Philosophy After Darwin: Classic and Contemporary Readings

Front Cover
Michael Ruse
Princeton University Press, 2009 - Philosophy - 580 pages

Wittgenstein famously remarked in 1923, "Darwin's theory has no more relevance for philosophy than any other hypothesis in natural science." Yet today we are witnessing a major revival of interest in applying evolutionary approaches to philosophical problems. Philosophy after Darwin is an anthology of essential writings covering the most influential ideas about the philosophical implications of Darwinism, from the publication of On the Origin of Species to today's cutting-edge research.

Michael Ruse presents writings by leading modern thinkers and researchers--including some writings never before published--together with the most important historical documents on Darwinism and philosophy, starting with Darwin himself. Included here are Herbert Spencer, Friedrich Nietzsche, Thomas Henry Huxley, G. E. Moore, John Dewey, Konrad Lorenz, Stephen Toulmin, Karl Popper, Edward O. Wilson, Hilary Putnam, Philip Kitcher, Elliott Sober, and Peter Singer. Readers will encounter some of the staunchest critics of the evolutionary approach, such as Alvin Plantinga, as well as revealing excerpts from works like Jack London's The Call of the Wild. Ruse's comprehensive general introduction and insightful section introductions put these writings in context and explain how they relate to such fields as epistemology, philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, and ethics.

An invaluable anthology and sourcebook, Philosophy after Darwin traces philosophy's complicated relationship with Darwin's dangerous idea, and shows how this relationship reflects a broad movement toward a secular, more naturalistic understanding of the human experience.

 

Contents

HERBERT SPENCER The Principles of Psychology
29
WILLIAM JAMES Great Men Great Thoughts and the Environment
49
CHARLES DARWIN The Descent of Man
77
HERBERT SPENCER The Data of Ethics
103
ANDREW CARNEGIE The Gospel of Wealth
122
JACK LONDON The Call of the Wild
137
THOMAS HENRY HUXLEY Evolution and Ethics
152
KARL POPPER Darwinism as a Metaphysical Research Programme
167
LARRY ARNHART Darwinian Conservatism
349
MICHAEL RUSE
365
PHILIP KITCHER Four Ways of Biologicizing Ethics
379
ROBERT J RICHARDS A Defense of Evolutionary Ethics
388
MARC HAUSER The Liver and the Moral Organ
423
ELLIOTT SOBER
433
RICHARD JOYCE Is Human Morality Innate?
452
ZACH ERNST Game Theory in Evolutionary Biology
464

DENNETT Memes and the Exploitation of Imagination
189
A Sociobiological Model
202
KONRAD LORENZ Kants Doctrine of the A Priori in
231
STEVEN PINKER How the Mind Works
275
RONALD DE SOUSA Evolution Thinking and Rationality
289
EVAN FALES Darwins Doubt Calvins Calvary
309
EDWARD O WILSON On Human Nature
333
Politics Evolution and Cooperation
343
PETER SINGER Ethics and Intuitions
476
The Sociobiological Approach
489
LARRY ARNHART The Darwinian Moral Sense and Biblical Religion
511
CRAIG A BOYD Thomistic Natural Law and the Limits
522
Evolution and Original Sin
539
Further Reading
553
Index
569
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About the author (2009)

Michael Ruse is the Lucyle T. Werkmeister Professor of Philosophy at Florida State University. His many books include "Darwinism and Its Discontents" and "Darwin and Design".

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