Ethics of Evolution

In "Evolutionary Ethics" Michael Ruse makes the case that our morality is merely "evolutionary tricks" because it ensures survival of the species to believe in some "transcendent morality" ("Evolutionary" 1). Ruse (90) makes the argument that we are all programmed to believe in morality or have moral urges because such a force that ensures adaptation more than if we were to think of morality as a mere genetic response: "The illusion is that there is any objective reference to ethics. The fact that ethics is evolution's way of making a more humane form of life."

Ruse's argument is valid in that his premises include human organisms have developed via natural selection, an advantageous quality develops through natural selection, and since altruism is an advantageous quality to human fitness it is a product of natural selection ("Evolutionary" 1). Ruse (95) demonstrates that morality is a product of natural selection or evolution, because it is highly advantageous for members of the same species to cooperate, "between members of the same species, much more personal benefit can frequently be achieved through cooperation." Therefore, cooperation for personal evolutionary gain has come to be known as "evolutionary altruism" but this is not necessarily associated with "moral altruism," which Ruse (95) believes developed on its own as an advantage that motivated individuals to adhere to moral courses of action due to belief in an objective higher mo

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that moral behavior is a byproduct of intelligence because different cultures exhibit so much diversity in the moralities they exhibit. This proves that there is an absence of any universal biological morality. As noted in Unit 3, another of Ayala's criticisms of morality as genetic is "morality is too fine grained to be explained by evolution" ("Evolutionary" 3). As en example, does the morality behind treatment of prisoners of war really have a connection to human adaptation and survival? Because of these views, I would explain to this individual that they should still revise their view of a normative force because the normative force is human intellect. It is not in their own best interest to not care about their own species, because if they do not it will have direct consequences on them as well. Since this individual more than likely possesses the ability to anticipate consequences, make value judgment, and choose between alternate courses of action; I would explain to them that their intelligence urges them to act in an altruistic or ethical manner for their own good. If ethics were a byproduct of human intellect, then acting in an unethical manner would force the individual to work against his or her own intelligence

Category: Philosophy - E