Moral sentiments and equilibrium moral codes

Abstract

This paper shows that the consistent way of modeling sentiment-driven moral behaviors in a setting of social interaction is to derive the equilibrium moral code that is mutually consistent with the optimal moral behavior of each player. To do this, it is necessary that moral sentiments be introduced explicitly into the utility function so that an individual could choose the optimal moral behavior that balances his/her narrow self-interest against the avoidance of moral dissonance. It then demonstrates how the various equilibrium moral codes are derived from the key moral sentiments of love, guilt and envy.