The most basic description of evolutionary ethics describes this thought to bridge the
gap between philosophy and natural sciences. A moral sense or a disposition to be
good has been instilled through natural selection . This concept has been promoted
by the likes of Charles Darwin and Herbert Spenser. Evolutionary ethics was
considered a flawed system and proposed problems for philosophers forty years ago,
but now there is much enthusiasm for linking morality and evolutionary biology
(Huxley & Ruse, 2009, 27).
According to McQuilken and Copan, evolutionary ethics is viewed as having allowed
our ethical beliefs to help us as humans survive and reproduce through the
evolutionary process (McQuilken & Copan 2014, 180). If one were to hold to
evolutionary ethics, the inevitable problem is that it still doesn't negate God as the
source of morality (McQuilken & Copan 2014, 180). Therefore, there is still the
question of where did the source of morality originate? There are many foundational
cracks through the thought of evolutionary ethics. Still, McQuilken and Copan's most
compelling reason to reject evolutionary ethics is the lack of trust that would be
placed in our beliefs because humans are “material, valueless, mindless…” and
therefore would place our moral beliefs in the hands of non-rational forces beyond
our control (McQuilken & Copan 2014, 180). This would imply that even humans
would not be able to trust their thoughts or beliefs. When it comes to whether the
authors overstate a case, the answer is no. As the authors state toward the end of the
chapter, "The ethical theories explored in these two chapters often take for granted
this assumption of human dignity; yet a Godless universe simply does not have the
resources to account for important components required for moral life—human
dignity and rights, free will, reason, conscience, duty (McQuilken & Copan 2014, 182)."
Currently living in a postmodern world, the authors make the case that Christians will
face the inevitable thought and projected standard of evolutionary ethics. As one that
holds to the standard of a holy, righteous creator, one cannot hold to the evolutionary
thought that everything in this world is by chance or natural forces. Christians
understand that our minds are not "systematically deceiving us," but we have been
intelligently created and base what is good on the essence of God's character and
nature (Lecture).
Simply put, evolutionary ethics is not compatible with the belief in God would be
considered an understatement. One should have the question of not "what method
we should use to discover what is more", but in reality, "what makes something
moral?" At the very core, where does the moral standard originate (Turek 2015, 100)?
How does evolutionary ethics explain the "ought"? People are finite beings in which
we can change, as we have even seen with evolutionary ethics over the past forty
years. If one were to take God out of the equation, then basic survival is subjective
rather than objective moral good or right (Turek 2015,101). McQuilkin and Copan
state, “Our basic moral awareness has a robust moral framework anchored in a good,
loving and just God… The fear of the Lord is indeed the beginning of wisdom
(McQuilken & Copan 2014, 183). Our God does not change, and kindness endures
forever. Suppose individuals anchored their morals in evolutionary ethics. What is
once considered horrible and evil, such as rape, murder, can ultimately have the
possibility of becoming "good." Therefore, it would be impossible for morals to be
objective and unchanging (Turek 2015, 102).
References:
Honeycutt, Will, and Fred Smith. “Foundations of Christian Ethics.”
PACO 650
.
Lecture, 2021.
Huxley, Th. H, and Michael Ruse.
Evolution & Ethics
. Princeton: Princeton University
Press, 2009.
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Accessed May 28, 2021.
https://iep.utm.edu/evol-eth/.
McQuilkin, J. Robertson, and Paul Copan.
An Introduction to Biblical Ethics: Walking in
the Way of Wisdom
. Downers Grove, IL: IVP, an imprint of InterVarsity Press, 2014.
Turek, Frank.
Stealing from God: Why Atheists Need God to Make Their Case
.
Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2015.
