Primate Virtues: A Cross-species Study of Morality Essay -- Nietzsche

Primate Virtues A Cross-species Study of righteousity In his 1881 book, Daybreak, Friedrich Nietzsche wrote,We do not regard the animals as good beings. But do you cipher the animals regard us as example beings? An animal which could speak said, humans is a prejudice of which we animals at least are loosen.1 This passing play expresses Nietzsches belief that animals do not judge human actions as morally good or bad. Only humans think in moral terms, Nietzsche believes a prejudice of which animals at least are free. That is, animals do not believe in morality and modern philosophers, as well as behavioral biologists, would have to agree. Nobody suspects their dog of seek to maximize utility, follow categorical imperatives, or do penance for his sins. Moral agency is uniquely human in this respect only we make that our actions have some greatermoralsignificance. honourable theories try to pop the question us with a tenacious and rational account of precisely this mor al aspect of human thought and action. But no matter how coherent and rational a given moral system may be, if it becomes besides detached from our regular deliberations and actions, we do not consider it a ameliorate account of our normal moral reasoning. But what exactly constitutes this normal moral reasoning that humans allegedly possess?In this paper, I bespeak that human moral reasoning is actually a normal biological phenomenon that we share with the rest of the animal community, most noticeably with our closest high priest relatives. I demonstrate this by using the standards provided by a prescriptive moral theory to evaluate the actions of one of our animal relatives Pan Troglodytes, or the African chimpanzee, illustrating the fact that these ... .... Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London, England The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. 1986. (p. 378).7 Aristotle. The Nicomachean Ethics. Trans. David Ross. Revised by J. L. Ackrill and J.O. Urm son. Oxford / New York Oxford University Press. (p. 64). 8 ibidem p. 70.9 Ibid. p. 69.10 Ibid. p. 35.11 See Pears, David. Aristotles Analysis of Courage. middle west Studies in philosophical system 3 273-285. 1978.12 See Modern Moral Philosophy, esp. p. 354. 13 Mackie, John. A vindication of Morals. In 20th Century Ethical Theory. Ed. Steven M. Cahn and Joram G. Haber. New Jersey Prentice-Hall. 1946. 14 See Regal, Philip J. The Anatomy of Judgment. Minneapolis University of Minnesota Press. 1990.15 A Refutation of Morals, p. 146.16 Ibid. p. 146.