Angels and devils on our shoulders: a framework for modelling moral agency

Shyam Gouri Suresh & Paul Studtmann

Economics and Philosophy2025https://doi.org/10.1017/s0266267125100448article
AJG 2ABDC A
Weight
0.37

Abstract

We present a philosophically motivated framework for modelling moral agency. In addition to choosing strategies, agents in this framework choose among an appropriate exogenous set of moralities that depends on the context of the game. Further, agents can use mixed strategies to choose their degree of morality. We present two models to demonstrate the framework. In the first model, agents choose between empathy and selfishness while playing prisoner’s dilemma. In the second, agents choose between Kantian universalizing and selfishness while playing a public goods game. For both models, the degree of morality gets determined endogenously rather than assigned parametrically.

1 citation

Open via your library →

Cite this paper

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1017/s0266267125100448

Or copy a formatted citation

@article{shyam2025,
  title        = {{Angels and devils on our shoulders: a framework for modelling moral agency}},
  author       = {Shyam Gouri Suresh & Paul Studtmann},
  journal      = {Economics and Philosophy},
  year         = {2025},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1017/s0266267125100448},
}

Paste directly into BibTeX, Zotero, or your reference manager.

Flag this paper

Angels and devils on our shoulders: a framework for modelling moral agency

Flags are reviewed by the Arbiter methodology team within 5 business days.


Evidence weight

0.37

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.16 × 0.4 = 0.06
M · momentum0.53 × 0.15 = 0.08
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.