Three Evolutionary Precursors to Morality
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9687551 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Joseph Heath (0000-0001-6024-4371, University of Toronto, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2009 |
| Volume | 48 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 717-752 |
| Publication date | 2009-12-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Dialogue (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0012-2173 • E-ISSN: 1759-0949 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0012217309990400 |
| OpenAlex | W1982207133 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
Recent evolutionary thinking suggests that morality may have three distinct roots, corresponding to the three “master concepts” in the history of philosophical ethics: sympathy, virtue, and duty. Evolutionary biologists are nearly unanimous in the view that there are two distinct mechanisms that can generate altruism in other animal species, and there is increasing recognition that there must be a third mechanism at work among humans. Altruism in the biological sense is not the same thing as morality, but it is a precursor to morality. An examination of such precursors can help us gain a deeper understanding of morality proper
Altruism (biology) · Duty · Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Morality · Sympathy · Virtue · Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation · Philosophical Ethics and Theory · Philosophy · Psychology · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment · Social Psychology
| Citations per year | 0.5 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2024 - 2024 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |