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Methods of ethics and the descent of man: Darwin and Sidgwick on ethics and evolution

Methods of ethics and the descent of man: Darwin and Sidgwick on ethics and evolution Darwin’s treatment of morality in The Descent of Man has generated a wide variety of responses among moral philosophers. Among these is the dismissal of evolution as irrelevant to ethics by Darwin’s contemporary Henry Sidgwick; the last, and arguably the greatest, of the Nineteenth Century British Utilitarians. This paper offers a re-examination of Sidgwick’s response to evolutionary considerations as irrelevant to ethics and the absence of any engagement with Darwin’s work in Sidgwick’s main ethical treatise, The Methods of Ethics. This assessment of Sidgwick’s response to Darwin’s work is shown to have significance for a number of ongoing controversies in contemporary metaethics. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Biology & Philosophy Springer Journals

Methods of ethics and the descent of man: Darwin and Sidgwick on ethics and evolution

Biology & Philosophy , Volume 25 (3) – Mar 15, 2010

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References (45)

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © 2010 by Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
Subject
Philosophy; Evolutionary Biology; Philosophy of Biology
ISSN
0169-3867
eISSN
1572-8404
DOI
10.1007/s10539-010-9204-8
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Darwin’s treatment of morality in The Descent of Man has generated a wide variety of responses among moral philosophers. Among these is the dismissal of evolution as irrelevant to ethics by Darwin’s contemporary Henry Sidgwick; the last, and arguably the greatest, of the Nineteenth Century British Utilitarians. This paper offers a re-examination of Sidgwick’s response to evolutionary considerations as irrelevant to ethics and the absence of any engagement with Darwin’s work in Sidgwick’s main ethical treatise, The Methods of Ethics. This assessment of Sidgwick’s response to Darwin’s work is shown to have significance for a number of ongoing controversies in contemporary metaethics.

Journal

Biology & PhilosophySpringer Journals

Published: Mar 15, 2010

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