Passing Thoughts on Evolutionary Ethics

To me, lapsed Thomist that I am, Evolutionary Psychology often seems like a theory of appetites with an underlying teleology.

That is, for example, men have sexual appetites for women who appear to be healthy and fertile, with the end of having offspring who will themselves keep the chain of reproduction going.

Evolutionists almost always tell you they are not teleologists, but the resemblance is striking if you step back and squint a bit.

When it comes to evolutionary theories of virtue, the theories tend to address why we feel some actions are right and some are wrong. But typically they don't address the question of which actions, in a given situation, are wise or just.

It's interesting how dismissive evolutionary psychologists can be toward philosophical ethics.

Isn't the power to sift
through wise and just reflection
itself a helpful gift
of natural selection?