The Evolution of Morality

Download The Evolution of Morality PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 0262263254
Total Pages : 285 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (622 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Evolution of Morality by : Richard Joyce

Download or read book The Evolution of Morality written by Richard Joyce and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2007-08-24 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Moral thinking pervades our practical lives, but where did this way of thinking come from, and what purpose does it serve? Is it to be explained by environmental pressures on our ancestors a million years ago, or is it a cultural invention of more recent origin? In The Evolution of Morality, Richard Joyce takes up these controversial questions, finding that the evidence supports an innate basis to human morality. As a moral philosopher, Joyce is interested in whether any implications follow from this hypothesis. Might the fact that the human brain has been biologically prepared by natural selection to engage in moral judgment serve in some sense to vindicate this way of thinking—staving off the threat of moral skepticism, or even undergirding some version of moral realism? Or if morality has an adaptive explanation in genetic terms—if it is, as Joyce writes, "just something that helped our ancestors make more babies"—might such an explanation actually undermine morality's central role in our lives? He carefully examines both the evolutionary "vindication of morality" and the evolutionary "debunking of morality," considering the skeptical view more seriously than have others who have treated the subject. Interdisciplinary and combining the latest results from the empirical sciences with philosophical discussion, The Evolution of Morality is one of the few books in this area written from the perspective of moral philosophy. Concise and without technical jargon, the arguments are rigorous but accessible to readers from different academic backgrounds. Joyce discusses complex issues in plain language while advocating subtle and sometimes radical views. The Evolution of Morality lays the philosophical foundations for further research into the biological understanding of human morality.

The Evolution of Morality

Download The Evolution of Morality PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3319196715
Total Pages : 327 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (191 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Evolution of Morality by : Todd K. Shackelford

Download or read book The Evolution of Morality written by Todd K. Shackelford and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-08-10 with total page 327 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This interdisciplinary collection presents novel theories, includes provocative re-workings of longstanding arguments, and offers a healthy cross-pollination of ideas to the morality literature. Structures, functions, and content of morality are reconsidered as cultural, religious, and political components are added to the standard biological/environmental mix. Innovative concepts such as the Periodic Table of Ethics and evidence for morality in non-human species illuminate areas for further discussion and research. And some of the book’s contributors question premises we hold dear, such as morality as a product of reason, the existence of moral truths, and the motto “life is good.” Highlights of the coverage: The tripartite theory of Machiavellian morality: judgment, influence, and conscience as distinct moral adaptations. Prosocial morality from a biological, cultural, and developmental perspective. The containment problem and the evolutionary debunking of morality. A comparative perspective on the evolution of moral behavior. A moral guide to depravity: religiously-motivated violence and sexual selection. Game theory and the strategic logic of moral intuitions. The Evolution of Morality makes a stimulating supplementary text for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in the evolutionary sciences, particularly in psychology, biology, anthropology, sociology, political science, religious studies, and philosophy

The Origins of Morality

Download The Origins of Morality PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 019977823X
Total Pages : 319 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (997 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Origins of Morality by : Dennis Krebs

Download or read book The Origins of Morality written by Dennis Krebs and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2011-08 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why do people behave in moral ways in some circumstances, but not in others? In order to account fully for morality, Dennis Krebs departs from traditional approaches to morality that suggest that children acquire morals through socialization, cultural indoctrination, and moral reasoning. He suggests that such approaches can be subsumed, refined, and revised gainfully within an evolutionary framework. Relying on evolutionary theory, Krebs offers an account of how notions of morality originated in the human species. He updates Darwin's early ideas about how dispositions to obey authority, to control antisocial urges, and to behave in altruistic and cooperative ways originated and evolved, then goes on to update Darwin's account of how humans acquired a moral sense.Krebs explains why the theory of evolution does not dictate that all animals are selfish and immoral by nature. On the contrary, he argues that moral behaviors and moral judgments evolved to serve certain functions. Krebs examines theory and research on the evolution of primitive forms of prosocial conduct displayed by humans and other animals, then discusses the evolution of uniquely human prosocial behaviors. He describes how a sense of morality originated during the course of human evolution through strategic social interactions among members of small groups, and how it was expanded and refined in modern societies, explaining how this sense gives rise to culturally universal and culturally relative moral norms. Krebs argues that although humans' unique cognitive abilities endow them with the capacity to engage in sophisticated forms of moral reasoning, people rarely live up their potential in their everyday lives. Four conceptions of what it means to be a moral person are identified, with the conclusion that people are naturally inclined to meet the standards of each conception under certain conditions. The key to making the world a more moral place lies in creating environments in which good guys finish first and cheaters fail to prosper.

