General Objectives

As with all new endeavors, the details of EvoS will itself evolve over the first few years, so it is useful to describe the general objectives in addition to the mechanistic details. The three most important objectives can be described as breadth, depth, and general conceptual development.

Breadth refers to the fact that evolutionary theory provides a single conceptual framework for understanding a vast diversity of subjects. Darwin himself studied everything from earthworms, to barnacles, to orchids, to human emotions, to the nature of morality. It was the theory that he developed, in addition to his personal attributes that enabled him to make sense of so many subjects. We might not be lucky enough to possess Darwin’s personal attributes, but all of us can use the theory of evolution to make sense of a diversity of subjects that matter to us professionally, socially, and personally. EvoS is designed in part to stress this connectedness.

Depth refers to the fact that evolutionary studies can enhance your own career development, in all academic disciplines in addition to fields outside the ivory tower as diverse as medicine, public health, business, law, and computer science. To convince yourself of this fact, search Amazon.com for books on the profession that you contemplate for yourself and you will very likely find a number that employ an evolutionary perspective and are generating considerable interest. Almost any graduate student can benefit professionally from a sophisticated knowledge of evolution.

General conceptual development refers to the fact that education, at its best, should improve one’s general ability to think in addition to learning specific bodies of knowledge. Research on conceptual development shows that graduate and undergraduate students alike often suffer from a number of misconceptions, such that a subject consists of a large number of facts or that all views are equally valid. Even many graduate students do not sufficiently appreciate the tentative nature of most bodies of knowledge or the cognitive skills that are required to evaluate alternative views in a way that allows the accumulation of knowledge. Not only is evolutionary studies exceptionally well suited for teaching general conceptual development, but our program is designed in consultation with leading experts on how to teach general conceptual development in addition to specific bodies of knowledge. Graduate students will benefit from this aspect of the program in their own learning and their ability to incorporate the same techniques in their own teaching activities.