Evolutionary debunking

{{short description|Philosophical argument against moral realism}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}

An evolutionary debunking, sometimes referred to as an evolutionary debunking argument or evolutionary debunking thesis, is a philosophical argument which holds that, because humans (like all organisms) have an evolutionary origin, the principles of ethics and morality that we have devised are invalid and cannot be considered objective knowledge.{{Cite journal |last=Kahane |first=Guy |date=March 2011 |title=Evolutionary Debunking Arguments |journal=Noûs |volume=45 |issue=1 |pages=103–125 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-0068.2010.00770.x |pmc=3175808 |pmid=21949447}}{{Cite journal |last=Wielenberg |first=Erik J.|author-link=Erik Wielenberg |date=April 2010 |title=On the Evolutionary Debunking of Morality |journal=Ethics |volume=120 |issue=3 |pages=441–464 |doi=10.1086/652292 |s2cid=144853113|issn=0014-1704}} Proponents of such arguments argue that they refute, or at least cast doubt on, moral realism and/or theism.{{Cite journal |last=FitzPatrick |first=William J. |date=April 2015 |title=Debunking evolutionary debunking of ethical realism |journal=Philosophical Studies |volume=172 |issue=4 |pages=883–904 |doi=10.1007/s11098-014-0295-y |s2cid=170086133 |issn=0031-8116}}{{Cite journal |last1=Jong |first1=Jonathan |last2=Visala |first2=Aku |date=December 2014 |title=Evolutionary debunking arguments against theism, reconsidered |journal=International Journal for Philosophy of Religion |volume=76 |issue=3 |pages=243–258 |doi=10.1007/s11153-014-9461-6 |s2cid=170394509 |issn=0020-7047}}{{Cite journal |last=Vavova |first=Katia |date=February 2015 |title=Evolutionary Debunking of Moral Realism: Evolutionary Debunking of Moral Realism |journal=Philosophy Compass |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=104–116 |doi=10.1111/phc3.12194|url=https://philarchive.org/rec/VAVEDO }} However, critics have argued that these arguments are themselves invalid.{{Cite book |last=Vavova |first=Katia |title=Oxford Studies in Metaethics |date=2006 |publisher=Clarendon Press |isbn=978-0-19-870930-5 |chapter=Debunking Evolutionary Debunking |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CmkJBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA76}}