Evolutionary Ethics: Reconciling Reason and Intuition

Evolutionary Ethics: Reconciling Reason and Intuition
Australian Broadcasting Corporation - The University of Sydney
The world-renowned Australian philosopher Peter Singer asks: does knowledge of evolution help us to understand ethics? Our moral compass may have evolved over time, but how does enhancing our reproductive fitness help us work out what is really right or wrong?

While evolution is neutral with regard to values, Peter Singer tackles the question of altruism's place in evolution's "survival of the fittest" campaign, explaining how reciprocal and trusting relationships generally make for success.

Then Singer humbles us with the reminder that innate judgments are neither necessarily correct, nor better than other judgments. He proposes that human kind has evolved to prefer those who are like us, and suggests humanity is at its best when showing it can move beyond this paradigm.

This event is co-presented with Sydney Ideas and the Think Global School.