Title Page
Table of Figures
Epigraph
PROLOGUE: - ONE LONG ARGUMENT
I - THE ORIGINS OF MORALITY

1 - TRANSCENDENT MORALITY: HOW EVOLUTION ENNOBLES ETHICS

A Moral Dilemma
Ennobling Evolutionary Ethics: A Moral Dilemma Resolved
An Exegesis of Why and How We Are Moral
Free Rider: Facing the Judge

2 - WHY WE ARE MORAL: THE EVOLUTIONARY ORIGINS OF MORALITY

The Evolution of Premorality
The Evolution of Morality
Morality and the Magic Number 150
Gossip and the Enmityville Horror
The Bio-Cultural Evolutionary Pyramid: A Model for the Origins of Morality
Group Selection and the Evolution of Morality
The Psychology of Morality: Emotions, Tipping, and the Prisoner’s Dilemma
Human Moral Universals: The Transcendency of Morality and Universality of Moral Sentiments
The Nature of Human Moral Nature

3 - WHY WE ARE IMMORAL: WAR, VIOLENCE, AND THE IGNOBLE SAVAGE WITHIN

The Problem of Evil
The Myth of Pure Evil
Oskar Schindler or Amon Goeth?
Explaining Evil
Fuzzy Logic, Fuzzy Evil
The Erotic-Fierce People: A Case Study in Fuzzy Logic
The Myth of Pure Good: Noble Savages and Beautiful People
The Ignoble Savage and the Nature of War
In the Heart of Every Human

4 - MASTER OF MY FATE: MAKING MORAL CHOICES IN A DETERMINED UNIVERSE

Appointment in Samara: Free Will and the Problem of Determinism
John Hinckley and the Paradox of Moral Determinism
Moral Determinism and the Law
Free Will as a Useful Fiction: Is the Free Will/Determinism Problem an Insoluble One?
Free Will and Indeterminism
Free Will, Fuzzy Logic, and Hinckley’s Guilt
Free Will and Neuroscience
Free Will and Genetics
Free Will and Evolution
Free Will and Chaos and Complexity Theory

II - A SCIENCE OF PROVISIONAL ETHICS

5 - CAN WE BE GOOD WITHOUT GOD? : SCIENCE, RELIGION, AND MORALITY

Good God
The Grand Inquisitors Say No
Theism, Atheism, and Morality
What Would You Do if There Were No God?
How We Can Be Good Without God

6 - HOW WE ARE MORAL: ABSOLUTE, RELATIVE, AND PROVISIONAL ETHICS

Absolute Morality
Relative Morality
Provisional Ethics
Fuzzy Provisionalism
Moral Intuition and the Captain Kirk Principle
Provisional Morality and Moral Justice: The Best We Can Do

7 - HOW WE ARE IMMORAL: RIGHT AND WRONG AND HOW TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE

The Ask God Principle: Religious Right and Wrong
The Ask First Principle: Secular Right and Wrong
The Happiness Principle: Personal Right and Wrong
The Liberty Principle: Social and Political Right and Wrong
The Moderation Principle: Extremism Is No Virtue, Moderation Is No Vice
Provisional Ethics Put to the Test
Provisional Morality and Truth Telling and Lying
Provisional Morality and Adultery
Provisional Morality and Pornography
Provisional Morality and Abortion
Provisional Morality and Cloning and Genetic Engineering
Provisional Morality and Animal Rights
Cicero’s Warning

8 - RISE ABOVE: TOLERANCE, FREEDOM, AND THE PROSPECTS FOR HUMANITY

The Domesticated Primate
From Intolerance to Tolerance: How the Mind Works
From Enmity to Amity: How the World Works
Moral Heroism: Skepticism as a Virtue

Also by Michael Shermer
APPENDIX I - THE DEVIL UNDER FORM OF BABOON: THE EVOLUTION OF EVOLUTIONARY ETHICS
APPENDIX II - MORAL AND RELIGIOUS UNIVERSALS AS A SUBSET OF HUMAN UNIVERSALS
NOTES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INDEX
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Noted science historian Michael Shermer explores the science behind belief in these titles available from Owl Books
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