Darwinian Morality
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Following the Trail of Ants: an Examination of the Work of E.O
Sacred Heart University DigitalCommons@SHU Writing Across the Curriculum Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) 2012 Following The rT ail Of Ants: An Examination Of The orW k Of E.O. Wilson Samantha Kee Sacred Heart University Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.sacredheart.edu/wac_prize Part of the Biodiversity Commons, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons, Entomology Commons, Other Genetics and Genomics Commons, Philosophy of Science Commons, Religion Commons, and the Theory, Knowledge and Science Commons Recommended Citation Kee, Samantha, "Following The rT ail Of Ants: An Examination Of The orkW Of E.O. Wilson" (2012). Writing Across the Curriculum. 2. http://digitalcommons.sacredheart.edu/wac_prize/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) at DigitalCommons@SHU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Writing Across the Curriculum by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@SHU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Samantha Kee RS 299-Writing With Public Purpose Dr. Brian Stiltner March 2, 2012 Following the trail of ants An examination of the work of E.O. Wilson Edward Osborne Wilson was a born naturalist, in every sense of the word. As a child growing up in Alabama, he collected and studied species of snakes, flies, and the insect that became the basis of his life’s work, ants. He made a goal to record every species of ant that could be found in Alabama—a childhood project that would eventually lead to his first scientific publication. By age 13, Wilson discovered a red, non-native ant in a local town in Alabama, and by the time he entered the University of Alabama, the fire ant had become a significant threat to the state’s agriculture. -
Spinoza's Political Theory: Naturalism, Determinism And
Open Journal of Philosophy, 2017, 7, 105-115 http://www.scirp.org/journal/ojpp ISSN Online: 2163-9442 ISSN Print: 2163-9434 Spinoza’s Political Theory: Naturalism, Determinism and Institutionalism Jan-Erik Lane Public Policy Institute, Belgrade, Serbia How to cite this paper: Lane, J.-E. (2017). Abstract Spinoza’s Political Theory: Naturalism, De- terminism and Institutionalism. Open Jour- Spinoza has a formidable reputation as an abstract philosopher in the ratio- nal of Philosophy, 7, 105-115. nalist school of the 17th century. This standard image of him stems from his https://doi.org/10.4236/ojpp.2017.72007 elegant Ethics, examining men and women with the Euclidean method of Received: March 25, 2017 axioms, corollaries and implications. He launched a fascinating theory about Accepted: May 24, 2017 moral naturalism and ethical determinism, much debated by other great phi- Published: May 27, 2017 losophers. However, he also has two political texts, one on religion and Copyright © 2017 by author and another on political regime. They are much more reader friendly and the ar- Scientific Research Publishing Inc. guments are simple, following from the foundations in Ethics. At least, Spi- This work is licensed under the Creative noza so believed. This paper presents systematically the political theory in Commons Attribution International Tractatus Politicus, which has received too little attention. License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access Keywords Naturalism, Determinism, Hobbes, Kierkegaard, Monarchy, Aristocracy and Democracy, Institutionalism and Choice 1. Introduction Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) dealt with general philosophy, the philosophy of re- ligion and political philosophy. -
A Bestiary of the Arts
LA LETTRE ACADEMIE DES BEAUX-ARTS A BESTIARY OF THE ARTS 89 Issue 89 Spring 2019 Editorial • page 2 News: Annual Public Meeting of the Five Academies News: Installations under the Coupole: Adrien Goetz and Jacques Perrin News: Formal Session of the Académie des beaux-arts • pages 3 to 7 Editorial The magnificent Exhibition: “Oriental Visions: Cynocephalus adorning the cover of this edition of From Dreams into Light” La Lettre emanates a feeling of peaceful strength Musée Marmottan Monet true to the personality of its author, Pierre-Yves • pages 8 and 9 File: Trémois, the oldest member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts after being elected to Paul Lemangy’s “A bestiary of the arts” seat on 8 February 1978. • pages 10 to 34 Through the insatiable curiosity and astounding energy that he brings to the table at the age of News: “Concerts for a seat” ninety-eight, Pierre-Yves Trémois shows us Elections: Jean-Michel Othoniel, the extent to which artistic creation can be Marc Barani, Bernard Desmoulin, regenerative, especially when it is not seeking to conform to any passing trend. News: The Cabinet des estampes de la In May 2017 we elected forty-three year-old composer Bruno Mantovani to Jean bibliothèque de l’Institut Prodromidès’ seat. Tribute: Jean Cortot Watching the two passionately converse about art, we realized that the half • pages 35 to 37 century separating them was of no importance. The Académie des Beaux-Arts is known for the immense aesthetic diversity Press release: “Antônio Carlos Jobim, running throughout its different sections. highly-elaborate popular music” This reality is in stark contrast with academicism. -
Evolution and Ethics 2
