Evolution Science and Ethics in the Third Millennium

Robert Cliquet is emeritus professor in anthropology and social biology at the University of Ghent, and honorary general director of the Population and Family Study Centre (CBGS) in Brussels, a Flemish governmental scientific institute. He has directed or participated in several international research projects in particular in the domain of reproductive behaviour, and population and family development and policy in general. As a consultant to the United Nations and governmental expert, he was involved in the preparation of the UN world population conferences in 1974, 1984 and 1994. In 1999 he acted as chairman of the United Nations Commission on Population and Development. Between 2000 and 2002 he chaired the European Population Committee (CAHP) of the Council of Europe. During many years he was involved in activities of adult education. He has published close to 200 scientific papers and several books on population and family issues and on global and regional population policy issues. Dragana Avramov is currently director of Population and Social Policy Consultants in Brussels. She was formerly director of the Demographic Research Centre, Institute of Social Sciences, University of Belgrade. She has degrees in sociology, cultural anthropology and journalism. She has more than 20 years of experience as researcher in social sciences and humanities. She served as expert for the European Commission, Council of Europe and United Nations, and was evaluator, reviewer, rapporteur, chair of panels and independent observer for the European Commission, and several regional and national scientific evaluation organisations in Europe. She was active in scientific associations and international non-governmental organisations and contributed to grass-root and voluntary organisations working with disadvantaged groups. Her publications include 14 books and over 70 scientific articles in the domain of sociology, demography, population and development, public policies, scientific, policy and social impact of research, and foresight studies.

• 1 Setting the Stage for Reflecting on a Universal Morality.- 2. Origin and Evolution of Morality.- 3. Adaptive and Maladaptive Features of Religious Beliefs as Sources of Morality.- 4. Challenges of Major Secular Ideologies.- 5. Evolution-Based Universal Morality.- 6.- Evolution-Based Ethical Challenges related to Individual Variability.- 7. Evolution-Based Ethical Challenges to Group Variability.- 8. Evolution-Based Ethical Challenges related to Intergenerational Replacement.- 9. Conclusions and Final Reflections.- 10. Bibliography