Project title: Unconscious Moral Choices
Project description: It is commonly thought, by philosophers and psychologists, that conscious deliberation is required for moral decision-making. I challenge this view. After distinguishing different types of unawareness in decision-making, I argue that common experience and specific studies suggest we are often unaware of our motives in making choices, including moral choices. I then investigate whether the ordinary or folk notion of moral responsibility entails awareness of one’s motives through my own statistically analyzed surveys of both children and adults. An important corollary of my thesis is that very young children, the cognitively impaired, and perhaps also nonhuman animals, can be considered moral agents even though their lack of self-awareness and moral understanding means they lack full moral responsibility. I argue they can, and plausibly do, exercise unconscious control over their motives (on either a compatibilist or libertarian notion of free will), and that if these motives involve moral emotions, such as concern or empathy, such behavior is moral behavior. My notion of unconscious moral choices helps explain why people are morally responsible for mental states they have no immediate conscious control over, such as unjustified anger. I explore the ethical, legal, and public policy implications of unconscious moral choices for how we should view and treat children, those with cognitive disabilities, and social nonhuman animals. I also examine the relevance of unconscious moral choices for clinical theory and practice.
Most important achievement: I am honored to have been invited to comment and present at the American Philosophical Association.
Reflections on the College Scholar Program: I am so grateful to be part of the College Scholar Program. It enables me to integrate mutually enlightening academic courses from diverse fields into my own cohesive intellectual journey, culminating in a graduate-level thesis that demonstrates the importance of that journey. All of our events help us become better scientists, and our collaborative discussions facilitate new ideas for project development. It is exciting to get to know so many passionate, brilliant and innovative students and learn about their fascinating projects! I love being part of this community. It has been such a pleasure!