THE EVOLUTIONARY ROOTS OF MORALITY IN THEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

Theological ethics can interpret the relation between evolution and mo rality in at least three ways. The reductionist approach holds that mo rality emerges because it is adaptive. The independent approach mainta ins that morality develops without: registering the influence of evolu tion. Finally the interdependence position holds that morality reflect s the influence of evolution to the extent that the latter shapes huma n emotional capacities and predispositions, for example, those regardi ng reciprocity and kin preference. The third approach is more suitable for theological ethics, which attends to ways in which natural desire s can be ordered to serve morality, for example, to be habituated to v irtue, and to ways in which we must strive to curb or minimize their d isruptive effects on human communities.