Moral Psychology, Volume 1: The Evolution of Morality: Adaptations and Innateness

by Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, Christian B. Miller

Overview

Philosophers and psychologists discuss new collaborative work in moral philosophy that draws on evolutionary psychology, cognitive science, and neuroscience.

For much of the twentieth century, philosophy and science went their separate ways. In moral philosophy, fear of the so-called naturalistic fallacy kept moral philosophers from incorporating developments in biology and psychology. Since the 1990s, however, many philosophers have drawn on recent advances in cognitive psychology, brain science, and evolutionary psychology to inform their work. This collaborative trend is especially strong in moral philosophy, and these volumes bring together some of the most innovative work by both philosophers and psychologists in this emerging interdisciplinary field. The contributors to volume 1 discuss recent work on the evolution of moral beliefs, attitudes, and emotions. Each chapter includes an essay, comments on the essay by other scholars, and a reply by the author(s) of the original essay. Topics include a version of naturalism that avoids supposed fallacies, distinct neurocomputational systems for deontic reasoning, the evolutionary psychology of moral sentiments regarding incest, the sexual selection of moral virtues, the evolution of symbolic thought, and arguments both for and against innate morality. Taken together, the chapters demonstrate the value for both philosophy and psychology of collaborative efforts to understand the many complex aspects of morality.

Contributors
William Casebeer, Leda Cosmides, Oliver Curry, Michael Dietrich, Catherine Driscoll, Susan Dwyer, Owen Flanagan, Jerry Fodor, Gilbert Harman, Richard Joyce, Debra Lieberman, Ron Mallon, John Mikhail, Geoffrey Miller, Jesse Prinz, Peter Railton, Michael Ruse, Hagop Sarkissian, Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, Chandra Sekhar Sripada, Valerie Tiberius, John Tooby, Peter Tse, Kathleen Wallace, Arthur Wolf, David Wong

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780262693547
Publisher:	MIT Press
Publication date:	10/19/2007
Series:	A Bradford Book , #1
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	608
Sales rank:	933,202
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.22(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Walter Sinnott-Armstrong is Stillman Professor of Practical Ethics in the Philosophy Department and the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University. He edited the previous volumes in Moral Psychology.

Christian B. Miller is A. C. Reid Professor of Philosophy at Wake Forest University and Director of the Character Project (www.thecharacterproject.com).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     xi
Introduction   Walter Sinnott-Armstrong     xiii
Naturalizing Ethics   Owen Flanagan   Hagop Sarkissian   David Wong     1
Three Cheers for Naturalistic Ethics   William D. Casebeer     27
Response to Duke Naturalists   Michael Ruse     33
Naturalism Relativized?   Peter Railton     37
What Is the Nature of Morality? A Response to Casebeer, Railton, and Ruse   Owen Flanagan   Hagop Harkissian   David Wong     45
Can a General Deontic Logic Capture the Facts of Human Moral Reasoning? How the Mind Interprets Social Exchange Rules and Detects Cheaters   Leda Cosmides   John Tooby     53
Ought We to Abandon a Domain-General Treatment of "Ought"?   Ron Mallon     121
Can Evolutionary Psychology Assist Logicians? A Reply to Mallon   Leda Cosmides   John Tooby     131
Comment on Cosmides and Tooby   Jerry Fodor     137
When Falsification Strikes: A Reply to Fodor   Leda Cosmides   John Tooby     143
Moral Sentiments Relating to Incest: Discerning Adaptations from By-products   Debra Lieberman     165
Edward Westermarck on the Meaningof "Moral"   Arthur P. Wolf     191
Aversions, Sentiments, Moral Judgments, and Taboos   Richard Joyce     195
Response to Joyce and Wolf   Debra Lieberman     205
Kindness, Fidelity, and Other Sexually Selected Virtues   Geoffrey Miller     209
Why Moral Virtues Are Probably Not Sexual Adaptations   Catherine Driscoll     245
The Conflict-Resolution Theory of Virtue   Oliver Curry     251
Response to Comments   Geoffrey Miller     263
Symbolic Thought and the Evolution of Human Morality   Peter Ulric Tse     269
A Just-So Story for Symbolic Thought? Comment on Tse   Michael R. Dietrich     299
Morality and the Capacity for Symbolic Cognition: Comment on Tse   Kathleen Wallace     303
Reply to Dietrich and Wallace   Peter Ulric Tse     315
Nativism and Moral Psychology: Three Models of the Innate Structure That Shapes the Contents of Moral Norms   Chandra Sekhar Sripada     319
Using a Linguistic Analogy to Study Morality   Gilbert Harman     345
The Poverty of the Moral Stimulus   John Mikhail     353
Reply to Harman and Mikhail   Chandra Sekhar Sripada     361
Is Morality Innate?   Jesse J. Prinz     367
How Not to Argue That Morality Isn't Innate: Comments on Prinz   Susan Dwyer     407
The Nativism Debate and Moral Philosophy: Comments on Prinz   Valerie Tiberius     419
Reply to Dwyer and Tiberius   Jesse J. Prinz     427
References     441
Contributors     497
Index to Volume 1     499
Index to Volume 2     327
Index to Volume 3     557

What People are Saying About This

Peter Singer

"Moral Psychology is a remarkable publishing achievement.
Sinnott-Armstrong has a real talent for drawing together the cutting-edge researchers in the field, and letting them present their positions and challenge each other. These three substantial volumes cover many of the newer and more exciting issues being raised in ethics and moral psychology today. Essential reading for anyone who wants to know where the field is heading."--Peter Singer, Ira W.
Decamp Professor of Bioethics in the UniversityCenter for Human Values, Princeton University

— Peter Singer, Princeton University

Stephen Stich

In the last decade moral psychology has been transformed into one of the most interesting and important areas of interdisciplinary research—a field where philosophers, psychologists, neuroscientists, anthropologists, and economists interact productively. Recent theories and findings have generated a genuine and justified sense of intellectual excitement. If you want to see what all the excitement is about, this book is a great place to start.

