Evolutionary Basis for Ethics and Morals
With the advent of Darwin's theories of evolution and the rising popularity of biological science as the explanation of human origins, it is perhaps no surprise that philosophers began to tackle the notion of ethics and morals from an evolutionary perspective, eschewing reliance on religious texts and yet seeking to find in science the basis for such characteristics that have long been under the purview of religion and used to separate humanity from its fellow animals. While sociobiologists studied "the evolution of interrelations between organisms in pairs, groups, herds, colonies, [and] nations," both Thomas Hobbes and Friedrich Nietzsche attempted to derive the origins of such groups and nations and the foundation of their morality by using an biological evolutionary model (Dennett 483).
Hobbes and Nietzsche tell stories of their own making to explain how such "moral" civilizations were brought into being. In the Hobbesian version, humans once existed in an amoral state in which there was no concept of good and evil – simply good and bad, with all ethics removed. For example, "although they distinguished a good spear from a bad spear...they had no concept of a good or bad person, a moral person, or a good act, a moral act – or their contraries, villains and vices" ( Dennett 454). Mankind persisted in this "state of nature...nasty, brutish and short," Hobbes believed, until several enterprising members of the population arrived at the notion of a "social contract." Instead of remaining in constant competition with each other, humans began to band together outside of simple insular family groups for the protection and sustenance of all – the state, in its nascent form.
Dennett draws attention to "Lynn Margulis' story of the eukaryotic revolution," which does provide a useful basis for comparison between the evolution of human civilization and the evolution of species (Dennet 454). "Throughout the Precambrian period," Ernst Mayr writes in What Evolution Is, "the rich diversity of protists gave rise to multicellular descendant, some of which then led to plants, fungi, and animals," and indeed the change from simple prokaryotes to the more complex eukaryotes, and from single-celled eukaryotes to multicellular eukaryotes, seems to mirror human development into ethical beings – assuming that Hobbes' story is true (Mayr 60). The multicellular organisms, "which, thanks to a division of labor among a gang of specialist cells," could now pursue a more complex and
In the article, “The Plague of Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty”, written by Kimberly Embleton and Doris Small-Helfer, the authors discuss the well-known subject of plagiarism. The authors not only define plagiarism, but they also discuss the different ways in which the Internet has played a role in the plagiarism problem, as well as how teachers, professors, instructors also have established ways to combat this educational, or not–so-educational epidemic of academic dishonesty.
Michael Ruse, The Darwinian Revolution, pub. 1979 by The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
Friedrich Nietzsche’s “On the Genealogy of Morality” includes his theory on man’s development of “bad conscience.” Nietzsche believes that when transitioning from a free-roaming individual to a member of a community, man had to suppress his “will to power,” his natural “instinct of freedom”(59). The governing community threatened its members with punishment for violation of its laws, its “morality of customs,” thereby creating a uniform and predictable man (36). With fear of punishment curtailing his behavior, man was no longer allowed the freedom to indulge his every instinct. He turned his aggressive focus inward, became ashamed of his natural animal instincts, judged himself as inherently evil, and developed a bad conscience (46). Throughout the work, Nietzsche uses decidedly negative terms to describe “bad conscience,” calling it ugly (59), a sickness (60), or an illness (56); leading some to assume that he views “bad conscience” as a bad thing. However, Nietzsche hints at a different view when calling bad conscience a “sickness rather like pregnancy” (60). This analogy equates the pain and suffering of a pregnant woman to the suffering of man when his instincts are repressed. Therefore, just as the pain of pregnancy gives birth to something joyful, Nietzsche’s analogy implies that the negative state of bad conscience may also “give birth” to something positive. Nietzsche hopes for the birth of the “sovereign individual” – a man who is autonomous, not indebted to the morality of custom, and who has regained his free will. An examination of Nietzsche’s theory on the evolution of man’s bad conscience will reveal: even though bad conscience has caused man to turn against himself and has resulted in the stagnation of his will, Ni...
A major motif in “Macbeth” is blood. Blood is talked about everywhere in Macbeth. Blood is found when Macbeth kills his own relative, King Duncan, in order to gain power and to become the king himself. After Macbeth carries out Duncan’s murder, he is crowned King of Scotland. As Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s murderous journey begins, the death toll rises; and with each death, the amount of blood on Macbeth metaphorically and literally increases. Guilt starts to control Macbeth. When King Duncan is killed, Macbeth is convinced that “all great Neptune’s oceans” would not wash the blood clean from his hands. Guilt is eating away at Macbeth, and his desire and ambition for power is what leads to him to carry out many more murders.
Dunnell believed that evolutionary biology is a better method to explain evolution in cultural anthropology and archaeology rather than cultural evolution. The main problem with biological evolution is the dilemma of altruistic behavior in humans, which is the exact opposite of natural selection. Dunnell states that altruistic behavior is “the ultimate of the selfish principles” (Dunnell 1996: 26). The original solution to the issue of altruistic behavior was thought to be to change the scale of which natural selection works from that of the individual to the group. However, Dunnell gives three reasons why this change usually would not work. First, the individual, not the group, is the mean by which the reproductivity occurs. Second, the individual is the mean by which observable characteristics show themselves. Finally, changes in higher levels of ranking in society, such as that of the group, are too slow for ...
Thomas Hobbes main theory about morality is known as the State of Nature. Hobbes says that right and wrong are based on contracts that we make with each other within in a government. The State of Nature says that all people are born equal, but we do everything in our power to overpower one another. We are less likely to fight each other if we know who is in charge, however, Hobbes says don’t know who is in charge and that is why we fight each other more. Hobbes also talks about the “right of nature”. This basically states that if we as humans, need to hurt someone else in order to better ourselves, then it is okay, not wrong. Anything we need to do to better ourselves, even hurt others is acceptable.
