"Darwin and Design, Fall 2009"

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Author:

Paradis, James

Subject:

Humanities

Institution Name:

M.I.T.

Collection:

MIT OpenCourseWare

Grade Level:

Post-secondary

Abstract:

" In the Origin of Species (1859), Charles Darwin gave us a model for understanding how natural objects and systems can evidence design without positing a designer: how purpose and mechanism can exist without intelligent agency. Texts in this course deal with pre- and post-Darwinian treatment of this topic within literature and speculative thought since the eighteenth century. We will give some attention to the modern study of feedback mechanisms in artificial intelligence. Our reading will be in Hume, Voltaire, Malthus, Darwin, Butler, H. G. Wells, and Turing."

Languages:

English

Material Type:

Full Course, Training Materials

Media Format:

Text/HTML, Downloadable docs

Conditions of Use:

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0