We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
Darwin, God and the Meaning of Life Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly, is to fill the world with fools.
Herbert Spencer (1868), p. 349Just because natural selection created us doesn't mean we have to slavishly follow its peculiar agenda. (If anything, we might be tempted to spite it for all the ridiculous baggage it's saddled us with.)
Robert Wright (1994), p. 37The nagging thought remains that Darwinism does have unsettling ethical consequences. The philosopher's reassurance that there will be no problem if we only remember to distinguish ‘ought’ from ‘is’ seems altogether too quick and easy. I believe this feeling of discomfort is justified.
James Rachels (1990), pp. 92–3Moral guidance for the modern primate
In the last chapter, we saw that evolutionary theory sheds light on why we think that certain things are right and others wrong. But does it shed any light on what actually is right and wrong? A lot of people think that it does, or worry that it might. Since the nineteenth century, many thinkers have attempted to wrest moral principles from evolutionary theory. Some have concluded that the theory converges with Genesis in suggesting that we should be fruitful and multiply – in other words, that we should do whatever we can to survive and reproduce. Others have concluded that Darwin's theory supports a might-makes-right ethic, in which ruthlessness and selfishness are given the sanction of nature.
To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.
