This work is a contribution to evolutionary ethics, a particular approach to ethical questions (origins of morality, metaethics, foundation of moral principles) that goes back to the second half of the 19th century and is inspired by evolutionary biology. Nowadays, evolutionary ethics has become a rich and complex interdisciplinary field that rests not only on Darwin's ideas but on a vast range of recent developments in research fields such as evolutionary biology, game theory, psychology, neurology, anthropology, empirical economics, and cognitive sciences in general. This volume covers the main scientific theories and empirical data relevant to evolutionary ethics. It also shows how this field remains within the scope of moral philosophy without coming down to one single line of thought; it is best understood as a methodology, a new way of grasping the phenomenon of morality. The main aim of this writing is to define the proper use of this methodology, that is, to identify the limits and possibilities of an evolutionary and scientific approach to morality. It appears that among the wide variety of possible views, few resist criticism.
