RESPONSE TO WILLIAMS: SELFISHNESS IS NOT ENOUGH

Michael Ruse; Michael Ruse

doi:10.1111/j.1467-9744.1988.tb00854.x

Research Articles
RESPONSE TO WILLIAMS: SELFISHNESS IS NOT ENOUGH

Abstract

Abstract. I agree with George Williams's most significant point: both questions and answers about our moral natures lie in our biological origins. He fails, however, to show that nature is morally evil and that therefore we should vigilantly resist it. The products of evolution are morally neutral, but the human moral sense is arguably a positive good. Morality is functional. It does not require ultimate justification in the sense of correspondence with or attack upon reality “out there.” It is an adaptation “intended” to make us social, and sociality—with its sense of right and wrong—makes us fitter than otherwise

Keywords

selfishness, moral sense, naturalistic fallacy, theodicy, adaptation

How to Cite

Ruse, M., (1988) “RESPONSE TO WILLIAMS: SELFISHNESS IS NOT ENOUGH”, Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science 23(4), 413–416. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9744.1988.tb00854.x

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References

Lorenz, Konrad. 1966. On Aggression. New York : Harcourt Brace and World.

Moore, George E.1903. Principia Ethica. Cambridge : Cambridge Univ. Press.

Ruse, Michael. 1980. “Evolutionary Ethics: A Phoenix Arisen. Zygon, Journal of Religion and Science 21: 95–112.

Ruse, Michael. 1986. Taking Darwin Seriously: A Naturalist Approach to Philosophy. Oxford : Blackwell.

Williams, George C.1988. “Huxleys Evolution and Ethics in Sociobiological Perspective. Zygon: Journal of Religion mid Science 23:383–407.

Authors

Michael Ruse (Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science)

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Volume 23 • Issue 4 • December 1988

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Pages	413–416

Dates

Published	1988-12-01

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9744.1988.tb00854.x

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