It is still disputed, however, why moral behavior extends beyond a close circle of kin and reciprocal relationships: e.g., most people think stealing from anyone is wrong, not just stealing from family and friends. For moral behavior to evolve as we understand it today, there likely had to be selective pressures that pushed people to disregard their own 1000wordphilosophy.com/2018/10/11/evolution- interests in favor of their group’s interest.[3] Exactly and-ethics/ how morality extended beyond this close circle is debated, with many theories under consideration.[4] Evolution and Ethics 2. What Should We Do? Author: Michael Klenk Suppose our ability to understand and apply moral Category: Ethics, Philosophy of Science rules, as typically understood, can be explained by Word Count: 999 natural selection. Does evolution explain which rules We often follow what are considered basic moral we should follow?[5] rules: don’t steal, don’t lie, help others when we can. Some answer, “yes!” “Greed captures the essence of But why do we follow these rules, or any rules the evolutionary spirit,” says the fictional character understood as “moral rules”? Does evolution explain Gordon Gekko in the 1987 film Wall Street: “Greed why? If so, does evolution have implications for … is good. Greed is right.”[6] which rules we should follow, and whether we genuinely know this? Gekko’s claims about what is good and right and what we ought to be comes from what he thinks we This essay explores the relations between evolution naturally are: we are greedy, so we ought to be and morality, including evolution’s potential greedy. -
The Function of Greetings Between Male Guinea Baboons
Ethology 109, 847—859 (2003) Ó 2003 Blackwell Verlag, Berlin ISSN 0179–1613 Primate Rituals: The Function of Greetings between Male Guinea Baboons Jessica C. Whitham & Dario Maestripieri Animal Behavior Research Group, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA Abstract The bond-testing hypothesis suggests that social animals can obtain honest information about the quality of their dyadic relationships by exchanging costly, high-risksignals (Zahavi & Zahavi 1997). We evaluated this hypothesis by investigating whether adult male baboons use intense greeting interactions to test the quality and strength of their social bonds. Intense greetings involve intimate and risky behaviors such as embracing and the diddling of the penis and/or scrotum. Data were collected on a colony of 40 Guinea baboons (Papio papio)at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. Fifteen adult male baboons were focally observed for 30-min sessions over a 6-mo period, resulting in 195 h of observation. We assessed the quality of male–male relationships using measures of affiliation, aggression, and social tolerance. As predicted by the bond-testing hypothesis, dyads with strong social bonds exchanged a higher frequency of intense greetings than did pairs with poor relationships. We found no support for the competing hypotheses, that suggest that greetings have an aggressive or submissive function or are used as a form of post-conflict reconciliatory behavior. Neither dominance relationships nor contextual variables were predictive of intense greeting patterns. We suggest that by imposing on his partner, a male baboon is able to obtain reliable information about this individual’s current willingness to cooperate and invest in the relationship. -
Sociobiology and the Origins of Ethics
SOCIOBIOLOGY AND THE ORIGINS OF ETHICS JULIO MUÑOZ-RUBIO ABSTRACT. According to sociobiology, ethics is an offspring of natural selection and totally explicable through biology. According to this discipline, any indi- vidual has reproduction as its supreme life objective, and thus ethical principles are directly originated from such objective. This criterion subordinates choice to “natural” duties and eradicates the power of human free will to generate values. Sociobiology falls into the natural fallacy as it assumes that a moral “duty” derived from a particular behavior is justified by the same existence of such behavior. This paper sustains that humans are qualitative different from the rest of animals since they exist in spheres afar from strict biological ones; sociobiology subjugates human freedom to the necessity realm and build up an ideological discourse. KEY WORDS. Ethics, evolutionary theory, ideology, naturalist fallacy, sociobi- ology, survival, liberty, necessity, dearth, free will. INTRODUCTION Sociobiological theory deals with animal species that are “social”, that is, they form groups, develop a certain division of labor, and cooperate in order to survive in the struggle for existence. For this reason, these species appear from the start as if they were endowed with moral attributes. “Social” animals possess qualities comparable to human beings not only insofar they are born and die, develop, reproduce, become ill, nor since they relate to other beings of the same and even of other species, but because, as they perform all these various functions in their peculiar ways, they exhibit emotional and behavioral patterns curiously akin to those of human beings. One of the main sources of sociobiology is Darwinist theory which, upon refuting creationism and affirming the principle of continuity in the evolution of species, denies the existence of overall qualitative differences between human beings and higher animals (Darwin 1981, Part I, p. -
Moral Implications of Darwinian Evolution for Human Reference
