Would you spread pain to be fair? fMRI study tests moral choices in ice water

When making ethical decisions, university students appear to prioritize fairness and the fate of the worst-off over either reducing total harm or obeying unconditional moral precepts, according to a study published in PNAS Nexus. Woo-Young Ahn and colleagues have designed an experimental dilemma that pits a utilitarian approach—which seeks to minimize total harm—against an approach promoted by philosopher John Rawls, which emphasizes improving the situation of the person in the toughest situation.