Commonsense Morality and Not Being Required to Maximize the Overall Good

Philosophical Studies -     

The Myth of Man the Hunter, Man the Killer and the Evolution of Human Morality

Since the discovery of the first man-ape, many have assumed that the earliest humans were hunters and that this was associated with a "killer instinct." The myth of "man the hunter" was repeated in the 1960s in anthropology texts and popular literature. In the 1970s it was adopted by sociobiologists to explain human nature. "Man the hunter" is used to explain not only human biology but also human morality. The morals described, however, often reflect ancient beliefs and appear to be new ways of justifying old morality codes. The newest version of this myth is presented in a recent book, Demonic Males . I will discuss various accounts of this myth and the evidence used to justify them, and will specifically critique the arguments presented in Demonic Males .