Andrews University Digital Commons @ Andrews University Dissertations Graduate Research 2006 Moral Implications of Darwinian Evolution for Human Reference Based in Christian Ethics: a Critical Analysis and Response to the "Moral Individualism" of James Rachels Stephen Bauer Andrews University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations Part of the Christianity Commons, Ethics in Religion Commons, Evolution Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Bauer, Stephen, "Moral Implications of Darwinian Evolution for Human Reference Based in Christian Ethics: a Critical Analysis and Response to the "Moral Individualism" of James Rachels" (2006). Dissertations. 16. https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/16 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Research at Digital Commons @ Andrews University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Andrews University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your interest in the Andrews University Digital Library of Dissertations and Theses. Please honor the copyright of this document by not duplicating or distributing additional copies in any form without the author’s express written permission. Thanks for your cooperation. Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary MORAL IMPLICATIONS OF DARWINIAN EVOLUTION FOR HUMAN PREFERENCE BASED IN CHRISTIAN ETHICS: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS AND RESPONSE TO THE “MORAL INDIVIDUALISM” OF JAMES RACHELS A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by Stephen Bauer November 2006 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 3248152 Copyright 2006 by Bauer, Stephen All rights reserved. -
(CCAC) Guide to the Care and Use of Experimental Animals Volume
Canadian Council on Animal Care Conseil canadien de protection des animaux Guide to the Care and Use of Experimental Animals Volume 1, 2nd Edition Sections of this document that have been revised are replaced by links to the relevant documents. The remaining sections are undergoing revision; however, they will continue to be used for CCAC assessments until revised guidelines are published. Editors Dr E.D. Olfert Dr B.M. Cross Mrs A.A. McWilliam Director Asssistant Director Information Officer Animal Resources Centre Animal Resources Centre Canadian Council on Animal Care University of Saskatchewan University of Saskatchewan 1000-151 Slater Street Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5H3 S7N 0W0 S7N 0W0 In keeping with the CCAC policy of revising statements and guidelines as needed, users of this Guide are encouraged to forward any comments to the Secretariat. Citing certain devices or manufacturers is not to be perceived as the endorsement of the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC) of one particular product over another. Publication Date: 1993 Revision Date: April 2020 © Canadian Council on Animal Care, 1993 ISBN: 0-919087-18-3 Canadian Council on Animal Care 190 O’Connor St., Suite 800 Ottawa, Ontario, K2P 2R3 http://www.ccac.ca Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ...................................................................................................................1 PREFACE.........................................................................................................................2 -
The Ethics of Charles Darwin
teorema Vol. XXVIII/2, 2009, pp. 123-133 [BIBLID 0210-1602 (2009) 28:2; pp. 123-133] ‘The Social Instincts Naturally Lead to the Golden Rule’: The Ethics of Charles Darwin John Mizzoni […] the social instincts […] with the aid of active intellectual powers and the effects of habit, naturally lead to the golden rule, “As ye would that men should do to you, do ye to them likewise;” and this lies at the foundation of morality. [DARWIN, The Descent of Man (1871), p. 71] RESUMEN En The Descent of Man, Darwin discute una gran variedad de problemas éticos de manera exclusiva, dice él, desde la perspectiva de la historia natural. Intentando situar los puntos de vista de Darwin sobre la evolución y la ética dentro de las discusiones contemporáneas sobre filosofía moral reviso, en primer lugar, cómo el enfoque que Darwin hace de la evolución y la ética encaja en la metaética contemporánea, especialmente con cuatro teorías de tales como la del error, el expresi- vismo, el relativismo y el realismo. PALABRAS CLAVE: Darwin, metaética, teoría del error, expresivismo, relativismo moral, realismo moral. ABSTRACT In the The Descent of Man, Darwin discusses a wide variety of ethical issues, exclusively, he says, from the perspective of natural history. As an attempt to situate Darwin’s views on evolution and ethics into contemporary discussions of moral theory, in this paper I first look at how Darwin’s approach to evolution and ethics fits in with contemporary metaethical theory, specifically the four theories of error theory, expressivism, relativism, and realism. KEYWORDS: Darwin, metaethics, error theory, expressivism, moral relativism, moral realism. -
Integrating Behaviour Into Wildlife Conservation: the Multiple Ways That Behaviour Can Reduce Ne Laura L
