Investigating the Neural and Cognitive Basis of Moral Luck: It's Not What You Do but What You Know.

Review of Philosophy and Psychology
Liane L YoungRebecca Saxe

Abstract

Moral judgments, we expect, ought not to depend on luck. A person should be blamed only for actions and outcomes that were under the person's control. Yet often, moral judgments appear to be influenced by luck. A father who leaves his child by the bath, after telling his child to stay put and believing that he will stay put, is judged to be morally blameworthy if the child drowns (an unlucky outcome), but not if his child stays put and doesn't drown. Previous theories of moral luck suggest that this asymmetry reflects primarily the influence of unlucky outcomes on moral judgments. In the current study, we use behavioral methods and fMRI to test an alternative: these moral judgments largely reflect participants' judgments of the agent's beliefs. In "moral luck" scenarios, the unlucky agent also holds a false belief. Here, we show that moral luck depends more on false beliefs than bad outcomes. We also show that participants with false beliefs are judged as having less justified beliefs and are therefore judged as more morally blameworthy. The current study lends support to a rationalist account of moral luck: moral luck asymmetries are driven not by outcome bias primarily, but by mental state assessments we endorse as morally re...Continue Reading

References

Apr 1, 1988·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology·J Baron, J C Hershey
Jul 20, 2000·Psychological Bulletin·M D Alicke
Sep 15, 2001·Science·J D GreeneJ D Cohen
Jun 20, 2003·The European Journal of Neuroscience·Perrine Ruby, Jean Decety
Oct 12, 2004·Neuron·Joshua D GreeneJonathan D Cohen
Jul 12, 2005·Trends in Cognitive Sciences·Joshua Knobe
Jan 13, 2006·Trends in Cognitive Sciences·Russell A Poldrack
Nov 15, 2006·Psychological Science·Kristina R OlsonElizabeth S Spelke
May 9, 2007·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Liane YoungRebecca Saxe
Aug 3, 2007·Neuropsychologia·A CiaramidaroH Walter
Oct 26, 2007·Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience·Maria Ida GobbiniJames V Haxby
Mar 18, 2008·NeuroImage·Liane Young, Rebecca Saxe
May 1, 2008·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology·Kristina R OlsonMahzarin R Banaji
Jul 9, 2008·Neuropsychologia·Dorit KliemannRebecca Saxe
Oct 1, 2008·Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience·Liane Young, Rebecca Saxe
Nov 6, 2010·Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin·Steve Guglielmo, Bertram F Malle
Jun 1, 2010·Review of Philosophy and Psychology·Joshua MayAaron Zimmerman

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Mar 13, 2013·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Jorie Koster-HaleLiane L Young
May 19, 2011·Social Neuroscience·Liane Young, James Dungan
Sep 29, 2011·Social Neuroscience·Fiery Cushman, Joshua D Greene
Dec 31, 2011·International Journal of Psychophysiology : Official Journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology·Him CheungSuiping Wang
Feb 15, 2011·Cognition·Liane Young, Jonathan Phillips
Dec 20, 2015·Cognition·Justin W Martin, Fiery Cushman
Dec 3, 2015·Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience·Alek ChakroffLiane Young
Oct 28, 2015·NeuroImage·Natalia EgorovaFriedemann Pulvermüller
Apr 20, 2016·Frontiers in Psychology·Paulo Sousa, Lauren Swiney
Apr 18, 2014·British Journal of Psychology·Heather C LenchKathleen E Darbor
Apr 15, 2016·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Rebecca Saxe
Jul 10, 2014·Psychonomic Bulletin & Review·John TurriPeter Blouw
Aug 30, 2018·Risk Analysis : an Official Publication of the Society for Risk Analysis·Björn MederMichael R Waldmann
Oct 3, 2018·Developmental Science·Marina Proft, Hannes Rakoczy
Jul 14, 2017·Scientific Reports·Indrajeet PatilGiorgia Silani
Nov 19, 2015·Frontiers in Psychology·Steve Guglielmo
Sep 5, 2020·Annual Review of Psychology·Bertram F Malle
Jan 21, 2020·Cortex; a Journal Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior·Hilary RichardsonRebecca Saxe
Jul 20, 2020·Trends in Cognitive Sciences·Rajen A AndersonDavid A Pizarro
Apr 20, 2021·Cognitive Science·Justin W MartinFiery Cushman

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Software Mentioned

SPM2

Related Concepts

Trending Feeds

COVID-19

Coronaviruses encompass a large family of viruses that cause the common cold as well as more serious diseases, such as the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19; formally known as 2019-nCoV). Coronaviruses can spread from animals to humans; symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties; in more severe cases, infection can lead to death. This feed covers recent research on COVID-19.

Blastomycosis

Blastomycosis fungal infections spread through inhaling Blastomyces dermatitidis spores. Discover the latest research on blastomycosis fungal infections here.

Nuclear Pore Complex in ALS/FTD

Alterations in nucleocytoplasmic transport, controlled by the nuclear pore complex, may be involved in the pathomechanism underlying multiple neurodegenerative diseases including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia. Here is the latest research on the nuclear pore complex in ALS and FTD.

Applications of Molecular Barcoding

The concept of molecular barcoding is that each original DNA or RNA molecule is attached to a unique sequence barcode. Sequence reads having different barcodes represent different original molecules, while sequence reads having the same barcode are results of PCR duplication from one original molecule. Discover the latest research on molecular barcoding here.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a disease characterized by unexplained disabling fatigue; the pathology of which is incompletely understood. Discover the latest research on chronic fatigue syndrome here.

Evolution of Pluripotency

Pluripotency refers to the ability of a cell to develop into three primary germ cell layers of the embryo. This feed focuses on the mechanisms that underlie the evolution of pluripotency. Here is the latest research.

Position Effect Variegation

Position Effect Variagation occurs when a gene is inactivated due to its positioning near heterochromatic regions within a chromosome. Discover the latest research on Position Effect Variagation here.

STING Receptor Agonists

Stimulator of IFN genes (STING) are a group of transmembrane proteins that are involved in the induction of type I interferon that is important in the innate immune response. The stimulation of STING has been an active area of research in the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Here is the latest research on STING receptor agonists.

Microbicide

Microbicides are products that can be applied to vaginal or rectal mucosal surfaces with the goal of preventing, or at least significantly reducing, the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. Here is the latest research on microbicides.