Philosophy 1130F/G Study Guide - Biological Determinism, Idiocracy, Experimental Psychology

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Philosophy review the theory of evolution by natural selection. Prior to darwin, humans thought themselves to be special or unique . Humans were thought to be qualitatively different from animals- meaning they differ with respect to a property or feature. Humans were also thought to be quantitatively different from animals- meaning they differ with respect to the degree to which they have a property or feature. Two key features to theory: 1) adaptedness (1) 3 conditions required for natural selection to take place: (1) phenotypic variation- differing based on what traits they have (2) differential fitness- some individuals survive and reproduce better (3) inheritance- offspring tend to resemble their parents. The fit between organisms and their environments- adaptedness. Darwin held that two things where true: every organism on earth is evolved from one common ancestor, the principle of divergence (as populations inhabit new environmental niches they adapt to these niches by natural selection.