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Seeing for ourselves: Insights into the development of moral behaviour from models of visual perception and misperception

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2018

Daniel Collerton  and
Elaine Perry
Daniel Collerton
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Bensham Hospital, Gateshead, NE8 4YL, UK. daniel.collerton@ncl.ac.ukelaine.perry@ncl.ac.uk
Elaine Perry
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Bensham Hospital, Gateshead, NE8 4YL, UK. daniel.collerton@ncl.ac.ukelaine.perry@ncl.ac.uk
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Abstract

Parallels from visual processing support Doris's cognitive architecture underlying moral agency. Unconscious visual processes change with conscious reflection. The sparse and partial representations of vision, its illusions, and hallucinations echo biases in moral reasoning and behaviour. Traditionally, unconscious moral processes are developed by teaching and reflection. Modern neuroscience could bypass reflection and directly influence unconscious processes, creating new dangers.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 41 , 2018 , e40
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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