Secret Chain

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

1 Ethics and Evolution

The Secret Chain

Epistemology from an Evolutionary Point of View

Ethics from an Evolutionary Point of View

Morals and Models

Evolution and Ethics

2 Altruism, Benevolence, and Self-Love in Eighteenth Century British Moral Philosophy

Introduction

Benevolence and Self-Love from Hobbes to Mackintosh

The Eighteenth Century Legacy

3 The Moral Realm of Nature: Nineteenth Century Views on Ethics and Evolution

Introduction

Natural Facts and Natural Values

Nature, Culture, and Conflict

4 Human Nature

Introduction

The Concept of Human Nature

Human Nature and Moral Theory

Human Nature and Ideology

Does Darwinism Undermine the Concept of Human Nature?

5 Three Contemporary Approaches to Evolutionary Ethics

Introduction

The Wisdom of the Genes: The Sociobiology of Ethics

Richard Alexander and the Biological Basis of Morality

Robert Richards and the Revised Theory

General Conclusion

6 Darwinism and the Moral Status of Animals

Introduction

Singer's Expanding Circle Argument

James Rachels on "Moral Individualism"

Rodd on the Rights of Animals and Our Duties Toward Them

Conclusion

7 Final Reflections

Summary of the Argument

The Biological Roots of Morality

The Relevance of Darwin for Moral Philosophy

Bibliography

Index