Morality and Biology in Patricia Churchland: The Contribution of Biological Inescapability to the Ethical Debate
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5007/1808-1711.2026.e105905Keywords:
Patricia Churchland, Biological Ethics, Ethical Inescapability, Moral DispositionsAbstract
The paper discusses Churchland's biologicist position in her 2019 book (Conscience: The Origins of Moral Intuition). It argues that this position can make a contribution to the traditional debate in Ethics. The first section reconstructs Churchland’s position and some of the main objections it faces. The second section interprets this position as a defence of ethical inescapability, akin to other positions inspired by Kantian and semanticist approaches. The third section explores the objections each of these positions raises against the others and suggests that they can be understood as complementary. In this sense, biologicism can offer valuable contributions to the ethical discussion.
The paper discusses Churchland's biologicist position in her 2019 book (Conscience: The Origins of Moral Intuition). It argues that this position can make a contribution to the traditional debate in Ethics. The first section reconstructs Churchland’s position and some of the main objections it faces. The second section interprets this position as a defence of ethical inescapability, akin to other positions inspired by Kantian and semanticist approaches. The third section explores the objections each of these positions raises against the others and suggests that they can be understood as complementary. In this sense, biologicism can offer valuable contributions to the ethical discussion.
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