This book provides a unique discussion of human evolution from a philosophical viewpoint, looking at the facts and interpretations since Charles Darwin's The Descent of Man. Michael Ruse explores such topics as the nature of scientific theories, the relationships between culture and biology, the problem of progress and the extent to which evolutionary issues pose problems for religious beliefs. He identifies these issues, highlighting the problems for morality in a world governed by natural selection. By taking a philosophical viewpoint, the full ethical and moral dimensions of human evolution are examined. This book engages the reader in a thorough discussion of the issues, appealing to students in philosophy, biology and anthropology.
Ruse gives a good overview about ideas on human evolution from the viewpoint of a philosopher (naturally). But there are some areas that he misses or glosses over. Among these are polyphyletic ideas about human origins that persisted until the earth 20th century--the idea that modern human races have separate origins from some unknown great ape stock; the war against adaptation and natural selection that was launched by R. Lewontin and S.J. Gould in the 1970s and 1980s in order to stop the spread of sociobiological theory; and the realization that living humans are the products of hybridization with at least two different fossil human groups. As for the problems of morality and natural selection, which Ruse deals with extensively, people should go to the original source and read T.H. Huxley's Evolution and Ethics. Ruse has edited the latest edition of this book for Princeton University Press.
As someone who teaches history and philosophy of biology on a regular basis, I will definitely use this book. Unlike an earlier reviewer, I find this book quite philosophical -- at least by contemporary standards (i.e., not attempting to speak "from nowhere" or "from everywhere". Biology, including evolution -- and certainly including human evolution -- is contingent and complex.
I look forward to using this in senior level courses, typically taken by philosophy majors, biology majors, and double majors. Highly recommend it.
![“The Philosophy of Human Evolution (Cambridge Introductions to Philosophy and Biology) (English Edition)”，作者：[Michael Ruse]](https://images-cn.ssl-images-amazon.cn/images/I/51qaMbffkkL._SY346_.jpg)
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