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8 - Morality for the Mechanist

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 May 2021

Michael Ruse
Affiliation:
Florida State University
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Summary

Dividing moral questions into those of substantive ethics, what should I do, and those of metaethics, why should I do what I should do, the mechanistic/Darwinian approach has little novel to say at the level of substantive ethics. One possible exception is that it is doubted we have equal moral obligations to all humans indifferently. We have special obligations to our children and other family members, and more to our friends and our countrymen than to others. We have obligations to the starving poor in Africa, but charity begins at home. Metaethically, the Darwinian can offer no justification. That would be to violate the naturalistic fallacy, going from claims about matters to claims about values. For the Darwinian the world has not intrinsic value. This means that the Darwinian is a moral non-realist. It does not mean they have no substantive ethics, but that these are psychological not grounded in external supports, natural or non-natural (like Platonic forms or the will of God). We objectify morality, thinking substantive claims do have support, are objective, otherwise we would all begin to cheat and the whole system breaks down. Ultimately, however, face to face, Darwinism demands a dramatic rethinking of common sense and the assumption of the ages, at least in western civilization.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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  • Morality for the Mechanist
  • Michael Ruse, Florida State University
  • Book: A Philosopher Looks at Human Beings
  • Online publication: 20 May 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108907057.009
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  • Morality for the Mechanist
  • Michael Ruse, Florida State University
  • Book: A Philosopher Looks at Human Beings
  • Online publication: 20 May 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108907057.009
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Morality for the Mechanist
  • Michael Ruse, Florida State University
  • Book: A Philosopher Looks at Human Beings
  • Online publication: 20 May 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108907057.009
Available formats
×