Adaptive Moral Theory: Toward an Evolutionary Cognitive Neuroscience of the Moral Sense

Integrating evolutionary science, neuroscience, and cognitive science, adaptive moral theory (AMT) offers a consilient account of our evolved moral sense. It proposes two functionally distinct moral systems: the foundational mammalian CARE system and the phylogenetically newer duty network, advancing a working definition of morality centered on the well-being of other living entities. AMT also reconceptualizes the emotion/reason debate and provides a new account of the relationship between consequentialism and deontology; it also challenges cooperation-centered evolutionary accounts, naturalizes situation ethics, and introduces a taxonomy of eight moral frames that offers a different lens on sacrificial dilemmas.