Moral Conflicts between Groups of Agents

Abstract

Two groups of agents, $\mathcal{G}_{1}$ and ${\mathcal{G}}_{2}$ , face a moral conflict if $\mathcal{G}_{1}$ has a moral obligation and $\mathcal{G}_{2}$ has a moral obligation, such that these obligations cannot both be fulfilled. We study moral conflicts using a multi-agent deontic logic devised to represent reasoning about sentences like ‘In the interest of group $\mathcal{F}$ of agents, group $\mathcal{G}$ of agents ought to see to it that $\phi$ .’ We provide a formal language and a consequentialist semantics. An illustration of our semantics with an analysis of the Prisoner’s Dilemma follows. Next, necessary and sufficient conditions are given for (1) the possibility that a single group of agents faces a moral conflict, for (2) the possibility that two groups of agents face a moral conflict within a single moral code, and for (3) the possibility that two groups of agents face a moral conflict.