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    Ethics, evolution and the a priori: Ross on Spencer and the French Sociologists

    Lillehammer, Hallvard (2017) Ethics, evolution and the a priori: Ross on Spencer and the French Sociologists. In: Ruse, M. and Richards, R. (eds.) The Cambridge Handbook to Evolutionary Ethics. Cambridge Handbooks in Philosophy. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107589605.

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    Abstract

    In this chapter I critically discuss the dismissal of the philosophical significance of facts about human evolution and historical development in the work of W. D Ross. I address Ross’s views about the philosophical significance of the emerging human sciences of his time in two of his main works, namely The Right and the Good and The Foundations of Ethics. I argue that the debate between Ross and his chosen interlocutors (Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim and Lucien Levy-Bruhl) shows striking similarities with parallel debates in contemporary moral philosophy

    Metadata

    Item Type: Book Section
    Keyword(s) / Subject(s): Ethics and evolution, moral knowledge, a priori, debunking arguments, W. D. Ross, Emile Durkheim, Lucien Levy-Bruhl
    School: Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Historical Studies
    Depositing User: Hallvard Lillehammer
    Date Deposited: 05 Jun 2017 12:39
    Last Modified: 02 Aug 2023 17:22
    URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/14619

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