Skip to content
Carmelics
TopicsThinkersChangesContributorsLoading account…

    Carmelics

    A reasoning platform. Break down any belief into clear reasons, explore both sides, and weigh the evidence honestly.

    Navigate

    • Topics
    • Search
    • Recent Changes
    • Contribute
    • How It Works
    • Glossary
    • Thinkers
    • Contributors
    • About
    • Statistics
    • Terms
    • Privacy

    Database

    Statements
    —
    Perspectives
    —
    Topics
    —

    Press ? for keyboard shortcuts

    LoyalLoyalJusticeJustice
    Made withinDC&Austin
    Statements
    321,452
    Perspectives
    108,905
    Topics
    42
    Sharon Street's Darwinian dilemma demonstrates that evolu... — Carmelics
    Home
    HistoryEditSee Inverse

    Part of a larger discussion

    Supports→Joyce's debunking argument begs the question against moral realism.

    Sharon Street's Darwinian dilemma demonstrates that evolutionary pressures track reproductive fitness, not moral truth, creating an explanatory burden the realist cannot discharge without circularity.

    ?Rate how convincing each reason is below to see the overall strength.

    No one has weighed in yet. Be the first to share reasons for or against this statement.

    Sign in or register to share your perspective on this statement.

    Key Terms

    Circularity / Circular reasoning(logic and epistemology)
    When you try to prove something by using that very thing as evidence—like saying 'this rule works because this rule says so,' which doesn't actually prove anything.
    Darwinian dilemma(as the name of Street's philosophical argument)
    A philosophical problem that asks: if our moral intuitions were shaped by evolution (which cares about survival, not truth), how can we trust that our moral beliefs are actually correct?
    Evolutionary pressures(as influences on moral intuitions)
    Forces from natural selection that shape which traits help organisms survive and reproduce, influencing what instincts and intuitions we develop.
    Explanatory burden(the philosophical problem being discussed)
    The responsibility to explain or justify something—if you move a problem from one place to another without really solving it, you've just relocated the explanatory burden.

    Next step

    Based on where you are in your exploration

    Explore a random proposition
    Start fresh with something unrelated.
    Moral realist / realism(referring to those who believe morality is real)
    The philosophical position that moral facts actually exist independently—that something like 'stealing is wrong' is genuinely true, not just an opinion.
    Moral truth(what Street's argument questions)
    The idea that some moral statements are objectively true or false—not just opinions—the way 'the Earth orbits the Sun' is objectively true.
    Reproductive fitness(measure of evolutionary success)
    How successful an organism is at surviving long enough to have babies and passing on its genes to the next generation.
    Sharon Street(as the philosopher behind the argument being discussed)
    A contemporary philosopher who studies how evolution and culture shape our moral beliefs, and whether we can trust those beliefs because of these influences.

    Connections

    2 topics

    Truth & Knowledge1 linkedMoral Responsibility1 linked

    Related

    Joyce's debunking argument begs the question against moral realism.

    Details

    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    0 (0 for, 0 against)
    Edits
    1 edit

    Open for perspectives

    This idea is waiting for its first supporting or challenging perspective.

    Share the first perspective