Evolutionary Intuitionism

A Theory of the Origin and Nature of Moral Facts

Brian Zamulinski

• Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press
• Year: 2007
• Print ISBN: 9780773531581
• eBook ISBN: 9780773577527
• Topic: Philosophy
• Subtopic: Ethics & Moral Philosophy

Evolutionary Intuitionism presents a new evolutionary theory of human morality. Zamulinski explains the evolution of foundational attitudes, whose relationships to acts constitute moral facts. With foundational attitudes and the resulting moral facts in place, he shows how they ground a plausible normative morality, give answers to meta-ethical questions, and provide an account of moral motivation. He explains the nature of moral intuitions and, thus, of our access to the moral facts. He shows that the theory makes confirmed empirical predictions, including the observable variation in moral views. The combination of intuitionism and evolutionary ethics enables Zamulinski to overcome the standard objections to both.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• 1 Rejecting Adaptationism in Ethics
• 2 The Design of Intuitionistic Organisms
• 3 The Evolution of Intuitionistic Organisms
• 4 The Moral Facts according to Evolutionary Intuitionism
• 5 Motivation, Evasion, and Variation
• 6 The Meta-Ethics of Evolutionary Intuitionism
• 7 Evaluating Evolutionary Intuitionism
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index