Biology and the Foundations of Ethics

About this book

Collection of essays focusing on the connection between biology, in particular evolutionary biology, and foundational questions in ethics. Asks such questions as whether humans are innately selfish, and whether there are particular facets of human nature that bear directly on social practices.

Contents

Introduction Michael Ruse and Jane Maienschein; 1. Aristotle on the biological roots of virtue: the natural history of natural virtue James G. Lennox; 2. The moral status of animals in the eighteenth century British philosophy Michael Bradie; 3; From natural to evolutionary ethics Phillip Sloan; 4. French evolutionary ethics during the Third Republic Paul Farber; 5. The state and nature of unity and freedom Myles Jackson; 6; Darwin's Romantic biology, the foundation of his evolutionary ethics Robert J. Richards; 7. Nietzsche and Darwin Jean Gayon; 8. Evolutionary ethics in the twentieth century: Julian Sorrel Huxley and George Gaylord Simpson Michael Ruse; 9. The laws of inheritance and the rules of morality: early geneticists on evolution and ethics Marga Vicedo; 10. Scientific responsibility and political context: the case of genetics under the Swastika Diane Paul and Raphael Falk; 11. The case against revolutionary ethics today Peter Woolcock; 12. Biology and value theory Robert J. McShea and Daniel McShea.

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