To appear in Heams et al. (eds.), Handbook of Evolutionary Biology (provis. Title), Springer.

Please do not quote without permission. This is not the final version

- 8. Conclusion

In this article, I have tried to show that EE in the contemporary sense cannot be assimilated to Social Darwinism and that, within limits, it is relevant to adopt an evolutionary approach in ethics. More exactly, EE operates principally at the descriptive level, which can lead to some interesting enlightenments at other ethical levels. A critical analysis of EE also reveals how difficult it is to hope to find absolutely irrefutable foundations for our moral norms. Perhaps the time has come for moral philosophy to detach itself from the search for ultimate foundations and purely theoretical systems in favour of * deep reflection on the way in which we can manage the urges of human beings.

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