In the Light of Evolution

Download In the Light of Evolution PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 388 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis In the Light of Evolution by : National Academy of Sciences

Download or read book In the Light of Evolution written by National Academy of Sciences and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Arthur M. Sackler Colloquia of the National Academy of Sciences address scientific topics of broad and current interest, cutting across the boundaries of traditional disciplines. Each year, four or five such colloquia are scheduled, typically two days in length and international in scope. Colloquia are organized by a member of the Academy, often with the assistance of an organizing committee, and feature presentations by leading scientists in the field and discussions with a hundred or more researchers with an interest in the topic. Colloquia presentations are recorded and posted on the National Academy of Sciences Sackler colloquia website and published on CD-ROM. These Colloquia are made possible by a generous gift from Mrs. Jill Sackler, in memory of her husband, Arthur M. Sackler.

The Evolution of Moral Progress

Download The Evolution of Moral Progress PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0190868430
Total Pages : 288 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (98 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Evolution of Moral Progress by : Allen Buchanan

Download or read book The Evolution of Moral Progress written by Allen Buchanan and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018-06-08 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Evolution of Moral Progress, Allen Buchanan and Russell Powell resurrect the project of explaining moral progress. They avoid the errors of earlier attempts by drawing on a wide range of disciplines including moral and political philosophy, evolutionary biology, evolutionary psychology, anthropology, history, and sociology. Their focus is on one especially important type of moral progress: gains in inclusivity. They develop a framework to explain progress in inclusivity to also illuminate moral regression--the return to exclusivist and "tribalistic" moral beliefs and attitudes. Buchanan and Powell argue those tribalistic moral responses are not hard-wired by evolution in human nature. Rather, human beings have an evolved "adaptively plastic" capacity for both inclusion and exclusion, depending on environmental conditions. Moral progress in the dimension of inclusivity is possible, but only to the extent that human beings can create environments conducive to extending moral standing to all human beings and even to some animals. Buchanan and Powell take biological evolution seriously, but with a critical eye, while simultaneously recognizing the crucial role of culture in creating environments in which moral progress can occur. The book avoids both biological and cultural determinism. Unlike earlier theories of moral progress, their theory provides a naturalistic account that is grounded in the best empirical work, and unlike earlier theories it does not present moral progress as inevitable or as occurring in definite stages; but rather it recognizes the highly contingent and fragile character of moral improvement.

A Natural History of Human Morality

Download A Natural History of Human Morality PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 0674088646
Total Pages : 207 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (74 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis A Natural History of Human Morality by : Michael Tomasello

Download or read book A Natural History of Human Morality written by Michael Tomasello and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2016-01-04 with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Michael Tomasello offers the most detailed account to date of the evolution of human moral psychology. Based on experimental data comparing great apes and human children, he reconstructs two key evolutionary steps whereby early humans gradually became an ultra-cooperative and, eventually, a moral species capable of acting as a plural agent “we”.

Morals and Markets

Download Morals and Markets PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 0230614981
Total Pages : 258 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (36 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Morals and Markets by : D. Friedman

Download or read book Morals and Markets written by D. Friedman and published by Springer. This book was released on 2008-09-15 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, economist and evolutionary game theorist Daniel Freidman demonstrates that our moral codes and our market systems, while often in conflict, are really devices evolved to achieve similar ends, and that society functions best when morals and markets are in balance with each other.

