The evolution of moral progress : a biocultural theory /
Buchanan, Allen E.,1948-author.
Steven Pinker has said that one of the most important questions humans can ask of themselves is whether moral progress has occurred or is likely to occur. Buchanan and Powell here address that question, in order to provide the first naturalistic, empirically-informed and analytically sophisticated theory of moral progress-explaining the capacities in the human brain that allow for it, the role of the environment, and how contingent and fragile moral progress can be.--
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Introduction: why a theory of moral progress is needed -- Part I. What is moral progress? -- A typology of moral progress -- Contemporary accounts of moral progress -- A pluralistic, dynamic conception of moral progress -- Part II. Evolution and the possibility of moral progress -- Is evolved human nature an obstacle to moral progress? -- The inclusivist anomaly and the limits of evolutionary explanation -- Toward a naturalistic theory of inclusivist moral progress -- Naturalizing moral regression: a biocultural account -- De-moralization and the evolution of invalid moral norms -- Part III. The path traveled and the way forward -- Improvements in moral concepts and the human rights movement -- Human rights naturalized -- Biomedical moral enhancement and moral progress -- Conclusion: the future of human morality -- Postscript: moral progress and cultural evolution.
Steven Pinker has said that one of the most important questions humans can ask of themselves is whether moral progress has occurred or is likely to occur. Buchanan and Powell here address that question, in order to provide the first naturalistic, empirically-informed and analytically sophisticated theory of moral progress-explaining the capacities in the human brain that allow for it, the role of the environment, and how contingent and fragile moral progress can be.--
Ethics, Evolutionary.
Ethics, Evolutionary.