Subject: 
             [evol-psych] Evolutionary psychology, dualism and ethics
        Date: 
             Wed, 13 Feb 2002 14:48:13 -0000
       From: 
             "John Cartwright" 
 Organization: 
             University College Chester
         To: 
             [email protected]






       I too am surprised that so many in the EP movement 
subscribe to an ontological dualism when it comes to ethics. If 
"ought" statements cannot be deduced, inferred or abstracted in 
some way from "is" statements, then where are ought statements 
obtained from? Pure logic and reason cannot by themselves, it 
seems to me, lead us to normative statements. They need 
something ( axioms, value statements, biological facts etc) to work 
upon. If ethics were a matter of logic only then I guess we would 
end up with the same normative principles for all species.
J. Cartwright
Dept. of  Biology

Chester College of HE

Parkgate Road
Chester
CH1 4BJ
UK

Tel 01244 375444