Biological evolution 3700-AL-EB-qZS

The lectures aim to present the foundations of contemporary evolutionism in an approach comprehensible to anyone without specialist knowledge of biology. The lectures will be supplemented by a list of required reading which will be discussed during class. Topics:
- basic notions: defining the term “life”, the notion of metabolism, genetic information and its replication and expression
- the meaning of “evolution” in biological sciences compared to popular meanings of the word
- the history of views on the origins and evolution of life from antiquity to Darwin
- foundations of Darwin’s theory of evolution, how it developed and how it was received initially
- methods of studying evolution and evidence in support of the theory of evolution
- contemporary evolutionism as a continuation of Darwin’s theory (synthetic theory of evolution, molecular evolution)
- the origins of life (biogenesis)
- a review of the evolution of life on Earth
- evolution of humans and the future of our species
- the importance of evolution for natural sciences: evolution as a subject of research and a research tool, ecology in molecular biology, evolutionary ecology, evolutionary medicine, evolutionary psychology
- the perception of the theory of evolution in society - the dispute between evolutionism and creationism (history and contemporary trends), the attitude of different religions to the theory of evolution, the most frequent errors and misunderstandings in the reception of the theory of evolution. Biological evolution in culture.