Erin Eaker

This course will introduce first-year students to their forum topic. Students should enroll in the section associated with the forum to which they were accepted. (See http://college.as.virginia.edu/forums for information on the forums.)

This course investigates the history and the scientific and philosophical implications of Darwin's revolutionary idea that the wholly unguided process of natural selection could explain the magnificent variety and adaptedness of living things and their descent from a common ancestor. One of the philosophical topics we will explore is how scientific theories are supported by evidence and how science yields knowledge