Evolutionary debunking

An evolutionary debunking, sometimes referred to as an evolutionary debunking argument or evolutionary debunking thesis, is a philosophical argument which holds that, because humans (like all organisms) have an evolutionary origin, the principles of ethics and morality that we have devised are invalid and cannot be considered objective knowledge.^[1][2] Proponents of such arguments argue that they refute, or at least cast doubt on, moral realism and/or theism.^[3][4][5] However, critics have argued that these arguments are themselves invalid.^[2][3][6]

References

1. Kahane, Guy (March 2011). "Evolutionary debunking arguments". Noûs. 45 (1): 103–125. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0068.2010.00770.x. PMC 3175808.
2. Wielenberg, Erik J. (April 2010). "On the evolutionary debunking of morality". Ethics. 120 (3): 441–464. doi:10.1086/652292. ISSN 0014-1704.
3. FitzPatrick, William J. (April 2015). "Debunking evolutionary debunking of ethical realism". Philosophical Studies. 172 (4): 883–904. doi:10.1007/s11098-014-0295-y. ISSN 0031-8116.
4. Jong, Jonathan; Visala, Aku (December 2014). "Evolutionary debunking arguments against theism, reconsidered" (PDF). International Journal for Philosophy of Religion. 76 (3): 243–258. doi:10.1007/s11153-014-9461-6. ISSN 0020-7047.
5. Vavova, Katia (February 2015). "Evolutionary debunking of moral realism" (PDF). Philosophy Compass. 10 (2): 104–116. doi:10.1111/phc3.12194.
6. Vavova, Katia (2006). "Debunking evolutionary debunking". In Shafer-Landau, Russ (ed.). Oxford Studies in Metaethics. Vol. 9. Oxford University Press. pp. 76–101. ISBN 978-0-19-870930-5.

Further reading

• FitzPatrick, William (2016). "Morality and Evolutionary Biology". The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2016 ed.). Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University.
• Hanson, Louise (2 December 2016). "The Real Problem with Evolutionary Debunking Arguments" (PDF). The Philosophical Quarterly. 67 (268): 508–533. doi:10.1093/pq/pqw075. ISSN 0031-8094.
• Van Eyghen, Hans (2020). Arguing from Cognitive Science of Religion: Is Religious Belief Debunked? (PDF). Bloomsbury Academic. doi:10.5040/9781350100329. ISBN 978-1-350-10029-9.
• Muus, Harriet (12 August 2024). "Evolutionary Ethics and Mate Selection". PsyArXiv. Center for Open Science. doi:10.31234/osf.io/c659q.