Evolution, Ethics and

Abstract

This entry explores the various ways Darwinian evolution bears on traditional moral philosophical debates. Moral philosophers ask: Why are we moral creatures? It is often assumed, for instance, that one's moral sensibility is almost entirely a function of one's upbringing, but the Darwinian approach encourages the hypothesis that one's moral sensibility is (in large part) a biological inheritance. What makes an action morally right (or wrong)? Some claim (but others deny) that Darwinian evolution can ground moral principles. Are moral principles objective? Some maintain that a Darwinian account of why we hold moral beliefs eliminates the need for mind‐independent moral facts. Others doubt that this argument succeeds.