Table Of ContentEvolutionary Ethics
The International Library of Essays on Evolutionary Thought
Series Editor: NeU Levy
Titles in the Series:
Philosophy of Evolutionary Biology: Volume I
Stefan Linquist
Evolutionary Psychology: Volume II
Stefan Linquist and Neil Levy
Evolutionary Ethics: Volume III
Neil Levy
The Evolution of Culture: Volume IV
Stefan Linquist
Intelligent Design and Religion as a Natural Phenomenon: Volume V
John S. Wilhns
Evolutionary Ethics
Volume 111
Edited by
Neil Levy
Florey Neuroscience Institutes, Australia, and Oxford Centre for Neuroethics
First published 2010 by Ashgate Publishing
Published 2016 by Routledge
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711 ThirdAvenue, NewYork, NY 10017, USA
Routledge is an imprint ofthe Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
Copyright © Neil Levy 2010. For copyright of individual articles please refer to the
Acknowledgements.
All rights reserved. No part ofthis book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any
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including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing [rom the publishers.
Notice:
Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only
for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Wherever possible, these reprints are made from a copy ofthe original printing, but these can themselves
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some variability may inevitably remain.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Evolutionary ethics.
Volume 3. - (Internationallibrary of essays on
evolutionary thought)
I. Ethics, Evolutionary.
T. Series TI. Levy, Neil, 1967-
171.7-dc22
Library ofCongress Control Number: 2009938975
ISBN 9780754627586 (hbk)
Contents
A cknowledgements vii
Series Preface ix
Introduction xi
PART I PRECURSORS TO MORALITY
3 Jessica C. Flack and Frans B.M. de Waal, (2000) '''Any Animal Whatever":
Darwinian Building Blocks ofMorality in Monkeys and Apes', Journal o{
Consciousness Studies, 7, pp. 1-29. 3
PART II MECHANISMS
2 Philip Kitcher (1998), 'Psychological Altruism, Evolutionary Origins, and Moral
Rules', Philosophical Studies, 89, pp. 283-316. 35
3 Elliott Sober and David Sloan Wilson (2000), 'Summary of: "Unto Others: The
Evolution and Psychology ofUnselfish Behavior''', The Journal o{Consciousness
Studies, 7, pp. 185-206. 69
4 Brian Skyrms (2000), 'Game Theory, Rationality and Evolution ofthe Social
Contract', The Journal o{Consciousness Studies, 7, pp. 269-84. 91
5 Robert H. Frank (1987), 'If Homo Economicus Could Choose His Own Utility
Function, Would He Want One with a Conscience?', The American Economic
Review, 77, pp. 593-604. 107
PART III ALTRUISM
6 N even Sesardic (1995), 'Recent Work on Human Altruism and Evolution' ,
Ethics, 106, pp. 128-57. 121
7 Stephen Stich (2006), 'Evolution, Altruism and Cognitive Architecture: A
Critique of Sober and Wilson's Argument for Psychological Altruism', Biology
and Philosophy, 22, pp. 267-81. 151
PART IV META-ETHICS
8 Tamler Sommers and Alex Rosenberg (2003), 'Darwin's Nihilistic Idea:
Evolution and the Meaninglessness of Life', Biology and Philosophy, 18,
pp. 653-68. 169
9 Michael Ruse (1986), 'Evolutionary Ethics: A Phoenix Arisen', Zygon, 21,
pp. 95-112. 185
vi Evolutionary Ethics
10 Richard Joyce (2000), 'Darwinian Ethics and Error', Biology and Philosophy, 15,
pp. 713-32. 203
11 Sharon Street (2006), 'A Darwinian Dilemma for Realist Theories ofValue',
Philosophical Studies, 127, pp. 109-66. 223
PART V NORMATIVE ETHICS
12 Robert J. Richards (1986), 'A Defense ofEvolutionary Ethics', Biology and
Philosophy, 1, pp. 265-93. 283
13 Keith Sutherland and Jordan Hughes (2000), 'Is Darwin Right?', Journal of
Consciousness Studies, 7, pp. 63-86. (Including Response by Larry Amhart.) 313
Name Index 337
Acknowledgements
The editor and publishers wish to thank the following for perrnission to use copyright
material.
American EconomicAssociation for the essays: Robert H. Frank (1987), 'IfH omo Economicus
Could Choose His Own Utility Function, Would He Want One with a Conscience?', The
American Economic Review, 77, pp. 593-604. Copyright © 1987 American Economic
Association.
