Princípios (Jun 2007)
Racionalidade e natureza humana na visão da epistemologia evolutiva
Abstract
Evolutionary epistemology is a tendency that tries to explain human knowledge in conformity to his description made by biological sciences. From this point of view, natural selection counts as a cause of the presence of rational attitude in human beings. One of the major criticisms against this view, proposed by Thomas Nagel, bears on the argument by wich a concept of rationality, derived of the results of a scientific theory – the evolutionary theory – cannot be employed to explain the universal validity of rules by wich this very rationality operates. This criticism may, in accord to the thesis here proposed, be thoroughly responded, taking as a starting point an appropriate approach of human nature, as composed by principles and mechanisms that could be in the origin of human rational capacities. Michael Ruse offers a strategy to answer this criticism based on naturalistic approach. What this work wants to claim is: that there are another strategy in deal to Nagel’s criticism against the legitimacy of evolutionary epistemology. This strategy is based on the analogy between biological and epistemic evolution in cultural environment.
