Charles Darwin & The Moral Continuum

While Darwin is renowned and glorified for his scientific discoveries, his legacy on morality is much more controversial. Many have considered Darwin to be the destroyer of faith and morality, lowering humans to the condition of animals. However, recent studies suggest that Darwinian ethics is not barren. Therefore, in light of these rediscoveries, this study considers Darwin's evolutionary ethics as part of the general purview of ethics. The objective is to highlight the existence of a continuum in Darwinian morality and to analyse the ways in which Darwin responds to the need for explanation of the human mind and, more precisely, of transcendental concepts that are often considered specific to humankind. The aim is also to seek the contemporary implications of the Darwinian morality – such as animal and environmental welfare – and to explore the possible consequences of this holistic theory around the question of a Darwinian utopia. To these ends, a thorough examination of his published works and private writings – his letters and notes – will be pursued