The Moral Animal

Download The Moral Animal PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Vintage
ISBN 13 : 0679763996
Total Pages : 496 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (797 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Moral Animal by : Robert Wright

Download or read book The Moral Animal written by Robert Wright and published by Vintage. This book was released on 1995-08-29 with total page 496 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the most provocative science books ever published—"a feast of great thinking and writing about the most profound issues there are" (The New York Times Book Review). "Fiercely intelligent, beautifully written and engrossingly original." —The New York Times Book Review Are men literally born to cheat? Does monogamy actually serve women's interests? These are among the questions that have made The Moral Animaled one of the most provocative science books in recent years. Wright unveils the genetic strategies behind everything from our sexual preferences to our office politics—as well as their implications for our moral codes and public policies. Illustrations.

Primates and Philosophers

Download Primates and Philosophers PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 1400830338
Total Pages : 230 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (8 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Primates and Philosophers by : Frans de Waal

Download or read book Primates and Philosophers written by Frans de Waal and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2009-01-12 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Can virtuous behavior be explained by nature, and not by human rational choice? "It's the animal in us," we often hear when we've been bad. But why not when we're good? Primates and Philosophers tackles this question by exploring the biological foundations of one of humanity's most valued traits: morality. In this provocative book, renowned primatologist Frans de Waal argues that modern-day evolutionary biology takes far too dim a view of the natural world, emphasizing our "selfish" genes and reinforcing our habit of labeling ethical behavior as humane and the less civilized as animalistic. Seeking the origin of human morality not in evolution but in human culture, science insists that we are moral by choice, not by nature. Citing remarkable evidence based on his extensive research of primate behavior, de Waal attacks "Veneer Theory," which posits morality as a thin overlay on an otherwise nasty nature. He explains how we evolved from a long line of animals that care for the weak and build cooperation with reciprocal transactions. Drawing on Darwin, recent scientific advances, and his extensive research of primate behavior, de Waal demonstrates a strong continuity between human and animal behavior. He probes issues such as anthropomorphism and human responsibilities toward animals. His compelling account of how human morality evolved out of mammalian society will fascinate anyone who has ever wondered about the origins and reach of human goodness. Based on the Tanner Lectures de Waal delivered at Princeton University's Center for Human Values in 2004, Primates and Philosophers includes responses by the philosophers Peter Singer, Christine M. Korsgaard, and Philip Kitcher and the science writer Robert Wright. They press de Waal to clarify the differences between humans and other animals, yielding a lively debate that will fascinate all those who wonder about the origins and reach of human goodness.

Evolution and Ethics

Download Evolution and Ethics PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : ReadHowYouWant.com
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 72 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (31 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Evolution and Ethics by : Thomas Henry Huxley

Download or read book Evolution and Ethics written by Thomas Henry Huxley and published by ReadHowYouWant.com. This book was released on 1893 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Morals in Evolution

Download Morals in Evolution PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 672 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Morals in Evolution by : Leonard Trelawny Hobhouse

Download or read book Morals in Evolution written by Leonard Trelawny Hobhouse and published by . This book was released on 1925 with total page 672 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Moral Origins

Download Moral Origins PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Soft Skull Press
ISBN 13 : 0465020488
Total Pages : 434 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (65 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Moral Origins by : Christopher Boehm

Download or read book Moral Origins written by Christopher Boehm and published by Soft Skull Press. This book was released on 2012-05-01 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A noted anthropologist explains how our sense of ethics has changed over the course of human evolution. By the author of Hierarchy of the Forest.

