Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life

Contents......Page 4
Preface......Page 6
PART 1 STARTING IN THE MIDDLE......Page 8
1. IS NOTHING SACRED?......Page 9
2. WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY—AND HOW?......Page 12
3. LOCKE'S "PROOF" OF THE PRIMACY OF MIND......Page 14
4. HUME'S CLOSE ENCOUNTER......Page 15
1. WHAT IS SO SPECIAL ABOUT SPECIES?......Page 18
2. NATURAL SELECTION—AN AWFUL STRETCHER......Page 20
3. DID DARWIN EXPLAIN THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES?......Page 22
4. NATURAL SELECTION AS AN ALGORITHMIC PROCESS......Page 25
5. PROCESSES AS ALGORITHMS......Page 27
1. EARLY REACTIONS......Page 31
2. DARWIN'S ASSAULT ON THE COSMIC PYRAMID......Page 33
3. THE PRINCIPLE OF THE ACCUMULATION OF DESIGN......Page 35
4. THE TOOLS FOR R AND D: SKYHOOKS OR CRANES?......Page 37
5. WHO'S AFRAID OF REDUCTIONISM?......Page 41
1. HOW SHOULD WE VISUALIZE THE TREE OF LIFE?......Page 43
2. COLOR-CODING A SPECIES ON THE TREE......Page 46
3. RETROSPECTIVE CORONATIONS: MITOCHONDRIAL EVE AND INVISIBLE BEGINNINGS......Page 49
4. PATTERNS, OVERSIMPLIFICATION, AND EXPLANATION......Page 51
1. GRADES OF POSSIBILITY?......Page 53
2. THE LIBRARY OF MENDEL......Page 54
3. THE COMPLEX RELATION BETWEEN GENOME AND ORGANISM......Page 57
4. POSSIBILITY NATURALIZED......Page 60
1. DRIFTING AND LIFTING THROUGH DESIGN SPACE......Page 63
2. FORCED MOVES IN THE GAME OF DESIGN......Page 65
3. THE UNITY OF DESIGN SPACE......Page 68
1. BACK BEYOND DARWIN'S FRONTIER......Page 74
2. MOLECULAR EVOLUTION......Page 77
3. THE LAWS OF THE GAME OF LIFE......Page 81
4. ETERNAL RECURRENCE—LIFE WITHOUT FOUNDATIONS?......Page 90
1. THE SCIENCES OF THE ARTIFICIAL......Page 93
2. DARWIN IS DEAD—LONG LIVE DARWIN!......Page 95
3. FUNCTION AND SPECIFICATION......Page 97
4. ORIGINAL SIN AND THE BIRTH OF MEANING......Page 100
5. THE COMPUTER THAT LEARNED TO PLAY CHECKERS......Page 103
6. ARTIFACT HERMENEUTICS, OR REVERSE ENGINEERING......Page 106
7. STUART KAUFFMAN AS META-ENGINEER......Page 110
1. THE POWER OF ADAPTATIONIST THINKING......Page 114
2. THE LEIBNIZIAN PARADIGM......Page 119
3. PLAYING WITH CONSTRAINTS......Page 125
1. THE BOY WHO CRIED WOLF?......Page 131
2. THE SPANDREL'S THUMB......Page 133
3. PUNCTUATED EQUILIBRIUM: A HOPEFUL MONSTER......Page 141
4. TINKER TO EVERS TO CHANCE: THE BURGESS SHALE DOUBLE-PLAY MYSTERY......Page 149
1. A CLUTCH OF HARMLESS HERESIES......Page 156
2. THREE LOSERS: TEILHARD, LAMARCK, AND DIRECTED MUTATION......Page 160
3. CUI BONO?......Page 162
1. THE MONKEY'S UNCLE MEETS THE MEME......Page 166
2. INVASION OF THE BODY-SNATCHERS......Page 170
3. COULD THERE BE A SCIENCE OF MEMETICS?......Page 175
4. THE PHILOSOPHICAL IMPORTANCE OF MEMES......Page 179
1. THE ROLE OF LANGUAGE IN INTELLIGENCE......Page 184
2. CHOMSKY CONTRA DARWIN: FOUR EPISODES......Page 191
3. NICE TRIES......Page 195
1. THE QUEST FOR REAL MEANING......Page 199
2. TWO BLACK BOXES......Page 205
3. BLOCKING THE EXITS......Page 208
4. SAFE PASSAGE TO THE FUTURE......Page 210
1. THE SWORD IN THE STONE......Page 213
2. THE LIBRARY OF TOSHIBA......Page 217
3. THE PHANTOM QUANTUM-GRAVITY COMPUTER: LESSONS FROM LAPLAND......Page 221
1. E PLURIBUS UNUM?......Page 225
2. FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE'S JUST SO STORIES......Page 229
3. SOME VARIETIES OF GREEDY ETHICAL REDUCTIONISM......Page 232
4. SOCIOBIOLOGY: GOOD AND BAD, GOOD AND EVIL......Page 239
1. CAN ETHICS BE NATURALIZED?......Page 246
2. JUDGING THE COMPETITION......Page 249
3. THE MORAL FIRST AID MANUAL......Page 251
1. IN PRAISE OF BIODIVERSITY......Page 254
2. UNIVERSAL ACID: HANDLE WITH CARE......Page 259
Appendix......Page 260
Bibliography......Page 261
Index......Page 274