DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x25101556 ISSN: 0140-525X
Outsourcing moral cognition: Delegation, diffusion of responsibility, and coalitional exclusion
Matthias Forstmann, Alexa WeissAbstract
Levine et al.’s resource-rational contractualism (RRC) models moral judgment as a cost-sensitive approximation to ideal bargaining among stakeholders. We identify three strategies agents use to reduce moral costs by outsourcing or bypassing virtual bargaining: strategic delegation, diffusion of responsibility, and coalitional boundary-setting. We propose extending RRC with parameters for agency transfer, responsibility tracking, and stakeholder inclusion to better capture real-world moral decision-making.