Evolution and Ethics and Other Essays

Download Evolution and Ethics and Other Essays PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : London : Macmillan
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 380 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Evolution and Ethics and Other Essays by : Thomas Henry Huxley

Download or read book Evolution and Ethics and Other Essays written by Thomas Henry Huxley and published by London : Macmillan. This book was released on 1894 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Evolved Morality: The Biology and Philosophy of Human Conscience

Download Evolved Morality: The Biology and Philosophy of Human Conscience PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9004263888
Total Pages : 276 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (42 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Evolved Morality: The Biology and Philosophy of Human Conscience by : Frans de Waal

Download or read book Evolved Morality: The Biology and Philosophy of Human Conscience written by Frans de Waal and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2014-02-20 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Morality is often defined in opposition to the natural "instincts," or as a tool to keep those instincts in check. New findings in neuroscience, social psychology, animal behavior, and anthropology have brought us back to the original Darwinian position that moral behavior is continuous with the social behavior of animals, and most likely evolved to enhance the cooperativeness of society. In this view, morality is part of human nature rather than its opposite. This interdisciplinary volume debates the origin and working of human morality within the context of science as well as religion and philosophy. Experts from widely different backgrounds speculate how morality may have evolved, how it develops in the child, and what science can tell us about its working and origin. They also discuss how to deal with the age-old facts-versus-values debate, also known as the naturalistic fallacy. The implications of this exchange are enormous, as they may transform cherished views on if and why we are the only moral species. These articles are also published in Behaviour, Volume 151, Nos. 2/3 (February 2014). Suitable for course adoption!

Moral Minds

Download Moral Minds PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Harper Collins
ISBN 13 : 0061864781
Total Pages : 530 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (618 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Moral Minds by : Marc D. Hauser

Download or read book Moral Minds written by Marc D. Hauser and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2009-10-13 with total page 530 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Harvard scientist illuminates the biological basis for human morality in this groundbreaking book. With the diversity of moral attitudes found across cultures around the globe, it is easy to assume that moral perspectives are socially developed—a matter of nurture rather than nature. But in Moral Minds, Marc Hauser presents compelling evidence to the contrary, and offers a revolutionary new theory: that humans have evolved a universal moral instinct. Hauser argues that certain biologically innate moral principles propel us toward judgments of right and wrong independent of gender, education, and religion. Combining his cutting-edge research with the latest findings in cognitive psychology, linguistics, neuroscience, evolutionary biology, economics, and anthropology, Hauser explores the startling implications of his provocative theory vis-à-vis contemporary bioethics, religion, the law, and our everyday lives.

The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex

Download The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 1400820065
Total Pages : 964 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (8 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex by : Charles Darwin

Download or read book The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex written by Charles Darwin and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2008-09-02 with total page 964 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the current resurgence of interest in the biological basis of animal behavior and social organization, the ideas and questions pursued by Charles Darwin remain fresh and insightful. This is especially true of The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex, Darwin's second most important work. This edition is a facsimile reprint of the first printing of the first edition (1871), not previously available in paperback. The work is divided into two parts. Part One marshals behavioral and morphological evidence to argue that humans evolved from other animals. Darwin shoes that human mental and emotional capacities, far from making human beings unique, are evidence of an animal origin and evolutionary development. Part Two is an extended discussion of the differences between the sexes of many species and how they arose as a result of selection. Here Darwin lays the foundation for much contemporary research by arguing that many characteristics of animals have evolved not in response to the selective pressures exerted by their physical and biological environment, but rather to confer an advantage in sexual competition. These two themes are drawn together in two final chapters on the role of sexual selection in humans. In their Introduction, Professors Bonner and May discuss the place of The Descent in its own time and relation to current work in biology and other disciplines.

Evolution of Morals

Download Evolution of Morals PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Legare Street Press
ISBN 13 : 9781019832158
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (321 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Evolution of Morals by : Janes Lewis George

Download or read book Evolution of Morals written by Janes Lewis George and published by Legare Street Press. This book was released on 2023-07-18 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents an evolutionary perspective on the development of morals in human societies, taking into account factors such as social dynamics, cultural norms, and individual psychology. Janes argues that moral systems are not fixed or innate, but rather emerge and evolve over time in response to changing conditions and needs. Drawing on a wide range of examples from history and anthropology, he demonstrates how different societies have developed distinct moral codes and how these codes have adapted to new challenges and opportunities. This book is a fascinating exploration of the complex and ever-changing nature of human morality. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.