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654/854:
"Science and Human Nature"
Web
Resources
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THE "BIG ONE":
http://www.human-nature.com
Here you can find everything to do with human nature issues, especially
consciousness, psychology and psychoanalysis, artificial intelligence, and
evolution. There is more here than you could possibly want. But,
check out "Books" for good book reviews from the New York
Review of Books; follow "Links" for a long list of online essays
on consciousness, and lots on evolution and creationism; and consult
"What's New" for the latest online essays and for the links put up
earlier for "Darwin week" and "Freud week."
DARWIN:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/darwin/
The BBC Darwin site, with lots of links to texts and
other Darwin resources on the web. Particularly useful are the experts'
essays on "The Man and His Legacy" and the annotated bibliography.
SOCIOBIOLOGY:
http://www.human-nature.com/science-as-culture/dusek.html
Val Dusek, from the UNH Philosophy Department, reviews the history of
sociobiology and its various offspring, from the point of view of their
political and ideological orientations.
http://www.thenewrepublic.com/040300/coyne040300.html
A critical review of a recent book on the "evolutionary psychology" of
rape. Sociobiology warmed over? And, one of its most discredited
theories, too.
GENETIC ENGINEERING:
http://www.ornl.gov/TechResources/Human_Genome/home.html
Human Genome Project Homepage at the Department of Energy (major sponsors
of the project). Links to information about the project and its ethical
and social implications.
http://www.kumc.edu/gec/prof/geneelsi.html
Very large list of links on ethical and social implications of human
genome research. (Independent of the genome project itself).
Use this to find out about the organizations that have a position on genome
research.
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/319/7220/1282
A general article on the human genome project from a
medical journal. Considers its potential medical benefits and the
problems they may raise. Aside from technical details, this is a
clear and fair introduction.
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/319/7220/1283
Would you want to know if you had a genetically inherited
disposition to a certain disease? This article considers the question from
a medical point of view.
http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/highlights/playing_god/index.html
Ronald Dworkin, an influential legal philosopher, on
why genetic engineering raises serious ethical problems. A readable
and very thoughtful essay.
http://www.theage.com.au/daily/990630/news/specials/news3.html
Peter Singer, a famous Australian philosopher, on why
we don't really need to worry about cloning.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE:
http://www.turing.org.uk/turing/
Alan Turing home page, with links to many resources for
understanding Turing’s life, artificial intelligence, etc.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ts/feature/11804/002-4547326-5767456
John Casti's interview with amazon.com about his book, The Cambridge
Quintet.
http://www.emsl.pnl.gov:2080/proj/neuron/ai/what.html
List of links for explanations of all the basic terms and concepts
for research on artificial intelligence.
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/courses/mm/mmlinks.htm
Long list of links for a course on philosophy of artificial intelligence.
I recommend the "Texts" especially, including essays by Alan Turing, Marvin
Minsky, and Daniel Dennett.
http://www.techreview.com/articles/ma98/bringsjord.html
http://www.arts.unimelb.edu.au/~tgelder/DeepBlue.html
Two essays on the computer Deep Blue's match with the world chess champion
Gary Kasparov. Is the victory by machine over man really significant,
or not?
http://ma.hrc.wmin.ac.uk/ma.theory.5.4.db
http://ma.hrc.wmin.ac.uk/ma.theory.5.1.db
Two essays by historian Simon Schaffer on Charles Babbage's schemes for
mechanical automata and how they reflected the context of industrial capitalism.
http://www.ling.su.se/staff/hartmut/farkas.htm
Links about Wolfgang von Kemplelen, 18th-century designer of a speaking machine
and the chess-playing Turk automaton. See pictures of these machines and
read descriptions in English (or, if you prefer, in Esperanto). Also, read
essays on the chess-playing machine by Brewster and Poe.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive//5.02/ffharaway.html
"Wired" magazine's interview with Donna Haraway. (A
straightforward introduction to her ideas.)
http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~RF6T-TYFK/haraway.html
Hyperlinks for texts by and on Donna Haraway. (Thanks to Paula Galvin for
this and the previous reference.)
GENDER AND SEXUALITY:
http://members.aol.com/gaygene/index.htm
The "Gay Gene home page." For information and discussion
on the question of the genetic basis of homosexuality.
http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/97jun/burr2.htm
A helpful essay by the author of the above site, tracing
at length the history of biological research on sexual orientation.
http://www.counterbalance.org/genetics/orient-frame.html
A conservative critique of the "gay gene" claims.
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/living/DailyNews/gaygene990422.html
News report on the debate and the countervailing claims about the "gay
gene."
GENERAL COMMENTARY:
http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/academic/N-Q/psysc/staff/rmyoung/papers/paper12.html
Essay by the historian Bob Young on human nature. Young's outlook
is influenced by Marxism and psychoanalysis. Here, he tries to combine
them to argue for the importance of retaining a theory of human nature.
http://www.nationalreview.com/24jan00/murray012400.html
Charles Murray in the National Review: a conservative
view of the current scientific discoveries and their impact on ideas of
human nature.
Compiled by Jan Golinski. (Return to Home page) (Return to course syllabus)
Updated: 26 May 2000.