The problem of moral decision making: an interdisciplinary approach
Abstract
The following article reviews the modern theories of moral decision making created in psychology, economics, and neurophysiology. The main perspectives existing in the interdisciplinary research of moral cognition – the ‘rationalist’, the ‘emotionalist’, and the integrated approach – are compared. These perspectives either consider the decision maker to be a rational (or a boundedly rational) individual who follows the principles of utility maximization or a set of heuristics, or emphasize the crucial role of emotional factors in the moral choice. It is stated that the theoretical models laying stress on the importance of affective processes (e.g. the social intuitionist model, dual process theory, etc.) are currently prioritized in the related psychological and neurophysiological studies due to the ‘emotionalist turn’ that occurred at the end of the 20th century. The article considers the classical experimental paradigm involving the use of moral dilemmas. The typology of dilemmas created by J. Greene and based on the three criteria (expressed in the ‘ME HURT YOU’ formula) is mentioned. Furthermore, advantages and disadvantages of the practice of using moral dilemmas in empirical studies of moral cognition are analyzed. Despite the possible lack of experimental realism (the degree of engagement of participants), mundane realism (similarities between the experimental situation and the everyday experience), and psychological realism (involvement of the same psychological processes both in the experimental conditions and in real life), the use of moral dilemmas allows the researchers to achieve a holistic approach and contributes to the creation of the interdisciplinary field. Finally, the results of studies devoted to neuroimaging the moral decision making process are cited. It is noted that the neural networks engaged in the moral decision making largely coincide with the neural structures associated with the functioning of empathy and the theory of mind. Possible explanations of prosocial behaviour in a situation of a moral dilemma are considered, including the influence of cognitive and affective empathy. Also, the impact of stress on the moral judgments is viewed.
Keywords: moral decision making, moral dilemmas, heuristics, social intuitionist model, dual-process theory.
