Author: Dr. David Lowemann

How Likely Is it that I Would Act the Same Way: Modeling Moral Judgment During Uncertainty

Abstract Moral rules come with exceptions, and moral judgments come with uncertainty. For instance, stealing is wrong and generally punished. Yet, it could be the case that the thief is stealing food for their family. Such information about the thief’s context could flip admonishment to praise. To varying degrees, this type of uncertainty regarding the […]

Published on November 7, 2024

Folk Intuitions About Free Will and Moral Responsibility: Evaluating the Combined Effects of Misunderstandings About Determinism and Motivated Cognition

Abstract In this study, we conducted large-scale experiments with novel descriptions of determinism. Our goal was to investigate the effects of desires for punishment and comprehension errors on people’s intuitions about free will and moral responsibility in deterministic scenarios. Previous research has acknowledged the influence of these factors, but their total effect has not been […]

Published on November 7, 2024

Does Momentary Outcome‐Based Reflection Shape Bioethical Views? A Pre‐Post Intervention Design

Abstract Many bioliberals endorse broadly consequentialist frameworks in normative ethics, implying that a progressive stance on matters of bioethical controversy could stem from outcome-based reasoning. This raises an intriguing empirical prediction: encouraging outcome-based reflection could yield a shift toward bioliberal views among nonexperts as well. To evaluate this hypothesis, we identified empirical premises that underlie […]

Published on November 7, 2024