Imprint Academic for the essays: Jessica C. Flack and Frans B.M. de Waal, (2000) '''Any
Animal Whatever": Darwinian Building Blocks of Morality in Monkeys and Apes', Journal
of Consciousness Studies, 7, pp. 1-29. Copyright © 2000 Imprint Academic; Elliott Sober
and David Sioan Wilson (2000), 'Summary of: "Unto Others: The Evolution and Psychology
of Unselfish Behavior"', The Journal ofConsciousness Studies, 7, pp. 185-206. Copyright ©
2000 Imprint Academic; Brian Skyrrns (2000), 'Game Theory, Rationality and Evolution of
the Social Contract', The Journal ofConsciousness Studies, 7, pp. 269-84. Copyright © 2000
Imprint Academic; Keith Sutherland and Jordan Hughes (2000), 'Is Darwin Right?', Journal
ofConsciousness Studies, 7, pp. 63-86. (Including Response by Larry Amhart.) Copyright ©
2000 Imprint Academic.
John Wiley and Sons for the essay: Michael Ruse (1986), 'Evolutionary Ethics: A Phoenix
Arisen', Zygon, 21, pp. 95-112. Copyright © 1986 John Wiley and Sons.
Springer for the essays: Philip Kitcher (1998), 'Psychological Altruism, Evolutionary Origins,
and Moral Rules', Philosophical Studies, 89, pp. 283-316. Copyright © 1998 Springer;
Stephen Stich (2006), 'Evolution, Altruism and Cognitive Architecture: A Critique of Sober
and Wilson's Argument for Psychological Altruism', Biology and Philosophy, 22, pp. 267-81.
Copyright © 2006 Springer; Tarn ler Sommers and Alex Rosenberg (2003), 'Darwin 's N ihilistic
Idea: Evolution and the Meaninglessness of Life', Biology and Philosophy, 18, pp. 653-68.
Copyright © 2003 Springer; Richard Joyce (2000), 'Darwinian Ethics and Error', Biology and
Philosophy, 15, pp. 713-32. Copyright © 2000 Springer; Sharon Street (2006), 'A Darwinian
Dilemma for Realist Theories ofValues', Philosophical Studies, 127, pp. 109-66. Copyright
© 2006 Springer; Robert 1. Richards (1986), 'A Defense of Evolutionary Ethics', Biology and
Philosophy, 1, pp. 265-93. Copyright © 1986 Springer.
The University of Chicago Press for the essay: Neven Sesardic (1995), 'Recent Work on
Human Altruism and Evolution', Ethics, 106, pp. 128-57.Copyright © 1995 The University
of Chicago Press.
Every effort has been made to trace all the copyright holders, but if any have been inadvertently
overlooked the publishers will be pleased to make the necessary arrangement at the first
opportun ity.
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Series Preface
The theory of evolution is one of science's great achievements. Though to those outside science,
it may seem that the theory is controversial, within science there is no controversy at all about
its basic form. Moreover, the theory of evolution plays a pivotal role in guiding new research.
'Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution', Theodosius Dobzhansky
famously wrote; the theory of evolution unifies disparate subfields of biology and generates
testable predictions for each. The success ofthe theory and its explanatory fecundity for biology
cannot be doubted. But might the theory also be capable of iIIuminating phenomena outside the
direct purview of biology?
The volumes in this series are dedicated to exploring this question. They bring together
some of the best writings of the past two decades which explore the relevance of evolution and
evolutionarily-inspired thought to arenas of human life beyond the merely biological. Volumes
focus on whether it is productive and iIIuminating to attempt to und erstand our most distinctive
achievements and our most intimate features as evolved phenomena. [s the content of moral
systems explained by evolution? To what extent are the processes of selection and reproduction
that explain changes in gene frequencies also at work in explaining the reproduction of ideas? Can
evolution shed light on why we think as we do, perceive as we do, even fee I as we do? Might even
our idea of God - and perhaps with it the perennial temptation to reject evolution in the name of
religion - be explained by evolutionary thought?
Answering these questions requires not only a detailed grasp ofthe phenomena we aim to explain
- the contours of religious thought, the features of morality, and so on - but also an understanding
ofthe theory we aim to apply to the field. Though the theory of evolution is not itself controversial
within science, there are lively controversies about its details. One volume ofthis theory is devoted
to writings which iIIuminate these controversies and deepen our understanding ofthe mechanisms
of evolution. [t is only if we have an appreciation of how evolution works that we can begin to
assess attempts to extend its reach to culture, to the mind, to morality and to religion.
The volumes are edited by experts in the philosophy of biology and include sensitive and
thoughtful discussions ofthe material they contain. Naturally, in selecting the papers for inclusion,
and given the large amount ofhigh quality thought on the philosophy ofbiology, and on each of
the topics covered by these volumes, it was necessary to make some hard choices. Each editor
has chosen to focus on particular controversies within the field covered by their volume; on each
topic, a range of views is canvassed (including the views of those who deny that evolution can
contribute much to the understanding of non-biological features of human beings).
Evolution is our story; in coming to und erstand it, we come to understand ourselves. Readers
of these volumes should be left with a deepened appreciation for the power and ambition of
evolutionary thought, and with a greater understanding ofwhat it means to be an evolved being.
NE[L LEVY
Florey Neuroscience Institutes, Australia and University ofOxford, UK
