The Real Problem with Evolutionary Debunking Arguments
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4351399 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Louise Hanson (0009-0002-6101-2745, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2016 |
| Pages | pqw075 |
| Publication date | 2016-12-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Philosophical Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0031-8094 • E-ISSN: 1467-9213 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/pq/pqw075 |
| OpenAlex | W2558460939 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
| References cited | 28 |
There is a substantial literature on evolutionary debunking arguments (EDAs) in metaethics. According to these arguments, evolutionary explanations of our moral beliefs pose a significant problem for moral realism, specifically by committing the realist to an unattractive pessimism about the prospects of our having moral knowledge. In this paper, I argue that EDAs exploit an equivocation between two distinct readings of their central claim. One is plausibly true but has no epistemic relevance, and the other would have epistemic consequences for realism, but is false. If I'm right, this undermines attempts to use evolutionary explanations to debunk belief in other domains too
EDAS · Epistemology · Equivocation · Moral psychology · Moral realism · Pessimism · Philosophical realism · Political science · Realism · Relevance (law · Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science · Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics · Law · Philosophical Ethics and Theory · Philosophy · Psychology · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment
Moral perception
Practical Intelligibility and Moral Skepticism
A dilemma for evolutionary debunking arguments
The limits of rational belief revision
Evolutionary debunking arguments, moral knowledge and underdetermination
Evolution, Utilitarianism, and Normative Uncertainty
Evolutionary debunking arguments and the explanatory scope of natural selection
Taking Morality Seriously
A Darwinian Dilemma for Realist Theories of Value
Ethics and Intuitions
The epistemological challenge to metanormative realism
Evolutionary Debunking, Moral Realism and Moral Knowledge
Natural Selection and Distributive Explanation
Explaining Complex Adaptations
Evolution, Wisconsin Style
Darwin and moral realism
Moral Realism
| Unique citing works | 7 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,17 |
| Citation span | 2020 - 2025 (6) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 6 |