Dr Harriet Fagerberg

This course is available on the BSc in Philosophy and Economics, BSc in Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, BSc in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, BSc in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (with a Year Abroad) and BSc in Politics and Philosophy. This course is available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit and to General Course students.

This course examines, from a philosophical perspective, the interplay between social, biological, and genetic causal factors in science and society.

Topics covered include:

Human nature: Does the concept of 'human nature’ have any biological basis? Can we distinguish between those traits which are part of 'human nature' and those which are not? Should we attempt to improve human nature by means of technologies such as gene editing?

Natural Kinds and Social Kinds: Are some categories more ‘natural’ than others? How do we distinguish social kinds from natural kinds? In what ways do biological and social scientific kinds change in response to changes in the social world? Does this threaten the objectivity of science?

Biological Functions: In virtue of what do our bodies have functions? Are biological norms part of the natural world, or a human invention? What does it mean for a trait to fail to perform its function? How does biological function relate disease and disability?

Mental Disorders and Brain Disorders: What are psychiatric disorders? Are psychiatric disorders biological or social phenomena? Are mental disorders better understood as physical brain diseases, or are some psychiatric illnesses ‘purely mental’? What does all this imply for treatment?

Sex and Gender: Are ‘sex' and ‘gender' the same thing? Are gender categories natural or social? Are there robust psychological differences between men and women? If so, are these 'hardwired' into the brain or the product of socialisation?

10 hours of lectures and 10 hours of classes in the AT.

Lectures: Weeks 1-5 and 7-11

Classes: Weeks 1-5 and 7-11

Essay (1,500 words) in the AT.

Suggested introductory readings:

• Garson, J. (2019). What biological functions are and why they matter. Cambridge University Press.
• Hannon, E., & Lewens, T. (Eds.). (2018). Why we disagree about human nature. Oxford University Press.
• Hacking, I. (2000). The social construction of what?. Harvard university press.

Exam (100%, duration: 2 hours, reading time: 15 minutes) in the spring exam period.