Evolved morality : the biology and philosophy of human conscience / [edited by] Frans de Waal.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

International School of Ethology.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ethics, Evolutionary.

Conscience.

Behavior evolution.

Human evolution.

Primates--Behavior.

Primates.

Altruistic behavior in animals.

Cognitive neuroscience.

Neuropsychology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (276 p.)

Place of Publication:

Boston, MA : Brill, 2014.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Morality is often defined in opposition to the natural \'instincts,\' or as a tool to keep those instincts in check. New findings in neuroscience, social psychology, animal behavior, and anthropology have brought us back to the original Darwinian position that moral behavior is continuous with the social behavior of animals, and most likely evolved to enhance the cooperativeness of society. In this view, morality is part of human nature rather than its opposite. This interdisciplinary volume debates the origin and working of human morality within the context of science as well as religion and philosophy. Experts from widely different backgrounds speculate how morality may have evolved, how it develops in the child, and what science can tell us about its working and origin. They also discuss how to deal with the age-old facts-versus-values debate, also known as the naturalistic fallacy. The implications of this exchange are enormous, as they may transform cherished views on if and why we are the only moral species. These articles are also published in Behaviour , Volume 151, Nos. 2/3 (February 2014). Suitable for course adoption!

Contents:

Preliminary Material / Frans B.M. de Waal , Patricia Smith Churchland , Telmo Pievani and Stefano Parmigiani

Evolved morality: The biology and philosophy of human conscience / Frans B.M. de Waal , Patricia Smith Churchland , Telmo Pievani and Stefano Parmigiani

Introduction / Frans B.M. de Waal , Patricia Smith Churchland , Telmo Pievani and Stefano Parmigiani

A history of the altruism–morality debate in biology / Oren Harman

The moral consequences of social selection / Christopher Boehm

Natural normativity: The ‘is’ and ‘ought’ of animal behavior / Frans B.M. de Waal

Empiricism and normative ethics: What do the biology and the psychology of morality have to do with ethics? / Owen Flanagan , Aaron Ancell , Stephen Martin and Gordon Steenbergen

Human nature and science: A cautionary essay / Simon Blackburn

Is a naturalized ethics possible? / Philip Kitcher

The origins of moral judgment / Richard Joyce

The neurobiological platform for moral values / Patricia S. Churchland

The neuroscience of social relations. A comparative-based approach to empathy and to the capacity of evaluating others’ action value / Pier F. Ferrari

A social cognitive developmental perspective on moral judgment / Larisa Heiphetz and Liane Young

Morality, intentionality and intergroup attitudes / Melanie Killen and Michael T. Rizzo

Does religion make people moral? / Ara Norenzayan

Supernatural beliefs: Adaptations for social life or by-products of cognitive adaptations? / Vittorio Girotto , Telmo Pievani and Giorgio Vallortigara

Index / Frans B.M. de Waal , Patricia Smith Churchland , Telmo Pievani and Stefano Parmigiani.

Notes:

Includes index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9789004263888

9004263888

OCLC:

878139715

Publisher Number:

10.1163/9789004263888 DOI