Science and the End of Ethics PDF
Preview Science and the End of Ethics
Science and the End of Ethics This page intentionally left blank Science and the End of Ethics S G. M TEPHEN ORRIS SCIENCE AND THE END OF ETHICS Copyright © Stephen G. Morris, 2015. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2015 978-1-137-49984-4 All rights reserved. First published in 2015 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States— a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-50538-8 ISBN 978-1-137-49982-0 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9781137499820 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the Library of Congress. A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Knowledge Works (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: March 2015 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is dedicated to my beloved mother Cheryl Ann Morris. If everyone possessed her kindness, graciousness, compassion, and capacity to give love unconditionally, there would be little need to appeal to any kind of argument, be it moral or prudential, in order to encourage people to treat each other well. This page intentionally left blank Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction: The Failure of Traditional Ethics 1 Part I The End (Demise) of Traditional Ethics 1 What Kind of Ethics Does Science Call into Question? 15 2 The Evolutionary Challenge to Moral Realism 43 3 The Neuroscientific Challenge to Moral Realism 75 Part II The End (Goal) of Traditional Ethics 4 Assessing the Empirical Case for Enlightened Self-Interest 109 5 Toward a Plausible Evolutionary Account of Altruism 131 6 Deciphering the Secret Chain 151 7 A New Age of Reason or “The End of the World”? 177 Notes 209 Bibliography 219 Index 231 This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgments I am grateful to many people for providing support and guidance through- out the writing of this book. First and foremost, I would like to thank my wife Lacey Sischo. Though her willingness to provide feedback on several aspects of the book was extremely helpful, the support she gave me on a daily basis, especially with regard to helping me persevere through a vari- ety of personal tragedies and professional anxieties that I experienced over the past several years, has been the most valuable contribution that anyone has given to me during the writing of this book. I would also like to thank two of my former professors from the Florida State University Department of Philosophy, Alfred Mele and Michael Ruse, for the help and encour- agement that they continue to provide well into my professional career. Finally, I would like to thank Richard Joyce, the editorial staff at Palgrave Macmillan, and especially Robert Lovering and Robert C. Robinson for the extremely helpful feedback they provided during the writing process.
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