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It recently occurred to me that the science of morality offers a more informed understanding of moral responsibility that can greatly clarify the confusing topic defined by the question “Are we still morally responsible if we don’t have free will?” … Continue reading
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Moral philosophy often makes use of personal perceptions of moral intuitions and durable well-being (or happiness or flourishing) to judge the worth of foundational moral premises such as those underlying Utilitarianism, egoism, and virtue ethics. For John Rawls’ “reflective equilibrium … Continue reading
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What kind of moral objectivity does science provide and how might understanding morality as an evolutionary adaptation be culturally useful? Over the last 35 years, it has been becoming progressively clearer that social morality, morality dealing with other people and … Continue reading
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For over 2500 years, moral philosophers have focused on normative ideas about what people ought to do. Normative ideas are about whatever (if anything) is actually right or wrong, which may be independent of the values or cultural moral standards … Continue reading
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When trying to understand morality as an evolutionary adaptation, it is easy to get hung up on biological evolution and reproductive fitness. In the past, this has led to nonsensical ideas such as variations of “What increases reproductive fitness is … Continue reading
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Religious people may object to the idea that morality is an evolutionary adaptation on the grounds that accepting that science would mean surrendering morality to science. However, the science of morality is about means to ends, not ends themselves. Science … Continue reading
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I received many useful comments on my poster summary of the cultural utility of my proposed universal moral principle “Evolutionarily moral acts are altruistic acts that also increase the benefits of cooperation in groups”. No one admitted to thinking my … Continue reading
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The diversity, contradictions, and bizarreness of past and present enforced moral standards (cultural norms whose violators are commonly considered to deserve punishment, though sometimes only mild social disapproval) has commonly been considered obvious evidence that “There are no moral universals!”. … Continue reading
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I have finalized my poster for the Evolution of Morality Conference. I hope it will stimulate some good conversations. To read the poster, double click on the poster image. A window will open in which you can increase the size … Continue reading
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Imagine an emotional, highly willful elephant (representing our biology based moral intuitions, or, as David Hume might have called them, our moral passions) with a much less powerful rider, the rational part of human consciousness. This is Jonathon Haidt’s key … Continue reading
Science and Morality 