From an evolutionary point of view, the function of moral behaviour may be to secure a good reputation as a co-operator. The best way to do so may be to obey genuine moral motivations. Still, one's moral reputation maybe something too important to be entrusted just to one's moral sense. A robust concern for one's reputation is likely to have evolved too. Here we explore some of the complex rela...

We review a broad range of work, primarily in cognitive and social psychology, that provides insight into the processes of moral judgment. In particular, we consider research on pragmatic reasoning about regulations and on coherence in decision making, both areas in which psychological theories have been guided by work in legal philosophy. Armed with these essential prerequisites, we sketch a p...

Education in ethics among practising professionals should provide a systematic procedure for resolving moral problems. A method for such decision-making is outlined using the two classical orientations in moral philosophy, teleology and deontology. Teleological views such as utilitarianism resolve moral dilemmas by calculating the excess of good over harm expected to be produced by each feasibl...

Over the last 20 years, a number of central figures in moral philosophy have defended some version of moral rationalism, the idea that morality is based on reason or rationality (e.g., Gewirth 1978, Darwall 1983, Nagel 1970, 1986, Korsgaard 1986, Singer 1995; Smith 1994, 1997). According to rationalism, morality is based on reason or rationality rather than the emotions or cultural idiosyncrasi...

Ethics is the branch of philosophy that explores the nature of moral virtue and evaluates human actions. Philosophical ethics differs from legal, religious, cultural and personal approaches to ethics by seeking to conduct the study of morality through a rational, secular outlook that is grounded in notions of human happiness or well-being. A major advantage of a philosophical approach to ethics...

The moral theory of St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) has a theological as well as a philosophical aspect; indeed Thomistic moral philosophy, while theoretically complete in itself, is subsumed into moral theology. I shall here be concerned only with the moral philosophy of Aquinas, but first a word on the possibility ofconsidering his moral philosophy without discussing his moral theology. As a Ch...

We argue that Lakatos’ work on the history and philosophy of mathematics is of key relevance to machine creativity as it suggests ways in which to explore and transform concept spaces, rerepresent knowledge and change evaluation criteria. We describe approaches to implementing methods which Lakatos identifies, including our own approach, which extends Colton’s HR and has enabled us to automatic...