Phylogeny 2000
by
Tuesday April 4 (15.30-17.30)
Ideally, you should have read the text by O'Hara (Homage to Clio). I will finish the review of approaches to classification, and will start to discuss phylogeny.
Wednesday April 5 (16-18)
Read the texts.
During the lesson, I will discuss methods to construct phylogenies and how to use them for interpretation.
The texts are:
Brooks, D.R. & D.A. McLennan. 1991. Phylogeny, Ecology, and Behavior. University of Chicago Press, 434 pp. Read 91-124.
Maddison, W.P. & D.R. Maddison. 1992. MacClade, version 3. Sinauer, 398 pp. Read pp. 25-31. This is the description of a program used for phylogenetic analysis. Pp. 25-31 is a short note on phylogeny, how & why you make them.
Brooks & McLennan pp. 91-109 are just defintions of modes of speciation; you do not need to read them carefully, but the authors use the terminology on pp. 109-124. Pp. 109-124 discuss biogeography, the distribution of organisms, interpreted by means of phylogeny. Do not worry about not knowing the organisms. You do not know how to make the trees, just accept they are there. The important part is to understand how the authors use the phylogenetic hypothesis (tree) to interpret the distribution of organisms.
Thursday April 6 (10-12)
I will briefly review phylogeny and how to use phylogeny for interpretation. Most of the time
you will have to speak! Prepare answers to the following problems before the lesson, and bring examples of the text to class.
1) Define evolution! Try to describe in a few keywords, what is evolution and what you think is important.
2) Imagine, you want to turn some of your keywords into science. Not all of them, but some. Phrase your views of evolution as testable hypotheses and suggest experiments that can refute your hypotheses.
Try something like:
Keyword is 'A'.
Hypothesis is: If 'A' is an important element of evolution, then we observe ...., if it is not, then we do not observe ....
Experiment is: .... Note it is very difficult to design experiments! It is not possible to study a group of organisms for 15 million years to see if they evolve.
3). Find 3 examples of evolutionary statements about a specific organism or group of organisms in your books. This can be statements about:
a) being 'primitive', 'advanced', 'adapted', etc.,
b) implicit or explicit reference to an historic process, or previous and current state, or
c) properties depending on the properties of other organisms (like co-evolution).
4) Does the book explain of how the conclusion was reached ? Or is it just a statement ? Find at least one evolutionary statement in a text book, that is explained how the conclusion was reached.
5) Did you get a good explanation for the statements in 2 ? 'Good' means it is well supported and well explained.
6) If & when you did not get an explanation in 2, can you suggest ways to test the hypotheses leading to the conclusion ?
Tuesday April 11 (15.30-17.30)
This will be a plenary discussion (probably mixed English, French & whatever else we like to speak) centered around creationism and teaching evolution. Read the texts cursorily - lean back with a beer or glass of wine, and read it like a novel. Try to understand the general principles, so we can discuss it in class, but do not worry about details. Consider the following questions - you do not have to prepare long answers, but consider your opinion, so you can discuss it in class.
The texts are:
Philip Kitcher. 1983. Abusing science - the case against creationism, MIT Press, 213 pp. Read pp. 124-133, 42-43, 55-60 - read in that order!
Jere H. Lipps. 1996. The decline of Reason, Paleontological Society Papers 2, 3-10
You can use the copies from 'The Encyclopedia of Evolution' to get defintions and historical background. Remember, 'creationism' is predominantly an American phenomenon, and a main part of the discussion is the fight for access to class rooms.
Kitcher is an historian of science, analysing the argumentation used by creationists. His book is part of a political discussion, and he argues from a pan-selectionist (neo-Darwinian, modern synthesis) point of view. Lipps writes about how we do science - separation of observation and interpretation, phrasing testable hypotheses.
1) It sounds very nice what Lipps writes, but can you use that to study evolution ?
2) Is creationism prominent in France ? Is it an issue at all ?
3) Do you know people who are disturbed by a conflict between science and religion ? Is it a problem for you personally ?
4) How do you/they deal with it ?
5) Is it necessary to have literal agreement between science and religion ?
6) Can you phrase some of the creationist views as testable hypotheses ? Note 'testable' does not mean true, it means that it is possible to collect data that may demonstrate the hypothesis is wrong.