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Ends versus Means: Kantians, Utilitarians, and Moral Decisions

Author

Listed:
  • Roland Bénabou

    (Princeton University, NBER, CEPR, IZA, BREAD, and briq)

  • Armin Falk

    (University of Bonn)

  • Luca Henkel

    (University of Chicago and University of CEMA, CESifo, JILAEE)

Abstract

Choosing what is morally right can be based on the consequences (ends) resulting from the decision – the Consequentialist view – or on the conformity of the means involved with some overarching notion of duty – the Deontological view. Using a series of experiments, we investigate the overall prevalence and the consistency of consequentialist and deontological decision-making, when these two moral principles come into conflict. Our design includes a real-stakes version of the classical trolley dilemma, four novel games that induce ends-versus-means tradeoffs, and a rule-following task. These six main games are supplemented with six classical self-versus-other choice tasks, allowing us to relate consequential/deontological behavior to standard measures of prosociality. Across the six main games, we find a sizeable prevalence (20 to 44%) of non-consequentialist choices by subjects, but no evidence of stable individual preference types across situations. In particular, trolley behavior predicts no other ends-versus-means choices. Instead, which moral principle prevails appears to be context-dependent. In contrast, we find a substantial level of consistency across self-versus-other decisions, but individuals’ degree of prosociality is unrelated to how they choose in ends-versus-means tradeoffs.

Suggested Citation

  • Roland Bénabou & Armin Falk & Luca Henkel, 2024. "Ends versus Means: Kantians, Utilitarians, and Moral Decisions," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 275, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:ajk:ajkdps:275
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Daniel L. Chen & Martin Schonger, 2022. "Social preferences or sacred values? Theory and evidence of deontological motivations," Post-Print hal-03894046, HAL.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    morality; deontological; consequentialist; Kantian; ends-versus-means; trolley dilemma; prosocial; altruism; social preferences;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • D01 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles
    • D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers

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