The Evolution of Ethics: Human Sociality and the Emergence of Ethical Mindedness
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2018
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Abstract
The scholarly and practical context for my book The Evolution of Ethics is the long-term aim of creating a transdisciplinary domain of research and applied work I term moral science. Moral science is analogous to cognitive science, inclusive of philosophy, religion studies, psychology, neuroscience, evolutionary science, education, anthropology, sociology, and history, among other disciplines. The Evolution of Ethics is a thoroughly transdisciplinary book devoted to integrating neo-Aristotelian ethics, psychology, anthropology, sociology, neuroscience, and cutting edge evolutionary science to better understand what it means to live well as a human being. Because human nature is complex and multi-layered, getting closer to the truth about humans requires converging and complimentary transdisciplinary knowledge. Perhaps the most fascinating characteristic feature of humans as a species is our strong inclination to understand our own and others’ actions in ethical terms. The thesis of The Evolution of Ethics is that humans are naturally ethically-minded and that the human sciences must reckon with that fact. In the book, I argue for seven domains of human functioning (e.g., cooperation) that are focused on seven natural goods for humans (e.g., justice). The neo-Aristotelian framework of the book follows the function argument in tying human functioning seamlessly into what is good for humans. The harmony of this ethics with natural human goods shows that it is possible for people to shape their desires in ways that are both optimal for the themselves and ethically good. This potential harmony between individuals, societies, and ethics is an ideal that is abundantly worthwhile.
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Counseling Psychology, PsicologĂa