Beyond Point-and-Shoot Morality: Why Cognitive (Neuro)Science Matters for Ethics.

In this article I explain why cognitive science (including some neuroscience) matters for normative ethics. First, I describe the dual-process theory of moral judgment and briefly summarize the evidence supporting it. Next I describe related experimental research examining influences on intuitive mo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ethics Vol. 124; no. 4; pp. 695 - 727
Main Author: Greene, Joshua D.
Format: Article
Published: University of Chicago Press Jul2014
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
Description
Summary:In this article I explain why cognitive science (including some neuroscience) matters for normative ethics. First, I describe the dual-process theory of moral judgment and briefly summarize the evidence supporting it. Next I describe related experimental research examining influences on intuitive moral judgment. I then describe two ways in which research along these lines can have implications for ethics. I argue that a deeper understanding of moral psychology favors certain forms of consequentialism over other classes of normative moral theory. I close with some brief remarks concerning the bright future of ethics as an interdisciplinary enterprise.