Philosophy of Biology
Spring 2026
Part of Darwin's “Diagram of Divergence of Taxa”, the only diagram in On The Origin of Species. The diagram depicts “hypothetical phylogenetic relationships, showing how lineages diverge from common ancestors and give rise to both extinct and extant species. Time intervals (between Roman numerals) represent thousands of generations. [...] Distance along the horizontal axis represents degree of divergence (as, for example, in body form). Darwin recognized that rates of evolution vary greatly, showing this by different angles in the diagram” (Futuyma, 2009, p. 21). Note too that the diagram displays Darwin's recognition that it is the most divergent species that are most likely to survive. For the full diagram see here.
Details
| Course Code | Location | Times |
|---|---|---|
| PHIL-SHU 91 | S302 | Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:15am to 12:30pm |
Instructor
| Name | Office | Consultation Times | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brad Weslake | brad.weslake@nyu.edu | 567 West Yangsi Road, Room W826 | By appointment |
Overview
This class is an introduction to philosophy of biology.
Assessment
The final grade will be determined approximately as follows:
| Attendance and participation: | 10% |
| First Oral Exam: | 15% |
| Second Oral Exam: | 15% |
| Timeline: | 20% |
| Paper (Outline): | 10% |
| Paper (Final): | 30% |
Assessment dates:
| First Oral Exam: | ||
| Second Oral Exam: | ||
| Paper (Outline): | ||
| Paper (Draft): | ||
| Paper (Final): |
Policies
Lateness and Attendance
Students are required to attend all classes on time. Lateness will count against your attendance and participation grade. Students missing 4 classes will receive an attendance and participation grade of F. Students missing 6 classes will receive a final grade of F.
Integrity
It is a condition on passing this course that students read and adhere to the NYU Shanghai policy on academic integrity as described in the current NYU Shanghai Academic Bulletin.
Course Materials
All notes, readings and assignments can be found on the course Brightspace site here.
Selected books are available on reserve in the library.
Schedule
Meeting 1: Introductory Discussion (Tuesday 20 January)
- Godfrey-Smith, Peter. 2009. Darwinian Populations and Natural Selection, Oxford University Press, Oxford, §1.
Section I: Natural Selection
Meeting 2: The Propensity Interpretation of Fitness (Thursday 22 January)
- Godfrey-Smith (2009, §2.1).
- Mills, Susan K. and Beatty, John H. 1979. “The Propensity Interpretation of Fitness”, in Philosophy of Science, Vol. 46, No. 2, June, pp. 263–286.
- Sober, Elliott. unpublished. “Two Fitness Fallacies”., §1.
Meeting 3: Problems for The Propensity Interpretation (Tuesday 27 January)
- Sober, Elliott. 2000. “The Two Faces of Fitness”, in Singh, Krimbas, Paul and Beatty (Ed), Thinking about Evolution: Historical, Philosophical, and Political Perspectives, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 309–321.
- Sober, Elliott. unpublished. “Two Fitness Fallacies”., §2.
- Godfrey-Smith (2009, §§2.2–2.3).
Meeting 4: What Can Selection Explain? (Thursday 29 January)
- Forber, Patrick. 2005. “On the Explanatory Roles of Natural Selection”, in Biology and Philosophy, Vol. 20, No. 2, March, pp. 329–342.
- Godfrey-Smith (2009, §§3.1–3.3).
Meeting 5: Review (Tuesday 3 February)
Section II: Individuals, Collectives, Levels and Transitions
Meeting 6: Individuals, Reproduction and Collectives (Thursday 5 February)
- Janzen, Daniel H. 1977. “What Are Dandelions and Aphids?”, in The American Naturalist, Vol. 111, No. 979, May, pp. 586–589.
- Godfrey-Smith (2009, §§4–5).
Meeting 7: Altruism and Group Selection: Theory (Tuesday 10 February)
- Sober, Elliott and Wilson, David Sloan. 1998. Unto Others: The Evolution and Psychology of Unselfish Behavior, Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA, pp. 17–35.
Meeting 8: Altruism and Group Selection: Examples (Thursday 12 February)
- Sober and Wilson (1998, pp. 35–54).
Spring Festival Holiday
Meeting 9: Two Kinds of Group Selection (Tuesday 24 February)
- Okasha, Samir. 2006. Evolution and the Levels of Selection, Oxford University Press, Oxford, §§2.1–2.2.
Meeting 10: Darwinian Populations and Levels of Selection (Thursday 26 February)
- Godfrey-Smith (2009, §§6.1–6.2).
Meeting 11: Major Evolutionary Transitions (Tuesday 3 March)
- Godfrey-Smith (2009, §6.3).
Meeting 12: Review (Thursday 5 March)
Meeting 13: (Tuesday 10 March)
Meeting 14: (Thursday 12 March)
Meeting 15: (Tuesday 17 March)
Meeting 16: (Thursday 19 March)
Meeting 17: (Tuesday 24 March)
Meeting 18: (Thursday 26 March)
Meeting 19: (Tuesday 31 March)
Meeting 20: (Thursday 2 April)
Qingming Festival Holiday
Meeting 21: (Tuesday 14 April)
Meeting 22: (Thursday 16 April)
Meeting 23: (Tuesday 21 April)
Meeting 24: (Thursday 23 April)
Meeting 25: (Tuesday 28 April)
Meeting 26: (Thursday 30 April)
Meeting 27: (Tuesday 5 May)
Meeting 28: (Thursday 7 May)
Updated: 19 January 2026