Moral Progress and Evolution: Knowledge Versus Understanding

Abstract

The paper explores the interplay among moral progress, evolution and moral realism. Although it is nearly uncontroversial to note that morality makes progress of one sort or another, it is far from uncontroversial to define what constitutes moral progress. In a minimal sense, moral progress occurs when a subsequent state of affairs is better than a preceding one. Moral realists conceive “it is better than” as something like “it more adequately reflects moral facts”; therefore, on a realist view, moral progress can be associated with accumulations of moral knowledge. From an evolutionary perspective, on the contrary, since there cannot be something like moral knowledge, one might conclude there cannot even be such a thing as moral progress. More precisely, evolutionism urges us to ask whether we can acknowledge the existence of moral progress without being committed to moral realism. A promising strategy, I will argue, is to develop an account of moral progress based on moral understanding rather than moral knowledge. On this view, moral progress follows increases in moral understanding rather than accumulations of moral knowledge. Whether an understanding-based account of moral progress is feasible and what its implications for the notion itself of moral progress are, will be discussed.

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“…It proves and determines the interaction and interdependence between these categories (moral values and virtues) and impacts on personality formation (Tripses, 2021). Thus, the assimilation of (moral) ideas and knowledge, the formation of personal virtues and moral values are the first steps providing the basis for the process of understanding, and importantly, comprehending the essence of moral progress (Severini, 2021).…”

“…Intelligent Matter Following the target goal, we propose developing the author's concept of moral values formation in the personal worldview (see Figure 1). Сoncept basis is the modern foreign and domestic scientists ideas on the peculiarities of the human worldview formation (Buchtel, 2020;de Vries, 2019); the role and place of morality in a society considered by philosophical moralists (Hartman, 2019;Luco, 2019;Severini, 2021); the process of self-awareness (Munzel, 2019;Thapan, 2019); essence and values structure (Maslova et al, 2020); the specifics of moral values and the need for their formation in a growing personality (Curry et al, 2019;Narvaez, 2021;Rashid, 2020;Stringer, 2021). These methodological principles, identified as a result of analysis, synthesis and generalization of the scientific base of the research question, have provided the basis for constructing a scheme of the conceptual model of the place of moral values in the personal worldview (see Figure 1), which is described below.…”

“…In the sense of the formulated generalization, it is necessary to clarify the essence of the phenomenon of moral growth of the individual (third segment). The research findings (Capes, 2019;Munzel, 2019;Risberg & Tersman, 2019;Severini, 2021) have shown that personal values as a component of self-awareness express tendencies of moral choice, criteria for setting goals, and the result of human moral actions. According to the desired moral consequences in a particular life situation, a human can evaluate other people and themselves through the relationships with others, determines what they should strive for, and tries to achieve this using only the means approved by society.…”

“…A substantial influence on the individual's worldview formation has the cultivation of value orientations based on moral norms and moral principles of behaviour that give the personal development direction, determining moral motivation, moral choice and ultimately moral self-awareness. It is the individual's adequate perception and awareness of the moral precepts established in society that leads to the production of moral activity based on the existing system of moral values, identified with the moral ideal (Bespalov et al, 2017;Luco, 2019;Nucci, 2016;Saucier, 2018;Severini, 2021;Smyth, 2021).…”

“…Values form the basis of human life, its real interaction with the outside world (Buchtel, 2020;de Vries, 2019). The value system covers the full range of human existence, as values express significance by acting as internal stimuli produced externally through emotional expressions, judgments, behaviour (Capes, 2019;Kaspar, 2019;Maslova et al, 2020;Severini, 2021). The sphere of values existence is universal and boundless since the infinite universe has long been a philosophical, cognitive, ethical, aesthetic value for humanity (Knobe et al, 2006;Sagiv et al, 2017;Vidal, 2012).…”