The Cambridge Handbook of Evolutionary Ethics
Published on 24. August 2017
Book
Hardback
342 pages
978-1-107-13295-5 (ISBN)
Description
Evolutionary ethics - the application of evolutionary ideas to moral thinking and justification - began in the nineteenth century with the work of Charles Darwin and Herbert Spencer, but was subsequently criticized as an example of the naturalistic fallacy. In recent decades, however, evolutionary ethics has found new support among both the Darwinian and the Spencerian traditions. This accessible volume looks at the history of thought about evolutionary ethics as well as current debates in the subject, examining first the claims of supporters and then the responses of their critics. Topics covered include social Darwinism, moral realism, and debunking arguments. Clearly written and structured, the book guides readers through the arguments on both sides, and emphasises the continuing relevance of evolutionary theory to our understanding of ethics today.
Reviews / Votes
'No comprehensive understanding of where the debates over evolutionary ethics currently lie would be possible without The Cambridge Handbook. It is an indispensable guide to critical philosophical disputes.' Scott M. James, MetascienceMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 250 mm
Width: 175 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
770 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-107-13295-5 (9781107132955)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Michael Ruse | Robert J. Richards
The Cambridge Handbook of Evolutionary Ethics
E-Book
08/2017
Cambridge University Press
€26.49
Available for download
Michael Ruse | Robert J. Richards
The Cambridge Handbook of Evolutionary Ethics
Book
08/2017
Cambridge University Press
€41.90
Shipment within 15-20 days
Michael Ruse
Cambridge Handbook of Evolutionary Ethics
E-Book
08/2017
Cambridge University Press
€23.49
Available for download
Persons
Michael Ruse is Director of the Program in the History and Philosophy of Science at Florida State University. His publications include The Philosophy of Human Evolution (Cambridge, 2012), The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Darwin and Evolutionary Thought (Cambridge, 2013), and Science, Evolution, and Religion (2016). Robert J. Richards is Morris Fishbein Distinguished Service Professor in the History of Science and Medicine at the University of Chicago. His publications include Darwin and the Emergence of Evolutionary Theories of Mind and Behavior (1987), Was Hitler a Darwinian? Disputed Questions in the History of Evolutionary Theory (2013), and Debating Darwin (2016).
Content
Introduction Michael Ruse and Robert J. Richards; Part I. Historical: 1. Ethics, evolution and the a priori: Ross on Spencer and the French sociologists Hallvard Lillehammer; 2. Nietzsche's rejection of nineteenth-century evolutionary ethics Jeffrey O'Connell; 3. American pragmatism, evolution, and ethics Trevor Pearce; 4. The path to the present Abraham H. Gibson; 5. Social Darwinism and market morality: a modern-day view for evolutionary ethics Naomi Beck; Part II. For Evolutionary Ethics: 6. Darwinian evolutionary ethics Michael Ruse; 7. Human morality: from an empirical puzzle to a metaethical puzzle Richard Joyce; 8. Evolution and the epistemological challenge to moral realism Justin Horn; 9. Evolutionary naturalism and valuation Richard A. Richards; 10. Evolutionary ethics, a theory of moral realism Robert J. Richards; 11. Moral mismatch and abolition Ben Fraser; Part III. Against Debunking Arguments: 12. Moral realism and evolutionary debunking arguments Russ Shafer-Landau; 13. Why Darwinism does not debunk objective morality William J. FitzPatrick; 14. Debunking arguments: mathematics, logic, and modal security Justin Clarke-Doane; 15. Evolution and the missing link (in debunking arguments) Uri D. Leibowitz and Neil Sinclair; 16. Better than our nature? Evolution and moral realism, justification and progress Michael Vlerick; Part IV. Elaborations: 17. Darwinian ethics: biological individuality and moral relativism Frederic Bouchard; 18. Evolutionary psychology, feminist critiques thereof, and the naturalistic fallacy Lynn Hankinson Nelson; 19. A theological evaluation of evolutionary ethics Michael L. Peterson.