Explore how ethics and evolution interrelate as two opposing tendencies grow side by side.
This rigorous study questions how far science can measure subjective states and still explain human conduct, urging readers to examine the limits of prediction and the role of values in moral judgment.
This edition distills a critical look at utilitarian theory, the psychology of pleasure, and the challenges of linking inner experience with external events. It invites careful thinking about how reason, ethics, and evolution interact when subjective knowledge resists exact science.
- Assess why subjective states resist exact measurement and what that means for moral theories
- Trace arguments about pleasure, quality, and the motives behind human actions
- See how predictions of social and individual outcomes fare when psychological factors are uncertain
- Understand the debate between science’s scope and ethical inquiry
Ideal for readers of philosophy, ethics, and the history of evolutionary thought who want a clear discussion of how moral ideas fit with scientific claims about human nature.