Genes, Genesis, and God
Cambridge University Press 1999—
Book Summary
Chapter 1: Genetic Values: Diversity and Complexity in Natural History
Chapter 1 and Chapter 6 - summary. http://hdl.handle.net/10217/37690
1. Natural history: Diversity and complexity
2. Contingent natural history?
3. Searching genes
4. Smart genes
5. Genetic algorithms
6. Intrinsic and inclusive genetic values
7. Distributed and shared genetic values
8. Storied natural history
Chapter 2. Genetic Identity: Conserved and Integrated Values
1. Genetic identity
(1) Material identity
(2) Somatic identity
(3) Kinship identity
(4) Species identity
(5) Genetic type identity
(6) Genetic symbiotic identity
(7) Genetic identity in ecosystems
(8) Genetic cybernetic identity
2. Genes in organisms
(1) Integrated organisms versus selfish genes
(2) Self-actualizing versus selfish organisms
3. Organisms in communities
(1) Organisms in families: Genes and their kin
(2) Organisms in species populations: Genes and their kind
(3) Organisms in ecosystems: Genes in their places
4. Sexuality, selfishness, and community
5. Interspecifically and intraspecifically shared genes
Chapter 3. Culture: Genes and the Genesis of Human Culture
1. Nature and culture
2. Gene-mind coevolution
3. Genetic determinants in culture
(1) Epigenetic rules and culturgens
(2) A dual inheritance system
(3) An adapted mind
4. The evolution of ideas
5. The human genius (Geist)
6. Historical versus universal explanations in nature and culture
Chapter 4. Science: Naturalized, Socialized, Evaluated
1. Science: Generating and selecting theories
2. Science naturalized?
(1) Darwinized science?
(2) Genetic heredity and neural heredity
(3) Randomness and intentionality
(4) Biological diversity and unified science
3. Science socialized
(1) Paradigm and theory in scientific communities
(2) The social construction of science
4. The selective advantage of science
(1) Science and survival
(2) Science and fertility
(3) Science and selfishness
5. Progress in scientific and in natural history
6. Transcendent science
7. An unfolding story
Chapter 5. Ethics: Naturalized, Socialized, Evaluated
1. Moral value: love, justice, and respect
(1) The ethical challenge
(2) The domain and focus of ethics
(3) Interhuman ethics
(4) Environmental ethics
(5) Ideal and real: moral failure
2. Naturalized ethics? Emergent, socialized morality
(1) From is to ought: emergent morality
(2) Animal cooperation: Inclusive fitness and reciprocal altruism
(3) Human reciprocal altruism
(4) Indirect, social altruism
(5) A naturalized, socialized ethics
(6) Universal altruism
3. Naturalized ethics? Illusory, Darwinized morality
(1) Self-deceived altruism
(2) Induced and inflated altruism
(3) Epiphenomenal altruism
(4) From is to ought: a dilemma
(5) Altruism and selfishness defined and confused
(6) Analogy and category mistakes
4. Evaluating ethics: Values defended and shared
(1) Moral, valuable and evaluating persons
(2) Amoral, valuable nature
(3) Global and universal morality
Chapter 6. Religion: Naturalized, Socialized, Evaluated
1. The divine epic of life
(1) The prolific Earth
(2) Nature and spirit (Geist)
(3) Nature and sin
(4) Suffering and creation
2. Religion and fertility
3. Religion and altruism
(1) Religion generating altruism
(2) Religion generating pseudoaltruism?
(3) Religion generating unsuccessful altruism?
(4) Religion generating complementary altruism
(5) Religion converting others
4. Functional and true religion
(1) Survival value with and without truth
(2) Testing religions socially
(3) Testing religions cognitively
5. Genesis and God
(1) Actual and possible natural history
(2) The genesis of information
(3) The genesis of value
(4) Detecting the transcendent
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