Research Areas
Methodology in Theoretical and Applied Ethics
At the heart of both ethical theory and applied ethics is the recognition that the choices, activities, and emotional responses of persons are both shaped by and expressive of value commitments. Frequently, however, the content of these commitments and the role they play in deliberation and decision making remains largely implicit. A central goal of both ethical theory and applied ethics, therefore, is to reflect explicitly on questions of value and to consider whether there are methods or procedures for deliberation and inquiry that can facilitate moral problem solving. Different methods of ethics can therefore be distinguished by the answers they give to a range of questions, such as: Where does moral value come from? What should an ethical theory attempt to accomplish? What role, if any, should comprehensive moral theories play in deliberations about practical moral problems? Is there a method for conducting moral inquiry that can achieve convergence to a sound solution without relying on a comprehensive moral theory?
Research on methodological questions in theoretical and applied ethics at Carnegie Mellon is distinctive for the way it integrates a unique set of disciplinary and historical perspectives. Common to these diverse approaches is a commitment to viewing moral reasoning, in both its practical and theoretical deployments, as an activity of agents who are situated within some set of social circumstances. For Covey and those who approach moral problem solving as a form of conflict resolution, it is crucially important to identify methods for creating a space in which effective moral deliberation can take place and to evaluate various strategies for facilitating the negotiation of moral mazes by individuals or cooperative problem solving. This provides the philosophical background for the work of Cavalier, Madsen, and others who explore the ways in which dynamic multi-media tools can be used to facilitate this process. This very practical approach to ethics also has important historical antecedents. For London, this program can be understood as a development of ideas that were first systematically articulated by Aristotle. London's work on Aristotle sheds further light on the role of moral psychology in practical ethics, and provides a framework for understanding the relationship between practical and theoretical ethics. In contrast, Vanderschraaf's research develops a Humean approach to ethics. This approach explores the possibility that a just social arrangement is characterized by its stability as a mechanism for coordinating social interactions. Using game-theoretic models, Vanderschraaf explores in a rigorously analytical and empirical way how social conventions and the dynamics of group interaction influence our conceptions of justice and other important moral values.