The role of moral utility in decision making: an interdisciplinary framework

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Moral Philosophy

Background:

• Moral theories establish standards for acceptable decisions but don't detail the decision-making process.
• Moral decision-making assumes an inherent capability for individuals to make correct choices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To empirically investigate the methods and resources used in moral decision-making.
• To explore theoretical parallels between economic decision theory and moral utilitarianism.

Main Methods:

• Comparative analysis of decision-making processes in moral and nonmoral contexts.
• Examination of cognitive mechanisms such as reward value computation, intuition, and heuristics.

Main Results:

• Moral decision-making may leverage mechanisms evolved for nonmoral decision-making.
• Computation of reward value (probability x magnitude) may inform utilitarian moral value assessment.
• Intuitions and heuristics are employed in both moral and nonmoral decision-making.

Conclusions:

• Moral capabilities can utilize and benefit from diverse nonmoral decision-making and learning mechanisms.
• Learning mechanisms for assigning reward value may also apply to moral value determination.