Biological Conservation 95 (2000) 303±315 www.elsevier.com/locate/biocon Integrating behaviour into wildlife conservation: the multiple ways that behaviour can reduce Ne Laura L. Anthony a, Daniel T. Blumstein a,b,c,* aDepartment of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia bDepartment of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia cThe Cooperative Research Centre for the Conservation and Management of Marsupials, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia Received 10 June 1999; received in revised form 19 August 1999; accepted 16 October 1999 Abstract There has been a recent interest in integrating an understanding of behaviour into conservation biology. Unfortunately, there has been no paradigm for such a process. Without a clear framework for integration, conservation biologists may have diculties recognising how behavioural knowledge can help solve real-world conservation problems. Eective population size (Ne) is a key demographic parameter used to understand population viability. A variety of behaviours and behavioural traits impact Ne, yet their importance for conservation is under-appreciated. We suggest that identifying behavioural traits that aect Ne provides a paradigm for integrating behavioural biology into conservation biology. Behaviour can aect Ne through at least three dierent mechanisms: reducing N Ð the population size; reducing r Ð the population growth rate, and/or by increasing reproductive skew. We discuss how nine common behavioural traits can reduce Ne, and suggest how an understanding of these traits may inform management of both free-living and captive animals. # 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Behaviour and conservation; Eective population size; Population viability 1. Introduction knowledge of animal behaviour to conservation pro- blems, there is no clear framework to help conservation Conservation biology is a crisis discipline aimed at biologists identify the speci®c cases when they should be saving biodiversity (Soule , 1986). -
Information Systems Theorizing Based on Evolutionary Psychology: an Interdisciplinary Review and Theory Integration Framework1
Kock/IS Theorizing Based on Evolutionary Psychology THEORY AND REVIEW INFORMATION SYSTEMS THEORIZING BASED ON EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEW AND THEORY INTEGRATION FRAMEWORK1 By: Ned Kock on one evolutionary information systems theory—media Division of International Business and Technology naturalness theory—previously developed as an alternative to Studies media richness theory, and one non-evolutionary information Texas A&M International University systems theory, channel expansion theory. 5201 University Boulevard Laredo, TX 78041 Keywords: Information systems, evolutionary psychology, U.S.A. theory development, media richness theory, media naturalness [email protected] theory, channel expansion theory Abstract Introduction Evolutionary psychology holds great promise as one of the possible pillars on which information systems theorizing can While information systems as a distinct area of research has take place. Arguably, evolutionary psychology can provide the potential to be a reference for other disciplines, it is the key to many counterintuitive predictions of behavior reasonable to argue that information systems theorizing can toward technology, because many of the evolved instincts that benefit from fresh new insights from other fields of inquiry, influence our behavior are below our level of conscious which may in turn enhance even more the reference potential awareness; often those instincts lead to behavioral responses of information systems (Baskerville and Myers 2002). After that are not self-evident. This paper provides a discussion of all, to be influential in other disciplines, information systems information systems theorizing based on evolutionary psych- research should address problems that are perceived as rele- ology, centered on key human evolution and evolutionary vant by scholars in those disciplines and in ways that are genetics concepts and notions. -
On the Natural History of Emotions: Darwin's Legacy
revista de historia de la psicología © 2009: Publicacions de la Universitat de València 2009,On the vol. natural 30, núm. history 2-3 (junio-septiembre) of emotions 161-168 Valencia (España). ISSN: 0211-0040161 On the natural history of emotions: Darwin’s legacy Paulo Jesus* Universidade Lusófono do Porto Abstract One of the most striking applications of Darwinian principles resides in the evolutionary account of expression of emotions. The main purpose of this paper is to ask some fundamental questions concerning this realm of Darwinian investigations and its implicit or explicit legacy in contem- porary psychology of emotions, which appears inhabited by the essential tension between the primacy of embodiment (from James to Damasio) and that of cognitive mediation (from Peirce to Lazarus). One should ask again: what is an emotion? Is it reducible to a bodily expression or is there any qualitative difference between emotion and expression? Why do emotions belong to the phenomena of life? How do the grammar of life and the grammar of culture interact in emotional expressions? What is the «truth» of Darwin’s principles on expressions and what degree of coherence can be detected when one attempts at integrating the theory of emotions in the larger picture of the evolution of life forms and cultural meaningful phenomena? Darwin is systematically attracted towards normative invariants, that is, nomological relation- ships and functions which organise a dynamic morphogenetic process. Thus, Darwin’s theory of expression of emotions identifies a set of three universal principles that complement each other. These comprise not only the notion of adaptive behaviour, association of learned habits and evolution of instinct, but also that of body structure (specially the web of muscles that define and constrain the landscape of the face), inheritance of movements and independent action of the nervous system.