Evolution and Ethics: Human Morality in Biological and Religious Perspective by Philip Clayton Schloss & Jeffrey

Author:Philip Clayton Schloss & Jeffrey [Schloss, Philip Clayton]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780802826954

8. Darwinian and Teleological Explanations:

Are They Incompatible?

Rene van Woudenberg

It has often been remarked that the true genius of Darwinism is that it offers nonteleological explanations in a context where teleological explanations had always been presumed essential (Dawkins 1986; Dennett 1995; Cartwright 2000; Richards 2000). Darwinian explanations, it is often claimed, have made teleological explanations obsolete; their very possibility shows that teleological explanations must be false. This chapter is an investigation of this claim. More specifically, it investigates whether or not teleological and nonteleological explanations are indeed incompatible. Still more specifically, it investigates whether or not teleological explanations are incompatible with so-called evolutionary psychological explanations (EP explanations, for short) of certain specific human traits such as moral behavior, i.e., explanations of such behavior in terms of the evolutionary advantage such behavior affords.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.