Philosophical essay on sexual selection and moral ideals with academic citations

Morality Games 313 development of sexual selection theory, one might have argued that perfect spheres are some kind of Platonic solid, and inherently desirable, or that curvy hips yield golden ratios. But with our current understanding of sexual selection, we recognize that our sense of beauty has evolved and that there is no platonic sense of beauty outside of that shaped by sexual selection. Any argument about perfect spheres is unparsimonious and likely flawed. Without the help of evolution and game theory, did philosophers conjure the moral equivalents of perfect spheres and golden ratios? The state of nature, the orderly designer, Platonic ideals, autonomy, and humanity, etc.—perhaps these arguments are also unfounded and unnecessary. References Alpizar, F., Carlsson, F., & Johansson-Stenman, O. (2008). Anonymity, reciprocity, and conformity: Evidence from voluntary contributions to a national park in Costa Rica. Journal of Public Economics, 92(5), 1047-1060. Andreoni, J., & Petrie, R. (2004). Public goods experiments without confidentiality: A glimpse into fund-raising. Journal of Public Economics, 88(7), 1605-1623. Andreoni, J. (1990). Impure altruism and donations to public goods: A theory of warm-glow giving. The Economic Journal, 100, 464-477. Andreoni, J., Rao, J. M., & Trachtman, H. (2011). Avoiding the ask: A field experiment on altruism, empathy, and charitable giving. Technical report, National Bureau of Economic Research. Axelrod, R. M. (1984). The evolution of cooperation. New York: Basic Books. Axelrod, R., & Hamilton, W. D. (1981). The evolution of cooperation. Science, 211(4489), 1390-1396. Ayres, I, Raseman, S., & Shih, A. (2012). Evidence from two large field experiments that peer comparison feedback can reduce residential energy usage. Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, 2-20. Bateson, M., Nettle, D., & Roberts, G. (2006). Cues of being watched enhance cooperation in a real-world setting. Biology Letters, 2(3), 412-414. Batson, C. D. (2014). The altruism question: Toward a social-psychological answer. Hillside, NJ: Psychology Press. Batson, C. D., Kobrynowicz, D., Dinnerstein, J. L., Kampf, H. C., & Wilson, A. D. (1997). Ina very different voice: Unmasking moral hypocrisy. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72(6), 1335. Bolton, G. E., Katok, E., & Ockenfels, A. (2005). Cooperation among strangers with limited infor- mation about reputation. Journal of Public Economics, 89(8), 1457-1468. Cain, D., Dana, J., & Newman, G. (2014). Giving vs. giving in. Yale University Working Paper. Camerer, C. (2003). Behavioral game theory: Experiments in strategic interaction. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Chammah, A. M., & Rapoport, A. (1965). Prisoner’s dilemma; a study in conflict and coopera- tion. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan. Chwe, M. (2013). Rational ritual: Culture, coordination, and common knowledge. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Cone v. West Virginia Pulp & Paper Co., 330 U.S. 212, 67S. Ct. 752, 91 L. Ed. 849 (1947). Critcher, C. R., Inbar, Y., & Pizarro, D. A. (2013). How quick decisions illuminate moral character. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 4(3), 308-315. Cushman, F., Young, L., & Hauser, M. (2006). The role of conscious reasoning and intuition in moral judgment testing three principles of harm. Psychological Science, 17(12), 1082-1089. HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_015525