Academic Questions

Spring 2024

Volume 37 Issue 1

April 24, 2024

The Issue at a Glance

Seth Forman

Preview articles in this issue with pieces by J. Scott Turner, Nathalie Gontier, Amelia Lewis, James A. Shapiro, and others.

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April 24, 2024

Introduction: Heterodox Thinking on Evolution

J. Scott Turner

Scott Turner, a member of the group of scientists called The Third Way of Evolution and coordinator for this feature, introduces readers to our look at the state of evolutionary science. Turner explai......

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April 24, 2024

Homeostasis and Purposeful Evolution

J. Scott Turner

Life may exist in a physical world, writes Scott Turner, but it is also marked by attributes not to be found in that world, such as intentionality, purposefulness, design, and intelligence. The Darwin......

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April 24, 2024

Evolving Views on the Science of Evolution

Nathalie Gontier

Nathalie Gontier takes us on a romp through the predominant schools of evolutionary thought: Darwinism, the Modern Synthesis, Micro-, Meso-, and Macroevolution, Ecology, and Reticulate Evolution. Toda......

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April 24, 2024

Do Organisms Have Goals and Purpose?

Amelia Lewis

Zoologist Amelia Lewis argues for greater recognition of non-human animal sentience, cognition, and goal-directedness in evolutionary thought. Within the context of the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis......

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April 24, 2024

Evolution Is Neither Random Accidents nor Divine Intervention: Biological Action Changes Genomes

James A. Shapiro

Biologist James A. Shapiro believes the discovery of different biological means by which organisms can alter their genomes, along with the process of interspecific hybridization, demands a reassessmen......

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April 24, 2024

Heterodox Thinking on Evolution and Radical Enlightenment

Richard I. Vane-Wright

Between the Modern Synthesis—which says that evolution is driven by accidental genetic changes—and its heterodox challenges—which argue for various forms of agency and non-random pro......

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April 24, 2024

Country Music Violates the “Sacred Project” of Elites

Jukka Savolainen

Sociologist Jukka Savolainen contrasts the media’s vicious treatment of country singers Jason Aldean and Oliver Anthony to the far more benign, or even laudatory, treatment of lawbreaking hip-ho......

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April 24, 2024

University Presidents Call for Peace and Thus Perpetuate War

Walter E. Block and Alan G. Futerman

Alan G. Futerman and Walter E. Block conclude that the flood of statements from college presidents calling for peace in the Middle East will, in fact, make peace less likely.

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April 24, 2024

The Ivory Tower and the Oil Pit: A Parable?

William L. Howard

Will Bunch’s After the Ivory Tower Falls: How College Broke the American Dream and Blew up Our Politics—And How to Fix It “will appeal to journalists, activists, ‘nev......

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April 24, 2024

Do Generations Truly Differ?

Matthew Stewart

A review of psychologist Jean M. Twenge’s magnum opus Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, and Silents—and What They Mean for America’s Future, which de......

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April 24, 2024

The Place of the Novel in the Liberal Arts Curriculum

Glynn Custred

A discussion of the place of the novel in liberal arts education, a question sparked by the recent publication of Joseph Epstein’s The Novel, Who Needs It? Novels are important, says E......

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