The Cambridge Handbook of Evolutionary Ethics

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.

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).

'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, Metascience