Sharon Street
If evolution shaped our value judgements, believing they track moral truths independent of us requires incredible luck.
Life
Sharon Street (born 1973), an American philosopher, teaches at New York University. She works in metaethics, on the nature of value. Her 'Darwinian dilemma' argues that evolution shaped our value judgements without aiming at moral truth, which troubles theories that posit moral truths independent of our attitudes.
Main works
Argues that moral realism sits badly with the evolutionary explanation of our values.
Defends the idea that reasons for action depend on the agent's practical standpoint.
Positions
click a row to see the evidenceEvolution shaped our values, so believing they track moral truths independent of us would require incredible luck: she rejects moral realism.
Street, 'A Darwinian Dilemma for Realist Theories of Value', Philosophical Studies (2006)