Beyond Evolution: Human Nature and the Limits of Evolutionary Explanation
In this controversial new book O'Hear takes a stand against the fashion for explaining human behavior in terms of evolution. He contends that while the theory of evolution is successful in explaining the development of the natural world in general, it is of limited value when applied to the human world. Because of our reflectiveness and our rationality we take on goals and ideals which cannot be justified in terms of survival-promotion or reproductive advantage. O'Hear examines the nature of human self-consciousness, and argues that evolutionary theory cannot give a satisfactory account of such distinctive facets of human life as the quest for knowledge, moral sense, and the appreciation of beauty; in these we transcend our biological origins. It is our rationality that allows each of us to go beyond not only our biological but also our cultural inheritance: as the author says in the Preface, "we are prisoners neither of our genes nor of the ideas we encounter as we each make our personal and individual way through life."
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Beyond Evolution: Human Nature and the Limits of Evolutionary Explanation
In this controversial new book O'Hear takes a stand against the fashion for explaining human behavior in terms of evolution. He contends that while the theory of evolution is successful in explaining the development of the natural world in general, it is of limited value when applied to the human world. Because of our reflectiveness and our rationality we take on goals and ideals which cannot be justified in terms of survival-promotion or reproductive advantage. O'Hear examines the nature of human self-consciousness, and argues that evolutionary theory cannot give a satisfactory account of such distinctive facets of human life as the quest for knowledge, moral sense, and the appreciation of beauty; in these we transcend our biological origins. It is our rationality that allows each of us to go beyond not only our biological but also our cultural inheritance: as the author says in the Preface, "we are prisoners neither of our genes nor of the ideas we encounter as we each make our personal and individual way through life."
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Beyond Evolution: Human Nature and the Limits of Evolutionary Explanation

Beyond Evolution: Human Nature and the Limits of Evolutionary Explanation

by Anthony O'Hear
Beyond Evolution: Human Nature and the Limits of Evolutionary Explanation

Beyond Evolution: Human Nature and the Limits of Evolutionary Explanation

by Anthony O'Hear

Hardcover

$125.00 
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Overview

In this controversial new book O'Hear takes a stand against the fashion for explaining human behavior in terms of evolution. He contends that while the theory of evolution is successful in explaining the development of the natural world in general, it is of limited value when applied to the human world. Because of our reflectiveness and our rationality we take on goals and ideals which cannot be justified in terms of survival-promotion or reproductive advantage. O'Hear examines the nature of human self-consciousness, and argues that evolutionary theory cannot give a satisfactory account of such distinctive facets of human life as the quest for knowledge, moral sense, and the appreciation of beauty; in these we transcend our biological origins. It is our rationality that allows each of us to go beyond not only our biological but also our cultural inheritance: as the author says in the Preface, "we are prisoners neither of our genes nor of the ideas we encounter as we each make our personal and individual way through life."

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780198242543
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication date: 11/06/1997
Pages: 230
Product dimensions: 9.51(w) x 6.43(h) x 0.75(d)
Lexile: 1550L (what's this?)
Age Range: 4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Anthony O'Hear is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Bradford, and Director of the Royal Institute of Philosophy.

Table of Contents

1. Mind and Nature2. Immanent and Transcendent Dimensions of Reason3. Self-Conscious Belief4. Evolutionary Epistemology5. Evolution and Epistemological Pessimism6. Morality and Politics7. Beauty and the Theory of Evolution8. ConclusionsBibliographyIndex
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