Endorsement

Moral Psychology is a remarkable publishing achievement. Sinnott-Armstrong has a real talent for drawing together the cutting-edge researchers in the field, and letting them present their positions and challenge each other.These three substantial volumes cover many of the newer and more exciting issues being raised in ethics and moral psychology today. Essential reading for anyone who wants to know where the field is heading.

—Peter Singer, Ira W. Decamp Professor of Bioethics in the University Center for Human Values, Princeton University

From the Publisher

In the last decade moral psychology has been transformed into one of the most interesting and important areas of interdisciplinary research—a field where philosophers, psychologists, neuroscientists, anthropologists, and economists interact productively. Recent theories and findings have generated a genuine and justified sense of intellectual excitement. If you want to see what all the excitement is about, this book is a great place to start.

— Stephen Stich , Board of Governors Professor of Philosophy and Cognitive Science, Rutgers University

Moral Psychology is a remarkable publishing achievement. Sinnott-Armstrong has a real talent for drawing together the cutting-edge researchers in the field, and letting them present their positions and challenge each other. These three substantial volumes cover many of the newer and more exciting issues being raised in ethics and moral psychology today. Essential reading for anyone who wants to know where the field is heading.

— Peter Singer , Ira W. Decamp Professor of Bioethics in the University Center for Human Values, Princeton University

Editorial Reviews

""Moral Psychology" is a remarkable publishing achievement. Sinnott-Armstrong has a real talent for drawing together the cutting-edge researchers in the field, and letting them present their positions and challenge each other. These three substantial volumes cover many of the newer and more exciting issues being raised in ethics and moral psychology today. Essential reading for anyone who wants to know where the field is heading."--Peter Singer, Ira W. Decamp Professor of Bioethics in the University Center for Human Values, Princeton University

""Moral Psychology" represents a powerful and penetrating discussion of the emerging science of moral behavior. Each volume cross-examines important arguments which lead to fascinating dialogues on this compelling subject. With these volumes, Sinnot-Armstrong is revealed as a leading mind in this field."--Michael S. Gazzaniga, Director, Sage Center for the Study of the Mind, University of California, Santa Barbara

"In the last decade moral psychology has been transformed into one of the most interesting and important areas of interdisciplinary research--a field where philosophers, psychologists, neuroscientists, anthropologists and economists interact productively. Recent theories and findings have generated a genuine and justified sense of intellectual excitement. If you want to see what all the excitement is about, this book is a great place to start."--Stephen Stich, Board of Governors Professor of Philosophy and Cognitive Science, Rutgers University

"

& quot; Moral Psychology is a remarkable publishing achievement. Sinnott-Armstrong has a real talent for drawing together the cutting-edge researchers in the field, and letting them present their positions and challenge each other. These three substantial volumes cover many of the newer and more exciting issues being raised in ethics and moral psychology today. Essential reading for anyone who wants to know where the field is heading.& quot; -- Peter Singer, Ira W. Decamp Professor of Bioethics in the University Center for Human Values, Princeton University

& quot; In the last decade moral psychology has been transformed into one of the most interesting and important areas of interdisciplinary research& mdash; a field where philosophers, psychologists, neuroscientists, anthropologists and economists interact productively. Recent theories and findings have generated a genuine and justified sense of intellectual excitement. If you want to see what all the excitement is about, this book is a great place to start.& quot; & mdash; Stephen Stich, Board of Governors Professor of Philosophy and Cognitive Science, Rutgers University

" "Moral Psychology" represents a powerful and penetrating discussion of the emerging science of moral behavior. Each volume cross-examines important arguments which lead to fascinating dialogues on this compelling subject. With these volumes, Sinnot-Armstrong is revealed as a leading mind in this field." --Michael Gazzinga, Director, Sage Center for the Study of the Mind, University of California, Santa Barbara

" In the last decade moral psychology has been transformed into one of the most interesting and important areas of interdisciplinary research— a field where philosophers, psychologists, neuroscientists, anthropologists and economists interact productively. Recent theories and findings have generated a genuine and justified sense of intellectual excitement. If you want to see what all the excitement is about, this book is a great place to start." — Stephen Stich, Board of Governors Professor of Philosophy and Cognitive Science, Rutgers University

" This substantial volume of papers and responses raises and discusses many important issues for all those interested in ethics and moral psychology. I look forward to the other volumes in the series as well." --Peter Singer, Ira W. Decamp Professor of Bioethics in the University Center for Human Values, Princeton University

From the Publisher