Title: Life According to Nature
Subtitle: Problems and Prospects of Evolutionary Ethics
Subject Classification:  Philosophy, Sociology, Equality Diversity Inclusion  
BIC Classification: HP, JF, JFSJ
BISAC Classification: PHI005000, SOC026040, HIS054000
Binding: Hardback, eBook
Publication date: 03 Nov 2025
ISBN (Hardback): 978-1-83711-499-3
ISBN (eBook): 978-1-83711-500-6

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Description

Western moral and political philosophy has long celebrated civilization and its alleged triumphs. But in an age of climate crisis and growing inequality, we are compelled to ask: Is relentless economic growth truly compatible with human flourishing? And are the claims we encounter in philosophy from Plato to Kant and up to the present day— positing a well-governed universe and linking war, patriarchy, and social hierarchy to human nature—justified?

Outside the dominant tradition, the idea of a lost Golden Age of equality and plenty remained lively, thanks to Lucretius and Rousseau, who reminded readers of the oppression inherent in civilized life. In the 19th century, Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution invited us to see ourselves as co-operative social primates. Yet ‘primitivism’ was subject to ridicule, and Darwinism’s promise of reinvigorating moral and social philosophy was overshadowed by the distortions of Social Darwinism, eugenics, and a crude evolutionary psychology.

Where, then, do social justice and personal morality fit in a scientific worldview? This book proposes a “new naturalism,” drawing insights from evolutionary biology and from human societies outside the bounds of modern industrial civilization. In doing so, it uncovers fresh perspectives on gender equality, the division of labour, and the enduring challenges of aggression and domination.

Biography

Author(s):  Catherine Wilson has published widely in the fields of history and philosophy of science and moral philosophy. She is based in Berlin.

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