An introduction to evolutionary ethics / Scott M. James.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 218-224) and index.

Natural selection and human nature -- The (earliest) roots of right -- The caveman's conscience -- Just deserts -- The science of virtue and vice -- Social harmony, the good, the bad, and the biologically ugly -- Hume's law -- Moore's naturalistic fallacy -- Rethinking Moore and Hume -- Evolutionary anti-realism : early efforts -- Contemporary evolutionary anti-realism -- Options for the evolutionary realist.

The subject of reconciling our evolutionary past with our sense of right and wrong is undergoing a resurgent wave of interest. The timely Introduction to Evolutionary Ethics offers the first general introductory text to this area, presenting students with three different areas of ongoing research related to evolution and morality: cognitive psychology, normative ethics, and metaethics. -- The text is divided into two sections. Part I explores the cognitive psychological question of howu�if at allu�our moral sense evolved. Part II reviews both historical and recent efforts to derive moral norms and draws conclusions about the objectivity of morality from biological facts about our evolutionary Past. --Book Jacket.