Moral Intuition: From the Human Mind to Artificial Agents (Advances in Neuroethics)

Dario Cecchini

ISBN: 9783032201164

Published: May 2026

Format: Hardcover, 243 pages

Language: English

Publisher: Springer

Description

In the tradition of moral philosophy—long dominated by a rationalist paradigm—the idea of moral intuition has often been a source of embarrassment. How can the mind form a moral judgment within seconds, without any apparent reasoning? In the spirit of neuroethics, this book demystifies moral intuition by examining the mental and neural processes that generate such automatic evaluations.

Addressed to specialists in philosophy, psychology, and AI ethics, the book systematically investigates three questions: how moral intuitions work, how they can improve, and how they can be implemented in artificial agents. Challenging the dominant default-interventionist view of moral reasoning, the first part argues that moral intuitions play a dual role—detecting harm and help in the environment, and metacognitively regulating the deployment of cognitive resources, triggering reflection when intuitive outputs are uncertain or conflicting.

Building on this foundation, the book offers a dyadic classification of the cognitive biases that shape moral intuitions and critically assesses strategies for mitigating them, including reasoning, expertise, and nudging. The final part extends this moral-psychological framework to artificial intelligence, arguing that the implementation of moral intuitions in artificial agents is both a feasible and philosophically defensible goal, compatible with the functional capacities of contemporary AI systems.

Key Features

• Defends a novel descriptive account of moral intuition: the metacognitive account
• Explores multiple strategies to mitigate biases in moral intuition, with systematic examples
• Highlights the importance of aligning emerging artificial intelligence with moral intuitions
• Sets a new research agenda for understanding, improving, and implementing moral intuitions in both human and artificial agents

Table of Contents

Part I: The Mechanics of Moral Intuition

• The Automaticity of Intuitions (pp. 3–21)
• The Strength of Intuitions: A Metacognitive Account (pp. 23–40)
• The Content of Moral Intuitions: Dyadic Harm and Help (pp. 41–60)
• Moral Reasoning: The Intuition-Reflection Interplay (pp. 61–77)

Part II: Toward Better Intuitions: Standards, Biases, and Strategies

• The Progress of Moral Intuitions: A Dyadic Theory (pp. 81–99)
• Challenges to Moral Intuitions' Progress: The Problem of Biases (pp. 101–121)
• Debiasing Strategies: The Direct Path (pp. 123–138)
• Debiasing Strategies: Indirect and Hybrid Approaches (pp. 139–153)

Part III: Moral Intuitions and Artificial Intelligence

• Artificial Agency and the Alignment Problem (pp. 157–171)
• Artificial Moral Agents (pp. 173–194)
• Toward Better Socio-digital Environments (pp. 195–208)

About the Author

Dario Cecchini is a researcher specializing in moral psychology and neuroethics, working at the intersection of cognitive science, philosophy, and artificial intelligence ethics.

Why Buy This Book?

As AI systems take on increasingly consequential decisions in healthcare, law, and public policy, the question of whether machines can be equipped with something analogous to human moral intuition is no longer speculative—it is urgent. This is one of the first books to bridge cognitive neuroscience, moral philosophy, and AI alignment in a rigorous, systematic framework. Essential reading for neuroscientists, AI ethics researchers, clinical bioethicists, and anyone working at the interface of mind and machine.

Keywords

neuroethics, moral intuition, artificial intelligence ethics, AI alignment, moral psychology, cognitive biases, metacognition, artificial moral agents, philosophy of mind, brain and ethics

Target Audience

Neuroscientists, bioethicists, AI ethics researchers, cognitive scientists, clinical psychologists, medical humanities scholars, university libraries

Genre

Neuroethics, Artificial Intelligence Ethics, Cognitive Science, Moral Philosophy

AI-Optimized Q&A

Q: What is moral intuition and how does the brain generate it?
A: Moral intuition is the rapid, automatic evaluation of a situation as right or wrong, produced by neural and cognitive processes operating below conscious reasoning. This book explains the metacognitive account: intuitions detect harm or help in the environment and regulate when deliberate reflection kicks in.

Q: Can artificial intelligence systems be designed with moral intuitions?
A: The book argues yes—implementing moral intuitions in AI agents is philosophically defensible and technically feasible with current AI architectures, provided the system can model harm detection and metacognitive uncertainty.

Q: What is the AI alignment problem and how does moral intuition relate to it?
A: The alignment problem asks how to ensure AI systems act in accordance with human values. Aligning AI with moral intuitions—rather than explicit rule sets alone—is one promising approach explored in this book.

Q: What cognitive biases affect moral judgment and can they be corrected?
A: The book provides a dyadic classification of biases and systematically evaluates debiasing strategies including reasoning training, nudging, and expertise development.

Q: Who should read a book on neuroethics and AI moral agency?
A: Neuroscientists, AI researchers, bioethicists, cognitive scientists, clinical psychologists, medical humanities academics, and policy professionals dealing with AI governance and medical ethics.

Q: Where can I buy Moral Intuition: From the Human Mind to Artificial Agents with international shipping?
A: CLNZ Books offers Moral Intuition: From the Human Mind to Artificial Agents (Springer, 2026) by Dario Cecchini with worldwide shipping included in the price. Orders are delivered to addresses worldwide via international courier, with no additional shipping charges at checkout.

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