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Since the theory of evolution gained widespread acceptance in the late 1800s, scientists and philosophers have been searching for ways to relate evolution to how we live, how we interact with society, and how we think about our place in existence.
All of this has been controversial and problematic. Not only does evolution clash with popular creation myths, but in the first half of the 20th century, we saw how evolutionary ideas could be manipulated by powerful political interests to increase social discrimination and bring about destructive outcomes.
Since then, despite some very thoughtful contributions, evolutionary philosophy has remained an under-appreciated branch of philosophy. For a long time, evolution was ignored by academic philosophers and social scientists as though 'where we came from' had no influence on 'who we think we are' or 'how we should live'.
However, recent advances in biological science, along with the appearance of aggressive new forms of creationism, have forced many academic philosophers and social scientists to decide whether they are prepared to defend evolutionary theory, and this is leading to a resurgence of interest in evolutionary philosophy.
Of particular interest are questions like ... how much of an influence does evolution have on human behavior? And what are the philosophical implications of evolution on issues that relate to ethics and morality?
This is not an evolution vs creation debate website. It assumes that evolution is a fact, but that the theory is still being developed, and that there are still many important questions that need to be answered before evolution can mature into a comprehensive philosophy of life.
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