Evolutionary ethics and contemporary biology /
Evolutionary Ethics & Contemporary Biology
edited by Giovanni Boniolo, Gabriele De Anna.
- Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2006.
- 1 online resource (ix, 207 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).
- Cambridge studies in philosophy and biology .
- Cambridge studies in philosophy and biology. .
Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).
Is Darwinian metaethics possible (and if it is, is it well taken)? / The descent of instinct and the ascent of ethics / Are human beings part of the rest of nature? / The nature of resemblance : homologues in the nervous system and behavioral correspondence / Genetic influences on moral capacity : what genetic mutants can teach us / Evolutionary psychopharmacology, mental disorders, and ethical behavior / The biology of human culture and ethics : an evolutionary perspective / Biology to ethics : an evolutionist's view of human nature / Between fragile altruism and morality : evolution and the emergence of normative guidance / Will genomics do more for metaphysics than Locke? / Michael Ruse -- Giovanni Boniolo -- Christopher Lang, Elliott Sober, and Karen Strier -- Aldo Fasolo -- Giovanni Boniolo and Paolo Vezzoni -- Stefano Canali, Gabriele De Anna, and Luca Pani -- Stefano Parmigiani, Gabriele De Anna, Danilo Mainardi, and Paola Palanza -- Francisco Ayala -- Philip Kitcher -- Alex Rosenberg.
How can the discoveries made in the biological sciences play a role in a discussion on the foundation of ethics? This book responds to this question by examining how evolutionism can explain and justify the existence of ethical normativity and the emergence of particular moral systems. Written by a team of philosophers and scientists, the essays collected in this volume deal with the limits of evolutionary explanations, the justifications of ethics, and methodological issues concerning evolutionary accounts of ethics, among other topics. They offer deep insights into the origin and purpose of human moral capacities and of moral systems.