism |
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In evolutionary biology, an organism is said to behave altruistically when its behaviour
benefits other organisms, at a cost to itself. For the biologist, it is the consequences
of an action for reproductive fitness that determine whether the action counts as altruistic,
not the intentions, if any, with which the action is performed.
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| Plato.Stanford - Game theory and Ethics |
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Game theory can be used to explain, to predict, and to evaluate human behavior in contexts where
the outcome of action depends on what several agents choose to do and where their choices depend
on what others choose to do.
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| Moral development and developmental theories of crime |
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Summarizes moral development ideas in the larger context of a discussion about normal and abnormal adolescence.
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Evolutionary theories of sex
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| Wikipedia - Evolution of Sex |
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Wikipedia's introduction to the evolutionary advantages and disadvantages of sexual reproduction.
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| Sex and gender scientists explore a revolution in evolution |
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A well-written news article about how leading researchers and theorists in the evolution of sexual
behavior are calling for sweeping revisions to traditional Darwinian ideas of sexual selection.
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| The Evolution of Sexual Reproduction |
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A short introduction to evolutionary theories of sexual reproduction.
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| Study sheds light on why sex evolved |
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If sexual reproduction is so biologically expensive then why did it evolve in the first place? This experiment used mutant fruit flies to test the answer.
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| Carla Fehr - The evolution of sex |
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The evolution of sexual reproduction was probably driven by a combination of factors,
meaning that we need more than one explanation in order to adequately account for it.
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| Evolutionary Versus Social Structural Explanations for Sex Differences in Mate Preferences |
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Evolutionary psychology maintains that sex differences develop biologically as people adapt
to changes in their environment. Social structural theory maintains that sex differences
result from the social roles occupied by men and women. Jennifer Denisiuk at the Rochester
Institute of Technology discusses how both theories apply to mate preferences, jealousy,
and aggression.
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| Why Sex Is Good |
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'The Proper Study Of Mankind' reports about a new study published in Nature which helps to explain why sex is so ubiquitous.
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| Sexual Morality |
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Looks at sexual morality from an evolutionary point of view and condemns the traditional religions for their positions on women's rights and birth control.
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Evolutionary theories of aging
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| Evolutionary theories of aging |
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A short introduction to evolutionary theories of aging.
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| Wikipedia - Senescence |
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A general introduction to theories of senescence or aging.
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| Evolutionary Theories of Aging and Longevity |
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The Center on Aging at the University of Chicago introduces three major theories
and presents recent experimental findings about how the process of aging might have evolved.
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| Senescence.info - Joao Pedro de Magalhaes |
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Senescence.info aims to highlight the importance of research on aging and give an overview of current research on the biology of human aging.
The ambitious goal of such research is to discover ways to prevent age-related degeneration, preserve health, and prolong life.
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| Theodore Goldsmith - The Evolution of Aging |
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Is aging an inevitable fact of life? Or is it a treatable genetic disease? Recent discoveries and new theories indicate that we can medically alter the
aging process to dramatically increase the human lifespan. This paper explains evolutionary theories of aging from Darwin to the present, and describes
the discoveries and the politics of anti-aging research.
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| Death by Design |
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Some researchers believe that aging is a mistake of nature, others believe that the process evolved for a reason.
Joshua Mitteldorf argues that the process of aging is the result of evolutionary forces.
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| Defending the evolutionary theory of aging |
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A discussion between experts in the field, commenting about how well the evolutionary
biological theory of aging is holding up against mounting attacks.
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| The Aging Reseach Center |
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Dedicated to helping researchers find the latest scientific information relating to the study of the aging process.
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Science and philosophy forums
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| Philosophy forums |
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Discuss philosophy, religion, metaphysics, ethics, physical science, social science, mathematics,
politics, or the arts.
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| I Love Philosophy |
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Online debate website for people with an interest in philosophy, religion, and other related topics.
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| Philosophy Chat Forum |
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IRC chat channel and website forum for those with an interest in philosophy
who want to express their ideas and share their thoughts
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| Science Chat Forum |
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IRC chat channel and website forum for professional scientists, students, and amateurs
with an interest in science, evolution, or related topics.
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| JREF Forum |
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James Randi Educational Foundation's online forums debating a wide range of topics.
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