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Evolution's First Philosopher , livre ebook

State University of New York Press - Jerome A. Popp

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John Dewey was the first philosopher to recognize that Darwin's thesis about natural selection not only required us to change how we think about ourselves and the life forms around us, but also required a markedly different approach to philosophy. Evolution's First Philosopher shows how Dewey's arguments arose from his recognition of the continuity of natural selection and mindedness, from which he developed his concept of growth. Growth, for Dewey, has no end beyond itself and forms the basis of a naturalized theory of ethics. While other philosophers gave some attention to evolutionary theory, it was Dewey alone who saw that Darwinism provides the basis for a naturalized theory of meaning. This, in turn, portends a new account of knowledge, ethics, and democracy. To clarify evolution's conception of natural selection, Jerome A. Popp looks at brain science and examines the relationship between the genome and experience in terms of the contemporary concepts of preparedness and plasticity. This research shows how comprehensive and penetrating Dewey's thought was in terms of further consequences for the philosophical method entailed by Darwin's thesis. Dewey's foresight is further legitimated when Popp places his work within the context of the current thought of Daniel Dennett.

Reading Guide

1. Evolution and Philosophy

Introduction
Darwin’s Influence on Dewey
Russell’s Rejection of Evolution
What about Genetic Determinism?
Ultranaturalism
The Discussion Thus Far
Consider Reading

Part I. Theory of Evolution

2. What Is Darwinian Evolution?

Introduction
Sources of Variation
Three Kinds of Selection
The X and Y Chromosomes
Lamarckian Evolution
The Discussion Thus Far
Consider Reading

3. Preparedness versus Plasticity

Dewey and Unlearned Activities
Where Impulses Come From
Preparedness versus Plasticity
Is Euclidean Geometry Innate?
The Discussion Thus Far
Consider Reading

4. Brain Development and the Emergence of the Mind

The Triune View of the Brain
The Brain and Information Processing
Neuron Elimination
The Theory of Memes
From Consciousness to Mindedness
The Mind as a Virtual Machine
The Discussion Thus Far
Consider Reading

Part II. Morality Naturalized

5. Can Evolution Tell Us What to Do?

Does Natural Selection Have Foresight?
The Problem of the Normative
Dewey’s Solution
Democracy as Means
Intelligence as End
Means-Ends Logic
The Discussion Thus Far
Consider Reading

6. Democracy and the Baldwin Effect

Intelligence as Inherently Social
The Moral Context of Growth
Dewey’s Criteria for Democracy
The Baldwin Effect
Democracy and the Baldwin Effect
Memeopathy as an Obstacle to Growth
Developing Autonomous Agents
Philosophy for a Small Planet
The Discussion Thus Far
Consider Reading

7. Evolution and Liberalism

Introduction
Three Views of the Individual-Society Relationship
Classical Liberalism
Dewey’s New Liberalism
Why Nondemocratic Schools Are Miseducative
Thomas West’s Attack on Dewey’s Progressive Liberalism
Thomas West versus Thomas Jefferson
Is Dewey’s Theory of Mind Too Optimistic?
The Discussion Thus Far
Consider Reading

Afterword
Bibliography
Index

Sujets

Philosophie

Épistémologie

Epistémologie

Évolution

Evolution

Philosophy

Informations

Publié par	State University of New York Press
Date de parution	01 février 2012
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9780791480786
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,1598€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Evolution’s FirstPhilosopher John Dewey and the Continuity of Nature

JeromeA.Popp

Evolution’s First Philosopher

SUNY series in Philosophy and Biology

David Edward Shaner, editor

E V O L U T I O N ’ S F I R S T P H I L O S O P H E R

John Dewey and the Continuity of Nature



JEROME A. POPP

S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y O F N E W Y O R K P R E S S

Published by State University of New York Press, Albany

Printed in the United States of America

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.

For information, address State University of New York Press, 194 Washington Avenue, Suite 305, Albany, NY 12210-2384

Production by Christine L. Hamel Marketing by Michael Campochiaro

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

Popp, Jerome A., 1938– Evolution's first philosopher : John Dewey and the continuity of nature / Jerome A. Popp. p. cm. — (SUNY series in philosophy and biology) Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-7914-6959-0 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Dewey, John, 1859–1952. 2. Evolution (Biology) 3. Naturalism. I. Title. II. Series.

B945.D44P67 2007 191—dc22

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

2006007120

To Professor Marcia Susan Brown-Popp

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Reading Guide

Contents

1. Evolution and Philosophy Introduction Darwin’s Influence on Dewey Russell’s Rejection of Evolution What about Genetic Determinism? Ultranaturalism The Discussion Thus Far Consider Reading

PA R T I . T H E O RY O F EVO L U T I O N

2. What Is Darwinian Evolution? Introduction Sources of Variation Three Kinds of Selection The X and Y Chromosomes Lamarckian Evolution The Discussion Thus Far Consider Reading

3. Preparedness versus Plasticity Dewey and Unlearned Activities Where Impulses Come From

vii

1 1 3 5 8 10 12 13

17 17 19 25 28 31 35 35

37 37 40

viii

CONTENTS

Preparedness versus Plasticity Is Euclidean Geometry Innate? The Discussion Thus Far Consider Reading

4. Brain Development and the Emergence of the Mind The Triune View of the Brain The Brain and Information Processing Neuron Elimination The Theory of Memes From Consciousness to Mindedness The Mind as a Virtual Machine The Discussion Thus Far Consider Reading

PA R T I I . M O R A LI T Y NAT U R A LI Z ED

5. Can Evolution Tell Us What to Do?

Does Natural Selection Have Foresight? The Problem of the Normative Dewey’s Solution Democracy as Means Intelligence as End Means-Ends Logic The Discussion Thus Far Consider Reading

6. Democracy and the Baldwin Effect

Intelligence as Inherently Social The Moral Context of Growth Dewey’s Criteria for Democracy The Baldwin Effect Democracy and the Baldwin Effect Memeopathy as an Obstacle to Growth Developing Autonomous Agents Philosophy for a Small Planet The Discussion Thus Far Consider Reading

43 46 50 51

53 53 54 57 60 64 68 70 71

75 75 79 81 84 86 89 93 94

95 95 97 101 103 106 110 111 114 117 117

CONTENTS

7. Evolution and Liberalism Introduction Three Views of the Individual-Society Relationship Classical Liberalism Dewey’s New Liberalism Why Nondemocratic Schools Are Miseducative Thomas West’s Attack on Dewey’s Progressive Liberalism Thomas West versus Thomas Jefferson Is Dewey’s Theory of Mind Too Optimistic? The Discussion Thus Far Consider Reading

Afterword

Bibliography

Index

119 119 120 122 126 128 130 134 136 140 140

141

143

149

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