Natural Ethical Facts ─ Evolution, Connectionism, And Moral Cognition

In Natural Ethical Facts William Casebeer argues that we can articulate a fullynaturalized ethical theory using concepts from evolutionary biology and cognitive science, and thatwe can study moral cognition just as we study other forms of cognition. His goal is to show that wehave "softly fixed" human natures, that these natures are evolved, and that our lives go well orbadly depending on how we satisfy the functional demands of these natures. Natural Ethical Facts isa comprehensive examination of what a plausible moral science would look like.Casebeer begins bydiscussing the nature of ethics and the possible relationship between science and ethics. He thenaddresses David Hume's naturalistic fallacy and G. E. Moore's open-question argument, drawing on thework of John Dewey and W. V. O. Quine. He then proposes a functional account of ethics, offeringcorresponding biological and moral descriptions. Discussing in detail the neural correlates of moralcognition, he argues that neural networks can be used to model ethical function. He then discussesthe impact his views of moral epistemology and ontology will have on traditional ethical theory andmoral education, concluding that there is room for other moral theories as long as they take intoconsideration the functional aspect of ethics; the pragmatic neo-Aristotelian virtue theory heproposes thus serves as a moral "big tent." Finally, he addresses objections to ethical naturalismthat may arise, and calls for a reconciliation of the sciences and the humanities. "Living well,"Casebeer writes, "depends upon reweaving our ethical theories into the warp and woof of ourscientific heritage, attending to the myriad consequences such a project will have for the way welive our lives and the manner in which we structure our collective moral institutions."

William Casebeer is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the US Air Force Academy.