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Moral cognition is contractualist, but does not work by simulating a bargaining process.
Jean-Baptiste André1, Léo Fitouchi2, Nicolas Baumard1
1Institut Jean Nicod, Département d'études cognitives, Ecole normale supérieure, Université PSL, EHESS, CNRS, Paris, France jeanbaptisteandre@gmail.com nbaumard@gmail.com.
The Behavioral and Brain Sciences
|June 24, 2026
Summary
Moral judgments reflect fair bargaining outcomes, but the brain doesn't need to simulate bargaining. Cognitive systems can achieve fair judgments without complex mental simulations, optimizing decision-making.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Science
- Moral Psychology
- Evolutionary Psychology
Background:
- Moral judgments often align with outcomes predicted by fair bargaining processes.
- Previous theories suggested moral cognition necessitates simulating bargaining.
Purpose of the Study:
- To challenge the necessity of simulating bargaining for moral judgments.
- To propose an alternative mechanism for achieving contractualist moral judgments.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical analysis of cognitive systems and evolutionary principles.
- Comparison of simulated bargaining versus exploiting deep regularities.
Main Results:
- Moral cognition can produce ideal contractualist judgments without simulating bargaining.
- Cognitive systems can exploit underlying regularities without explicit representation.
Conclusions:
- Moral judgments are outcome-oriented, reflecting fairness without requiring explicit simulation of bargaining.
- Cognitive evolution favors efficient mechanisms that exploit regularities over complex simulations.
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