Evolutionary Ethics and Contemporary Biology

How can the discoveries made in the biological sciences play a role in a discussion on the foundation of ethics? This book responds to this question by examining how evolutionism can explain and justify the existence of ethical normativity and the emergence of particular moral systems. Written by a team of philosophers and scientists, the essays collected in this volume deal with the limits of evolutionary explanations, the justifications of ethics, and methodological issues concerning evolutionary accounts of ethics, among other topics. They offer deep insights into the origin and purpose of human moral capacities and of moral systems.

Examines how evolutionism can justify the existence of ethical normativity.

Giovanni Boniolo is Full Professor of Logic and Philosophy of Science at the University of Padua. He is the author of many articles and books, including Metode e rappresentaazioni del mondo. Per un'altra Filosofia della scienze and, with P. Viali, Filosofia della scienza and Strumenti per ragionare.

Gabriele de Anna is Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Udine. She is the author of Realismo metafisico e rappresentazione mentale and Il pensiero filosofico e politico de Sebastiana De Apollonia.