Evolutionism and morality

philosophical contributions

Authors

  • Leonardo de Melo Ribeiro Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais - UFMG

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35699/2316-770X.2014.2647

Keywords:

Evolutionism, morality, moral philosophy

Abstract

Considering that, for moral philosophy, an evolutionary description of human psychology and behaviour can shed considerable light on the nature of morality and the importance that the moral phenomenon assumes in our lives, the following question is posed: assuming that morality is an adaptive product of our species, what can be inferred from the status of our moral judgements? Departing from the hypothesis that the evolutionary theory can explain, but not justify our moral judgements, different philosophical trends are investigated in an effort to find out what such an explanation would reveal in terms of ontological, semantic and epistemological commitments of the moral discourse.

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Author Biography

Leonardo de Melo Ribeiro, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais - UFMG

Professor do Departamento de Filosofia, Faculdade de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG)

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Published

2016-04-07

How to Cite

RIBEIRO, L. de M. Evolutionism and morality: philosophical contributions. Revista da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, v. 21, n. 1 e 2, p. 176–199, 2016. DOI: 10.35699/2316-770X.2014.2647. Disponível em: https://periodicos.ufmg.br/index.php/revistadaufmg/article/view/2647. Acesso em: 16 aug. 2024.