Uchii, Soshichi (1999) Darwin on the Evolution of Morality. [Preprint]

HTML DonM-text.html Download (35kB)

Abstract

Darwin argued for the biological basis of morality in his Descent of Man (1871). Beginning with the thesis of the continuity of man and animals, he tried to explain the origin of the moral sense, or conscience, as understood as an ability to discern right and wrong, and to feel guilty if one realizes to have done wrong. His argument is that, in any animal with social instincts and sufficient intellectual powers, a moral sense would be developed. Although Darwin's argument had some missing links, I try to show that his argument can be consistently reconstructed, in view of the recent development of evolutionary biology and behavioral ecology. As I understand, Darwin's basic tenet is reductionism via evolutionary processes (natural selection, in particular): morality can be reduced to a combination of non-moral factors, each of which can be shared with other animals; you do not have to assume that morality is sui generis.

---

Export/Citation:

EndNote | BibTeX | Dublin Core | ASCII/Text Citation (Chicago) | HTML Citation | OpenURL

Social Networking:

Share |

---

Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Uchii, Soshichi
Keywords:	Darwin, evolution, morality, natural selection
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Psychology > Evolutionary Psychology Specific Sciences > Biology > Evolutionary Theory General Issues > Ethical Issues
Depositing User:	Soshichi Uchii
Date Deposited:	23 Feb 2001
Last Modified:	07 Oct 2010 15:10
Item ID:	137
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Psychology > Evolutionary Psychology Specific Sciences > Biology > Evolutionary Theory General Issues > Ethical Issues
Date:	March 1999
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/137

Monthly Views for the past 3 years

Monthly Downloads for the past 3 years

Plum Analytics

Actions (login required)

View Item