An Introduction To Evolutionary Ethics - Plot & Excerpts
(Philip Kitcher, “Biology and Ethics”) The evolutionary realist must be, at this point, feeling backed into a corner. The previous two chapters have painted a fairly grim picture for anyone sympathetic to the idea that morality is real, that actions can in fact be objectively wrong, good, or bad. So what sorts of options are available to someone committed to the idea of moral realism? In this chapter we'll explore four different sorts of options. The first option involves a fairly blunt instrument: denying that evolution played any role in the development of our moral sense. I describe this as “blunt instrument” because it refuses to accommodate the central claim of the evolutionary anti-realist. Instead, it attempts to clear everything off the table and begin anew. The three other options we'll explore attempt to work within the developmental framework emphasized by the evolutionary anti-realist. They concede, to varying extents, the idea that evolution played some role in developing our moral minds.
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