Biology Of Moral Systems

Author : Richard Alexander
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1351329294
Total Pages : 323 pages
Book Rating : 4.93/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Biology of Moral Systems written by Richard Alexander and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-09-08 with total page 323 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in 1987, this book discusses the life and natural history of moral systems as seen through the eyes of a biologist. The volume offers a comprehensive introspective of the biology of a moral system by examining the evolutionary approach from perspectives of sociobiology and ideology. Morality in relation to conflicts and confluences of interest among humankind are further evaluated, with particular emphasis on the human psyche and the ontogeny of moral behaviour. Philosophical meets biological with insightful commentary on the morality of law and democracy. The book concludes with an epilogue, bibliography and name and subject index. It is clear, concise and contemporary and would be of use to those studying Biology, Philsophy and many other social sciences.

Author : Richard D. Alexander
Publisher : Transaction Publishers
ISBN 13 : 9780202011745
Total Pages : 301 pages
Book Rating : 4.47/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Biology of Moral Systems written by Richard D. Alexander and published by Transaction Publishers. This book was released on 1987 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite wide acceptance that the attributes of living creatures have appeared through a cumulative evolutionary process guided chiefly by natural selection, many human activities have seemed analytically inaccessible through such an approach. Prominent evolutionary biologists, for example, have described morality as contrary to the direction of biological evolution, and moral philosophers rarely regard evolution as relevant to their discussions. The Biology of Moral Systems adopts the position that moral questions arise out of conflicts of interest, and that moral systems are ways of using confluences of interest at lower levels of social organization to deal with conflicts of interest at higher levels. Moral systems are described as systems of indirect reciprocity: humans gain and lose socially and reproductively not only by direct transactions, but also by the reputations they gain from the everyday flow of social interactions. The author develops a general theory of human interests, using senescence and effort theory from biology, to help analyze the patterning of human lifetimes. He argues that the ultimate interests of humans are reproductive, and that the concept of morality has arisen within groups because of its contribution to unity in the context, ultimately, of success in intergroup competition. He contends that morality is not easily relatable to universals, and he carries this argument into a discussion of what he calls the greatest of all moral problems, the nuclear arms race. "Crammed with sage observations on moral dilemmas and many reasons why an understanding of evolution based on natural selection will advance thinking in finding practical solutions to our most difficult social problems." Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social SciencesRichard D. Alexander is Donald Ward Tinkle Professor of Evolutionary Biology, Department of Biology, and Curator of Insects, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan. A recipient of numerous awards, Dr. Alexander is the author of Darwinism and Human Affairs.

Author : R.D. Alexander
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9783110114553
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.50/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Biology of Moral Systems written by R.D. Alexander and published by . This book was released on 1987-01-01 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : R. Alexander
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9783110114560
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.69/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Biology of Moral Systems written by R. Alexander and published by . This book was released on with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : Larry Arnhart
Publisher : State University of New York Press
ISBN 13 : 0791495302
Total Pages : 360 pages
Book Rating : 4.08/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Darwinian Natural Right written by Larry Arnhart and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 1998-04-02 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book shows how Darwinian biology supports an Aristotelian view of ethics as rooted in human nature. Defending a conception of "Darwinian natural right" based on the claim that the good is the desirable, the author argues that there are at least twenty natural desires that are universal to all human societies because they are based in human biology. The satisfaction of these natural desires constitutes a universal standard for judging social practice as either fulfilling or frustrating human nature, although prudence is required in judging what is best for particular circumstances. The author studies the familial bonding of parents and children and the conjugal bonding of men and women as illustrating social behavior that conforms to Darwinian natural right. He also studies slavery and psychopathy as illustrating social behavior that contradicts Darwinian natural right. He argues as well that the natural moral sense does not require religious belief, although such belief can sometimes reinforce the dictates of nature.

Author : Richard D. Alexander
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 317 pages
Book Rating : 4.32/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Darwinism and Human Affairs written by Richard D. Alexander and published by . This book was released on 1982 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : Sam Harris
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 143917122X
Total Pages : 322 pages
Book Rating : 4.26/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Moral Landscape written by Sam Harris and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2011-09-13 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sam Harris dismantles the most common justification for religious faith--that a moral system cannot be based on science.

Author : Walter Sinnott-Armstrong
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 0262195615
Total Pages : 607 pages
Book Rating : 4.14/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Moral Psychology written by Walter Sinnott-Armstrong and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 607 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the 1990s, many philosophers have drawn on recent advances in cognitive psychology, brain science and evolutionary psychology to inform their work. These three volumes bring together some of the most innovative work by both philosophers and psychologists in this emerging, collaboratory field.

Author : Allen Buchanan
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0190868430
Total Pages : 288 pages
Book Rating : 4.37/5 ( download)

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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.

Author : Marc D. Hauser
Publisher : Harper Collins
ISBN 13 : 0061864781
Total Pages : 530 pages
Book Rating : 4.80/5 ( download)

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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.