Would you describe a dog as capable of being evil? Or a cat? Or a chimpanzee? Most likely you could not. We humans belong to the taxonomic kingdom of Animalia and are therefore animals. Our species has evolved from animals that looked and acted more like the modern chimpanzee than we do. So at what point did we go from being creatures of instinct do developing the concept of morality? A great deal of literature has been written about morality, examples of which can be located in fiction and non-fiction as well as in scientific, theological and philosophical fields. Specific examples include the bible, as well as the writings of Plato (c. 424-348 BCE), Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) and John Steinbeck (1902-1968). Morality is a trait that is developed as a result of practical material situations and experience as exemplified in The Grapes of Wrath, challenged by St. Matthew, but reinforced in the writings of Plato; we humans are born morally neutral.
Gilmore investigates various reasons why plagiarism is still an issue in academic settings. He claims that with the newly widespread access to the internet, the availability is tempting for students who are facing pressures from parents or teachers to meet deadlines and maintain their grades. Gilmore continues to say that regardless if students are plagiarizing more, for those who already plagiarize, the behavior becomes a habit.
The awareness in regards to academic integrity is growing across campuses worldwide. This is a very serious subject in which students and faculty should take additional steps to educate themselves. A great example of this exposure includes Mississippi State University hosts an annual Academic Integrity week during the last week of October. “This program has been put in place to educate students on plagiarism and academic honesty and prevent future cases” (msstate.edu). Intentionally or unintentionally stealing or using another individual’s work verbatim without paraphrasing is considered plagiarism. Rules and regulations are set in place to inform students how to cite, when and where to cite, and the consequences available if the rules are not followed. “The differentiation between cultures can often confuse the true meaning of plagiarism” (Vessal, K). In this research paper I will highlight the details of Academic Integrity, the consequences if rules and regulations are not followed, and lastly tools available to avoid plagiarism.
In the first place, writing at any level is a challenge. It is a process that requires active thinking as well as creativity. Equally important, is the drive to understand what is necessary to inform the reader when using someone else’s work. In his findings, Gabriel begins with examples of students that committed plagiarism in colleges both unknowingly and intentionally. After exploring the opinions of writing tutors and officials in these situations, he suggests that many students fail to realize that plagiarism is a crime (Gabriel). He relies on the expert opinions of educators who deal with these situations on a daily basis. One such opinion mentioned, is that of Teresa Fishman, the director for the Center of Academic Integrity at Clemson University (Gabriel). She stated, “It’s possible to believe this information is just out there for anyone to take” (qtd. in Plagiarism Lines). This is said in reference to how easy technology has made “copying” and “pasting” of information according to Gabriel. He visits both sides of the fence, so to speak, concerning the views...
The image of blood plays an important role in the event of Duncan's murder. It represents Macbeth's guilt and shame about the horrific crime. After killing the king, Macbeth comments on his blood stained hands by saying, "As they had seen me with these hangman's hands." (364) Macbeth refuses to return to the crime scene to smear blood on the guards, fearing the blood will somehow implicate him further. Macbeth feels uncomfortable with blood on his hands. He immediately tries to remove it after killing the guards.
In today’s academic world many students are challenged when it comes to writing, or so they think. Many of them believe that they can go on the internet and use whatever is needed for the paper they are writing. Maybe it is a lack of knowledge or confidence that they are capable of expressing themselves on paper. The majority of the time many students procrastinate until the last minute to write a paper. There are few thing students need to learn about plagiarism such as what is plagiarism, how to cite sources correctly, methods of detecting plagiarism, and what academic punishment they face when caught.
In Hobbes’ work, he explained that if individuals within a society continually lived by their own self-interests, they would continue to hurt each other and be stuck in a "state of war," or chaos. If the members of society were made to live within certain bounds that made it impossible for them to harm each other, the members of society would be in a "state of peace." The only way to achieve this peaceful society, Hobbes explained, was for all members to unconditionally transfer all of their ability and will, to defend themselves to the power of a "big brother" or "parent." This power would accept responsibility for mediating all disputes concerning the society, both internal and external. If any member of society violates an agreement with another member of that society, then that individual would be guilty of violating their unconditional agreement to support the social contract, which would then render them unjust and subject to punishment. Conversely, if the "parent" violated its own responsibility to protect the members of the society, that society could then find itself another power to rule it. All of this comes down to the fact that Hobbes truly believed that man would act as savages or beasts if left alone w...
Plagiarism, or the unaccredited use of another's work or ideas, has become more and more of a problem in recent times than it was in the past. According to statistics found in a survey conducted by the Free Press, 58% of high school students let someone copy their work in 1969, but by 1989 this number had risen to 97%. The expansion of the World Wide Web and the number of people accessing the Web on a regular basis has caused an epidemic of plagiarism in this country, especially among students. This is a serious problem that must be addressed because many students feel that if they are not getting in trouble for cheating, than it is okay.
Biomass gasification is a process by which biofuel is produced. It has been used for over 180 years but in the last decades it has been reconsidered as an interesting technique due to the fact that oil supplies are decreasing. As mentioned before, gasification is a thermal process. Heat is added up in order to convert the organic mass to biofuel. The biomass usually undergoes drying, pyrolysis, partial oxidation and reduction. Nowadays the configurations used for gasification are three: fixed bed gasifier, fluidized bed gasifier and entrained bed gasifiers. The simplest configuration is the