Evolutionary Ethics

Matthew H. Nitecki is Curator and Doris V. Nitecki is Associate in the Department of Geology at the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. They are the editors of History and Evolution, also published by SUNY Press.

"The authors have a wondrous capacity to recognize problems, to communicate ideas, and to do so with obvious enthusiasm and refined style. In today's jargon, this is a 'good read.' Reader interest is sustained by essays which tease the intellect and by logical argument that coaxes even the most narrowly-read, basic scientist to think about the broader problem." — David J. Simmons, University of Texas Medical Branch"With today's general interest in ethics, I think this is timely and important. There are few topics that are as significant as human morality and its basis."One of the main strengths here is a balance of traditional thinking and modern insights. There is a real value in 'updating' the work of major scholars from the past and contrasting this with today's thinking." — Barrie Dale, University of Oslo

• Preface Contributors Introduction Problematic Worldviews of Evolutionary Ethics Matthew H. NiteckiEthics and the Cosmic Order Evolution and Ethics Thomas H. HuxleyEthics and the Struggle for Existence Leslie StephenEvolution and Ethics John DeweyPhilosophical Advocacy Birth, Death, and Resurrection of Evolutionary Ethics Robert J. RichardsThe New Evolutionary Ethics Michael RuseBiological Considerations in the Analysis of Morality Richard D. AlexanderPhilosophical Skepticism Evolutionary Altruism, Psychological Egoism, and Morality: Disentangling the Phenotypes Elliott SoberMother Nature is a Wicked Old Witch George C. WilliamsCan Beings Whose Ethics Evolved Be Ethical Beings? Patricia A. WilliamsBiosocial Debate The Moral Career of Vertebrate Values Andrzej ElzanowskiThe Chimpanzee's Mind: How Noble in Reason? How Absent of Ethics? Daniel J. Povinelli and Laurie R. GodfreyEvolutionary Origin of Moral Principles Adam UrbanekThe Complex of Questions Relating Evolution to Ethics Lawrence SlobodkinThe Kinds of "Individuals" One Finds in Evolutionary Biology Evelyn Fox Keller and Margaret S. EwingPurpose, Gender and Evolution Mary Catherine Bateson