An Empirical Study of Moral Intuitions: Toward an Evolutionary Ethics

This study of moral intuitions used a questionnaire containing 2 moral dilemmas that were administered to university students. The dilemmas probed the underlying dimensions involved in moral intuitions. The results of both group- and individual-level analyses suggested that the most important dimensions were Speciesism, Abhorrent Political Philosophy (Nazism), and Inclusive Fitness, followed by Social Contract and Number of Individuals. The dimensions of Action-Inaction, Elite, and Endangered Species had significant but weak influences. The results are interpreted within an evolutionary framework and represent progress toward developing an understanding of the is on which it is possible to base the ought (a consideration of the moral imperatives when a legitimate conflict of interest exists between different living beings).