Intelligence and Moral Development: A Critical Historical Review and Future Directions

This paper is a critical, historical review of the literature on intelligence and moral development. In this review we come to a number of conclusions. For example, we identify methodological issues in past research on intelligence in relation to moral development, from Wiggam's paper in 1941 through the first quarter of the 21st century, and we commend research done with methodological improvements we specify. Also, we conclude that Heyes' evolutionary psychology that humans have a specifiable "starter kit" of processes that produce "cognitive gadgets," including those used in normative thinking, should be given further attention. But, importantly, we note that these "gadgets" may be "malware" or be missing. Another conclusion is that Gert's account of harms and benefits, of the moral rules, of how the rules are justified, and of how violations are justified, can be a fruitful component of the study of moral development. Furthermore, we argue that the work on wisdom by Sternberg, Kristjansson, and others is important to grasp for its relevance to putting morality into action. Lastly, we discuss areas for future research, especially in neuroscience, and we recommend paying attention to practices for the building of practical wisdom and morality.