Joseph on Nostr: 14/25 “Writing in collaboration with the philosopher of biology Michael Ruse, ...

14/25

“Writing in collaboration with the philosopher of biology Michael Ruse, Wilson declares that sociobiology has shown us that ‘Morality, or more strictly our belief in morality, is merely an adaptation put in place to further our reproductive ends’ (Ruse and Wilson 1985). Nonsense. Our reproductive ends may have been the ends that kept us in the running till we could develop culture, and they may still play a powerful—sometimes overpowering—role in our thinking, but that does not license any conclusion at all about our current values. It does not follow from the fact that our reproductive ends were the ultimate historical source of our present values, that they are the ultimate (and still principal) beneficiary of our ethical actions.”