Experimental Ethics

Abstract

Abstract The experimental study of ethical judgment has blossomed into a thriving research area. Philosophers, psychologists, and scientists from other experimental fields have investigated a wide range of phenomena associated with human morality. Some of this work has focused on metaethical questions concerning the character and psychological nature of moral judgment itself. Other work has explored issues connected with normative ethics. The philosophical implications of the empirical work remain controversial, of course. But the field continues to grow in volume and sophistication. This essay will begin with a review of experimental approaches to issues in metaethics, followed by a review of experimental work that attempts to address issues in normative ethics. It should be noted at the outset that this discussion of the philosophical issues and experimental work is necessarily selective; it does not attempt to canvass the large and growing field of experimental ethics.