Moral Uncertainty

This book explores how to navigate decision-making amid moral uncertainty, offering insights into ethical frameworks and norms. Moral Uncertainty provides a unique perspective on these challenges.

In Moral Uncertainty, authors William MacAskill, Krister Bykvist, and Toby Ord delve into the complexities of decision-making when faced with moral ambiguity. They highlight that many of us often grapple with fundamental questions about what we ought to do ethically, especially when weighing the interests of humans against animals or considering our responsibilities to distant strangers. This book seeks to provide a framework for making decisions amid this uncertainty, arguing that there are specific norms that govern our choices based on our moral beliefs.

The authors contend that while the realms of economics and philosophy have extensively examined decision-making under factual uncertainty, the aspect of moral uncertainty has largely been overlooked. Moral Uncertainty fills this gap by proposing an information-sensitive approach to decision-making that draws parallels between moral uncertainty and social choice. The book outlines how the nature of one's moral beliefs—whether ordinal, cardinal, or intertheoretically comparable—affects the decision-making process.

Through rigorous analysis, MacAskill, Bykvist, and Ord explore the implications of their findings for both metaethics and practical ethics. They discuss various potential solutions to the challenges posed by intertheoretical comparisons, encouraging readers to consider the nuances of their moral frameworks. Ultimately, Moral Uncertainty provides valuable insights into how we can navigate the murky waters of ethical decision-making in an uncertain world.