ABSTRACT
Darwin’s philosophical impact derives from his naturalism and explanatory pluralism. His naturalism is constituted by the requirement that causes be observed and to the degree observed; the requirement that causes unify phenomena by explanation; and a continuity thesis that humans are part of nature and are to be explained on the same principles as other organisms. His explanatory pluralism not only appeals to natural selection, but also to sexual selection, evolutionary ancestry and more. The philosophical impact of this naturalism can be seen in the pragmatic naturalization of inquiry, the development of a historical metaphysics, and the contemporary evolutionary accounts of human psychology and social ecology. These pose challenges to traditional philosophical ways of conceiving human psychology, moral judgment and normativity, based on among other things, the assumptions about the nature of value, the roles of reason and emotion, and the functioning of moral judgments.
