Dual Process Theory

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Recent research in cognitive science has borne fruit in terms of developing the understanding of our moral cognition. This, in turn, has led to an abundance of cross disciplinary work between cognitive science and philosophy regarding long standing moral dilemmas and the basis of our moral systems. A key development generated by cognitive science has been to highlight the cognitive underpinnings of, and the differences between, deontological and utilitarian moral systems. In this essay, I shall discuss moral cognition, and more specifically, I am going to talk about barriers that prevent, or at least diminish, the likelihood of individuals making utilitarian moral judgements. In doing so, I will utilise the dual process theory of moral cognition, …show more content…
Importantly, these different systems are aligned with different strands of moral philosophy. That is, the automatic, emotion based system is posited to be responsible for deontological moral judgements. Whereas, the deliberate system is that which is utilised when we make utilitarian moral judgements. In examining barriers to utilitarian moral decision making, I will focus on three key features involved in our cognition. Firstly, our pro-sociality, which includes an aversion to causing harm and killing, along with the pro-social emotion of guilt. Secondly, aspects of modal cognition, specifically, an apparent generative bias in terms of the sets of representations made available to us when dealing with moral problems, namely, a bias towards generating sets that conform to moral rules. And thirdly, cognitive loading, which interferes with our ability to operate our controlled cognition which is necessary for overriding our automatic system in order to make a utilitarian …show more content…
Moreover, although such moral dilemmas are often criticised as being too artificial, or far removed from reality, I will suggest that we do indeed face real life trolley problems within modern society which require serious consideration. Furthermore, that upon examining such real life dilemmas, we find reason to believe that what has been discovered using trolley problems does in fact bear out in the moral issues that we actually face in real life, and here I will discuss examples from the realm of bioethics. Subsequently, in further developing an understanding of our moral cognition, and how this understanding overlaps with our primary moral systems, we will be better equipped to deal with significant moral questions, by knowing the operations, and potential limitations, of our moral
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