About this item
Highlights
- Offering the first general introductory text to this subject, the timely Introduction to Evolutionary Ethics reflects the most up-to-date research and current issues being debated in both psychology and philosophy.
- About the Author: Scott M. James is Assistant Professor of Philosophy in the Department of Philosophy and Religion at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington.
- 240 Pages
- Philosophy, Ethics & Moral Philosophy
Description
Book Synopsis
Offering the first general introductory text to this subject, the timely Introduction to Evolutionary Ethics reflects the most up-to-date research and current issues being debated in both psychology and philosophy. The book presents students to the areas of cognitive psychology, normative ethics, and metaethics.- The first general introduction to evolutionary ethics
- Provides a comprehensive survey of work in three distinct areas of research: cognitive psychology, normative ethics, and metaethics
- Presents the most up-to-date research available in both psychology and philosophy
- Written in an engaging and accessible style for undergraduates and the interested general reader
- Discusses the evolution of morality, broadening its relevance to those studying psychology
From the Back Cover
"In recent years evolutionary ethics has burgeoned in fascinating but sometimes confusing ways. James' judicious treatment of the field is well written, well organized, and well balanced. There is no better introductory text covering this ground."
--Richard Joyce, University of Sydney
"This is a terrific introduction to a topic of growing interest. Balanced and comprehensive, it should be the definitive text for many years."
--Michael Ruse, The Florida State University
The subject of reconciling our evolutionary past with our sense of right and wrong is undergoing a resurgent wave of interest. The timely Introduction to Evolutionary Ethics offers the first general introductory text to this area, presenting students with three different areas of ongoing research related to evolution and morality: cognitive psychology, normative ethics, and metaethics.
The text is divided into two sections. Part I explores the cognitive psychological question of how-if at all- our moral sense evolved. Part II reviews both historical and recent efforts to derive moral norms and draws conclusions about the objectivity of morality from biological facts about our evolutionary past.
Written in an engaging and accessible style, this book presents an exciting study of the most up-to-date research and current issues being debated across both psychology and philosophy.
Review Quotes
"Recommended for all undergraduate libraries in the sciences and humanities." (Perspectives on Science & Christian Faith, 1 March 2013)
"In the end, I think this is a valuable book mixing an analytic philosophical approach with some interesting biology. I personally found the book faltering only because it takes, perhaps unnecessarily, a very orthodox adaptationist stance. Evolutionary ethics should take the whole of evolutionary biology seriously into account, not only a biased version of it." (Metapsychology, 20 February 2012)"Balanced and comprehensive, it should be the definitive text for many years". (Star News Online Blogs, 22 December 2010)
About the Author
Scott M. James is Assistant Professor of Philosophy in the Department of Philosophy and Religion at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. He has published work on evolutionary ethics in Philosophy and Phenomenological Research and the Australasian Journal of Philosophy.