Philosophy of Science Series: Natural Human Philosophy – Part 3/5: A SCIENTIFIC DEFINITION OF GOOD AND EVIL: Natural Human Philosophy's Six-Level Hierarchy

This is Part 3/5 of the "Philosophy of Science Series: Natural Human Philosophy" (a 5-part series integrating natural science—neuroscience, evolutionary biology, archaeology, ecology, and genetics—to resolve longstanding philosophical questions about human nature, ethics, existence, and purpose). Title: A SCIENTIFIC DEFINITION OF GOOD AND EVIL: Natural Human Philosophy's Six-Level Hierarchy Abstract: For over two thousand years, philosophers have debated the nature of good and evil without reaching broad consensus. Utilitarianism, deontology, virtue ethics, and divine command theory offer competing, unfalsifiable definitions. We argue this impasse stems from attempting to ground ethics in speculation rather than empirical science. Building on Natural Human Philosophy (NHP)—which demonstrates that Homo sapiens underwent transgression (partial escape from ecosystem and genetic constraints) enabled by unique brain adaptors (the Third Nature)—we present a scientifically grounded, falsifiable definition of good and evil. Within the NHP framework, we define good and evil across six hierarchical levels: Biosphere—contributing to a biosphere more suitable for human survival vs. Degrading its capacity; Additionally, Species—extending Homo sapiens' continuation vs. Threatening extinction; Furthermore, Animal Natures—fulfilling basic biological and evolved moral needs vs. Causing harm; Moreover, Third Nature—moderate expression of uniquely human capacities (curiosity, creativity, aesthetic drive) conforming to lower levels vs. Suppression or harmful excess; Also, Superpowers—collective entities (AI, corporations, states, ideologies) serving human interests vs. Violating them; Finally, Anthroposphere—sustainable growth of human knowledge/culture vs. Degradation of the biosphere. This hierarchical structure addresses ethical conflicts in a structured manner: lower levels provide constraints for higher levels. Our analysis suggests applications to bioethics (CRISPR gene editing), environmental ethics (climate change), AI ethics (autonomous weapons), and business ethics (corporate pollution). Each level is empirically measurable—atmospheric CO₂, biodiversity indices, life expectancy, subjective well-being—making NHP's ethics falsifiable and progressive, unlike traditional theories. we propose that NHP's framework offers an approach to what philosophy has long sought: empirically grounded, broadly applicable ethical foundations grounded in scientific principles rather than speculation, offering a path for ethics to achieve the consensus and progress characteristic of natural science. Traditional philosophy has failed to provide a rigorous, consensus-capable definition of good and evil due to its entrapment in speculative methods and the irresolvable is-ought gap. Natural Human Philosophy (NHP) resolves this by deriving ethics directly from empirical natural science. Building on Parts 1 and 2 (Human Transgression creating normative space, Third Nature driving desires beyond survival/reproduction, and the Cultural Cloud's blind mechanisms), this paper presents NHP's six-level hierarchy as a scientific framework for defining good and evil. The hierarchy integrates biological imperatives, cultural emergence, and normative alignment: Level 1–3: Baseline survival/reproduction and ecosystem integrity Level 4: Transgression-enabled choice and Third Nature fulfillment Level 5: Cultural Cloud alignment with biosphere sustainability Level 6: Superpower realignment to prevent existential misalignment Good is defined as actions/systems that promote alignment across all levels toward long-term human flourishing and biosphere integrity; evil as misalignment that accelerates collapse. This falsifiable, measurable definition bridges descriptive facts and normative oughts, offering philosophy its first progressive, evidence-based ethical system. The paper demonstrates how the six-level hierarchy resolves major ethical dilemmas and provides diagnostic tools for current existential crises (climate, AI, nuclear, biodiversity), setting the stage for Parts 4 and 5 on philosophical reinterpretation and unification of social sciences/humanities. This preprint advances the NHP paradigm: ethics becomes a branch of natural science, grounded in observable evolutionary mechanisms rather than untestable speculation. Supplementary materials: - Detailed hierarchy diagrams, tables, and multidisciplinary evidence (included in this upload) - External anonymous peer review excerpt for the series (provided in separate supplementary file; full version at SSRN link below) Keywords: philosophy of science, natural human philosophy, NHP, good and evil, six-level hierarchy, normative alignment, superpower misalignment, human transgression, third nature, cultural cloud, ethics as natural science, Ernst Mayr, Edward O. Wilson Related resources: - This is Part 3/5 of a 5-part series. - See Part 1 at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18664608 - See Part 2 at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18661924 - See Part 4 at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18664901 - See Part 5 at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18664950 License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Version: 1.0 (February 2026) The document titled “CIVILIZATION AT THE THRESHOLD: A Scientific Verdict on Humanity's Last Transformation – PEER REVIEW: Natural Human Philosophy Paper Series (Papers 1–5)” is provided as supplementary material for reader reference. https://zenodo.org/records/19447254 This document is an AI-assisted analytical evaluation generated using large language models (including Claude and ChatGPT) under human supervision. It is intended to support methodological transparency and facilitate reader understanding. It does not constitute formal human peer review, nor does it represent evaluation by independent human experts, academic journals, or institutional review panels. Attachment: The following information appears to aid readers in comprehending “CIVILIZATION AT THE THRESHOLD: A Scientific Verdict on Humanity's Last Transformation – PEER REVIEW: Natural Human Philosophy Paper Series (Papers 1–5)” : Evaluating Civilization-Scale Cross-Level Complex Systems Theories: A Methodological Framework Subtitle: Avoiding Systematic Underestimation - Methodological Lessons and Universal Standards from the Natural Human Philosophy Peer Review Case Study https://zenodo.org/records/19674654 (Note:The "International Interdisciplinary Methodological Review Panel" represents AI systems (Claude, ChatGPT) that analyzed and synthesized methodological insights under human direction.) All interpretations, conclusions, and responsibility remain with the human author(s) of the main paper.