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Evolutionary ethics: An idea whose time has come? An overview and an affirmation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 May 2016

Peter A. Corning
Peter A. Corning*
Affiliation:
Institute for the Study of Complex Systems 119 Bryant Street, Suite 212 Palo Alto, CA 94301 USA PACorning@Complexsystems.org
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Extract

Evolutionary ethics is a subject that has been debated ever since Darwin's day. The basic issue, in a nutshell, is whether or not human ethical systems can be explained — and justified — in terms of evolutionary principles. In recent years there has been an upsurge of publications devoted to this issue, including many new books (as well as a number of books on Darwinism and religion) and countless journal articles. Indeed, an Internet search using the term “evolutionary ethics” yielded 65,400 citations of various kinds. As this outpouring of publications suggests, there has been a great diversity of views on the subject over the years.

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Type
Harrison Symposium III
Information
Politics and the Life Sciences , Volume 22 , Issue 1 , March 2003, pp. 50 - 58
Copyright
Copyright © Association for Politics and the Life Sciences 

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