My collaborators and I study moral judgment and decision-making using behavioral experiments, functional neuroimaging (fMRI), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and genotyping.  The goal of my research is to understand how moral judgments are shaped by automatic processes (such as emotional “gut reactions”) and controlled cognitive processes (such as reasoning and self-control).  Our current work is aimed at understanding these automatic and controlled processes in more detailed functional terms.

    Our research indicates that there is no dedicated “moral sense” or “moral faculty.”  Instead, moral judgment arises from interactions among dissociable cognitive systems, many of which—perhaps all of which—are not specifically dedicated to moral judgment.  In light of this, we aim to understand how moral judgment is shaped by the operating characteristics of these disparate systems.  These include systems that enable cognitive control, reward-seeking behavior, the representation of actions, and sensory imagery.

    One of our key research strategies is to divide and conquer through the analysis of judgment processes that require the integration of multiple pieces of information.  This includes information that triggers automatic emotional responses, information concerning the probability and magnitude of morally significant consequences, and the higher-order integration of automatic emotional responses with moral reasoning (especially reasoning about consequences) in the production of “all things considered” judgments.  More generally, our research aims to break down moral judgment processes into their functional components.

    Much of our research is motivated by normative philosophical questions.  I am currently writing a book about the moral implications of our emerging scientific understanding of morality.