On Genes, Gods and Tyrants The Biological Causation of Morality
Our future was with the collective, but our survival was with the individual, and the paradox was killing us everyday. John Le Carre Smiley's People (1979) Since the time of Ancient Greek lyrical poetry, it has been one of man's dreams to explain his own
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CAMILO J. CELA-CONDE Dean of the Faculty of Arts, University of Palma, Mallorca
ON GENES, GODS AND TYRANTS The Biological Causation of Morality
Translated by Penelope Lock
D. REIDEL PUBLISHING COMPANY A MEMBER OF THE KLUWER
ACADEMICPUBUSHERSGROUP
DORDRECHT / BOSTON / LANCASTER / TOKYO
Libnry of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cela-Conde, Camilo Jose. On genes, gods, and tyrants. Translation of: De genes, dioses y tiranos. Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Ethics. 2.Biology-Moral and ethical aspects. BJ58.C4513 1987 171'.7 87-16409 ISBN-13: 978-1-55608-036-4 001: 10.10071978-94-009-3389-7
I.
Title.
e-ISBN-13: 978-94-009-3389-7
Originally published in Spanish under the title: De genes, dioses y tirano s by Alianza Editorial, Madrid, 1985 Published by D. Reidel Publishing Company, P.O. Box 17,3300 AA Dordrecht, Holland. Sold and distributed in the U.S.A. and Canada by Kluwer Academic Publishers, 101 Philip Drive, Norwell, MA 02061, U.S.A. In all other countries, sold and distributed by Kluwer Academic Publishers Group, P.O. Box 322, 3300 AH Dordrecht, Holland
All Rights Reserved 1987 by D. Reidel Publishing Company. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1987 No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilised in any form. or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner ©
To Francisco J. Ayala
Neither in gods, kings nor in courts is the Supreme Saviour The International
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOREWORD
IX
CHAPTER 1. Moral levels
1
CHAPTER 2. The Alpha-moral level. In the beginning was Darwin
17
CHAPTER 3. The Beta-moral level: to feel or to reason. The Kantian obstacle
34
CHAPTER 4. The Beta-moral level. The good and the yellow
48
CHAPTER 5. The Beta-moral level: rational preference from Smith to Rawls
73
CHAPTER 6. The Gamma-moral level: genes and tyrants
98
CHAPTER 7. The Delta-moral level: gods and genes
120
CHAPTER 8. Moral progress
132
CHAPTER 9. Adversus liberales: the right to excellence and distributive justice
145
NOTES
166
BIBLIOGRAPHY
180
INDEX OF NAMES
188
INDEX OF SUBJECTS
192 Vll
FOREWORD
Our future was with the collective, but our survival was with the individual, and the paradox was killing us everyday. John Le Carre Smiley's People (1979)
Since the time of Ancient Greek lyrical poetry, it has been one of man's dreams to explain his own conduct. This is the background to all his activities, from literature to speculative philosophy, including those odds and ends which, for want of a better name and more precise boundaries are called "human science". Over the past nine or ten years a new member has been added to this inquisitive family, one which, moreover, claims to be scientific to an extremely high degree: biology. This is in fact a recurrent event, since theses designed to introduce causal biological explanations into the general field of human action had already been fo
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