Advanced Topics in Evolution

1 Credit · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

This course will pose three questions and answer at least one of them. These are:  What exactly is an organism?  What is the paradox of the organism and how do we resolve it?  What are the consequences of internal conflicts for the notion of organismal agency? Loosely speaking, we probably all know what an organism is. We can likely even name a few. But what criteria do we use for borderline cases, such as chimeras, symbioses, and holobionts? Where and how do we draw the lines between one organism and the next, or between an organism and a non-organism? Our handling of this question will necessitate a tour of some unusual natural history and a dive into the philosophy of organismality and individuality. The paradox of the organism refers to the observation that despite internal conflicts—from both selfish genetic elements and selfish cell lineages—organisms manage not to be torn apart. But why not? How is it that organisms overcome these internal conflicts and, at least when viewed from a distance, maintain their unity of purpose? We’ll look at some mechanistic and evolutionary resolutions of the paradox. And finally, we’ll discuss what internal conflicts mean for the notion that organisms have agency. We’ll first review where agency springs from and then see if that notion remains intact when confronted by internal conflicts. The course is divided into three units. Within each we’ll first read some general reviews and survey the landscape of thought. Then we’ll turn to focal readings for discussion, in which we’ll be joined by a guest speaker who is part of the Paradox of the Organism working group (symposium dates TBA).