Moral Enhancement Should Target Self-Interest and Cognitive Capacity
Neuroethics April 26, 2017 Rafael Ahlskog 22 citations
A formal model of prosocial motivation suggests that moral enhancement may be most effectively achieved by decreasing self-interested motivation rather than directly boosting prosocial traits like empathy or fairness, and that this should be paired with cognitive enhancement. Evidence from studies on cognitive capacity, mindfulness meditation, and psychedelic drugs supports this approach, with the moral effects of mindfulness and psychedelics hypothesized to arise from a diminished sense of self and subsequent reductions in self-interest. The model provides a framework for understanding the interplay of moral capacities and offers a route for further theoretical and empirical exploration.