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ALS: Denis Walsh
September 27, 2019 @ 11:30 am - 12:30 pm EDT
Being Human, Being Homo Sapiens
Denis Walsh, University of Toronto
ABSTRACT: Neo-Aristotelian ethical naturalism attempts to characterise human moral goodness as a natural phenomenon. It posits a substantive, essentialist, normative concept of human nature as an explanatory primitive. Human nature, according to neo-Aristotelianism, is an instance of a generalised organismal nature. Opponents object that no such concept of organismal nature is sanctioned by best scientific practice.
I offer a roundabout defence of the naturalistic status of neo-Aristotelianism. I argue that the concept of an organismal nature required by neo-Aristotelians can be found Aristotle’s notion of Bios, an central feature of his theory of the organism. I next argue that something quite like Bios is required in contemporary evolutionary biology in order to explain the fit and diversity of organismal form.
Details
- Date:
- September 27, 2019
- Time:
-
11:30 am - 12:30 pm EDT
- Event Categories:
- 60th Annual Lecture Series, 2019-20, Annual Lecture Series
Venue
- 1008 Cathedral of Learning
-
4200 Fifth Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15260 United States + Google Map