Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/334056 
Year of Publication: 
2021
Citation: 
[Journal:] Asian Journal of Economics and Banking (AJEB) [ISSN:] 2633-7991 [Volume:] 5 [Issue:] 3 [Year:] 2021 [Pages:] 255-271
Publisher: 
Emerald, Leeds
Abstract: 
Purpose - This paper aims to develop a geometry of moral systems. Existing social choice mechanisms predominantly employ simple structures, such as rankings. A mathematical metric among moral systems allows us to represent complex sets of views in a multidimensional geometry. Such a metric can serve to diagnose structural issues, test existing mechanisms of social choice or engender new mechanisms. It also may be used to replace active social choice mechanisms with information-based passive ones, shifting the operational burden. Design/methodology/approach - Under reasonable assumptions, moral systems correspond to computational black boxes, which can be represented by conditional probability distributions of responses to situations. In the presence of a probability distribution over situations and a metric among responses, codifying our intuition, we can derive a sensible metric among moral systems. Findings - Within the developed framework, the author offers a set of well-behaved candidate metrics that may be employed in real applications. The author also proposes a variety of practical applications to social choice, both diagnostic and generative. Originality/value - The proffered framework, derived metrics and proposed applications to social choice represent a new paradigm and offer potential improvements and alternatives to existing social choice mechanisms. They also can serve as the staging point for research in a number of directions.
Subjects: 
Social choice
Behavioral economics
Voting theory
Mathematical morality
Mathematicalphilosophy
Moral geometry
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by Logo
Document Type: 
Article

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