Evolutionary explanations and the debunking of moral beliefs

Thesis

1. Are Moral Norms Rooted in Instincts? The Sibling Incest Taboo as a Case Study

According to Westermarck's widely accepted explanation of the incest taboo, cultural prohibitions on sibling sex are rooted in an evolved biological disposition to feel sexual aversion toward our childhood coresidents. Bernard Williams posed the "representation problem" for Westermarck's theory: the content of the hypothesized instinct (avoid sex with childhood coresidents) is different from t...

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Authors: Cofnas, N

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-o0bny55d9
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: moral progress; gene-culture coevolution; liberalism; power; Westermarck effect; evolutionary psychology; evolutionary debunking arguments; evolution of morality; moral realism; natural selection; social selection; incest taboo; cultural evolution; teleology
• Subjects: Metaethics; Liberalism; Ethics, Evolutionary; Philosophy; Evolutionary psychology; Incest; Science--Philosophy