How should we make decisions when we’re uncertain about what we ought, morally, to do?

Decision-making in the face of fundamental moral uncertainty is underexplored terrain: William MacAskill, Krister Bykvist, and Toby Ord argue that there are distinctive norms by which it is governed, and which depend on the nature of one’s moral beliefs.

Features:

  • Provides a much-needed study of moral uncertainty

  • Offers a state-of-the-art overview of the topic and a new theoretical framework

  • Relevant for people working on decision theory in the social sciences

  • Clearly written - the core ideas of the book are accessible to non-specialists

About the authors

 

William MacAskill

William MacAskill is an Associate Professor in Philosophy at Oxford University and a research fellow at the Global Priorities Institute. He is also the founder and president of 80,000 Hours, the co-founder and vice-president of Giving What We Can, and the author of Doing Good Better: Effective Altruism and a Radical New Way to Make a Difference.

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Krister Bykvist

Krister Bykvist is Professor in Practical Philosophy at the Department of Philosophy, Stockholm University and Institute for Futures Studies. He was a Tutorial Fellow at Jesus College, Oxford, and a CUF Lecturer in Philosophy at Oxford University (2001-2013). Before that, he was a Temporary Lecturer at the Department of Philosophy, Cambridge University. He has been a visiting researcher at the Department of Philosophy, Canada, and at SCAS, Uppsala and an academic visitor at ANU, Australia. Krister is co-PI of an interdisciplinary project on climate ethics.

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Toby Ord

Toby Ord is a Senior Research Fellow in Philosophy at Oxford University. He is a co-founder of Giving What We Can His current research is on the longterm future of humanity, and the risks which threaten to destroy our entire potential. His new book, The Precipice, explores these topics and concludes that safeguarding our future is among the most pressing and neglected issues we face. Toby has advised the World Health Organization, the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, and the UK Prime Minister’s Office and Cabinet Office.

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