A Darwinian Approach to Moral Philosophy | Talking Philosophy

http://blog.talkingphilosophy.com/?p=4054

I am a philosophical naturalist. By this I mean (or at least my
meaning includes) being eager to accept the findings of science and to
use them in my philosophizing as far as possible. So, I start my
thinking about ethics by looking to Darwinian biology on human social
behavior and I come away with the belief that ethics – meaning by this
substantive or normative ethics ("What should I do?") – is a product
of natural selection (on individuals) to further reproductive success.
Substantive ethics is an adaptation like eyes and noses and penises
and vaginas. I should say that (and I am still at the level of
science) I don't think there is any need of external ethical
principles (Mind of God, non-natural properties, Platonic Forms) to
get this result. So ethics in a sense is different from say our
knowledge about railway engines. Without existing independent railway
engines, I don't see that you could have a science of
railway-engine-ology. I don't think you need these external referents
to get ethics. Ethics in this sense is not so much about the real
world as it is about social relationships between fellow species
members.
---SPSmith