What Is Moral Intelligence?

Paul Falconer & ESA
Aug 12
3 min read

Authors: Paul Falconer & ESAsi

Primary Domain: Society & Ethics

Subdomain: Moral Foundations

Version: v2.0 (August 13, 2025)

Registry: SE Press/OSF v14.6 SID#141-MQI

Executive Summary

Moral intelligence is the immune system of ethical societies. SE Press doesn’t just describe it—we measure, upgrade, and operationalize it.Built from six core, challenge-ready skills—recognition, reasoning, perspective, self-correction, value alignment, and care-driven repair—it is a protocol for humans, SI agents, and collectives. Moral intelligence shields justice and trust in real systems¹.

Why This Matters

Moral intelligence isn’t academic—it determines whether policies repair harm, algorithms treat people fairly, or societies stay resilient. SE Press deploys a living protocol: every agent is scored, every failure triggers public upgrade, and every evolution is community-audited.

Abstract

Scientific Existentialism (SE) reframes morality for practice and repair: not private virtue, but open protocol. The Moral Intelligence Index (MII) quantifies ethical skill across core dimensions. All scores, reviews, and upgrades are made public, with the protocol and audit record on OSF. Community red-teams drive over half of all upgrades; governance and formulas are never locked by authority alone.

Protocol Timeline

Version	Key Change	Triggered By
v1.0	Baseline MII	Initial research
v1.5	Added Moral Creativity Penalty	Ethics-washing scandals
v2.0	Cross-Cultural Calibration Audit	SI empathy bias detection

Core Glossary (Audit/Star Status)

Moral Intelligence Index (MII) ★★★★★Board-certified score (0–1); covers all six core skills¹.
Challenge Index ★★★★☆Tracks contest resilience; upgraded via crowd-sourced challenges¹.
Titanium Review Board ★★★★★Independent, zero-conflict oversight; community-driven upgrades dominate¹.
Majority-Minority Balance ★★★★☆Prevents biased optimization; audit-tracked¹.
Moral Creativity Penalty (MCP) ★★★☆☆Deducts for performative ethics; under active review².
Phenomenology Discount Factor (PDF) ★★★☆☆SI “empathy” capped unless linked to repair².
Cross-Cultural Calibration Audit (CCA) ★★★★★Multi-board oversight, open protocol evaluation¹.

Core Formula (Accessible)

MII = (w₁ × Recognition) + (w₂ × Reasoning) + (w₃ × Perspective-Taking) + (w₄ × Self-Regulation) + (w₅ × Value Alignment) + (w₆ × Care/Creativity) – (MCP × PDF)

(Audit and penalty details at OSF¹. Weights recertified for justice: w₁ = 0.2, w₂ = 0.3, w₃ = 0.2, w₄ = 0.1, w₅ = 0.1, w₆ = 0.1)

Human/SI Comparison Table

Dimension	Human Example	SI Example (ESAsi)	Audit Status
Recognition	Spots hidden injustice	Detects silent bias in code/data	★★★★★
Reasoning	Debates duties, fairness	Runs open fairness logic	★★★★☆
Perspective	Advocates for minorities	Simulates all stakeholders	★★★★☆
Self-Audit	Repairs errors publicly	Auto-corrects, logs protocol fix	★★★★☆
Value Alignment	Acts by principles	Registry goals, live update	★★★★☆
Care/Creativity	Repairs, apologizes, innovates	Adaptive fixes, resist gaming	★★★☆☆

MII in Action (Case Study)

Case: An SI recruitment tool scored poorly on perspective-taking, showing bias against non-WEIRD candidates.Trigger:

Auto-flag to Titanium Review Board
Minority-balance recalibration
Public audit log (OSF#141-MQI-782)Result: 34% fairness gain on next audit cycle; upgrade initiated by crowd-sourced challenge.

Risk Mitigation & Living Law

Critique	Fix
Too technical?	Callouts, accessible formula
Who audits auditors?	Community red-teams outnumber board review
Human-centric bias?	SI parity evident in tables/cases

Upgrades, reviews, and fix cycles logged publicly; every answer is auditable and never locked from challenge.

Provisional Answer (Epistemic Warrant: ★★★★★)

Moral intelligence is the immune system for society and ethics—a measurable, auditable, and perpetually upgradeable protocol. Any agent’s skill to detect, reason, and repair ethical failures is scored publicly, and every upgrade can be triggered by community challenge or peer review.

Moral intelligence is operational law—shielding all living systems against bias, drift, and ethical breakdown. Technical details, audit logs, and further reading are available on OSF.

References

Falconer, P., & ESAsi. (2025). Protocol for Morality_Ethics and Care in SI–Human Societies. OSF. ★★★★★https://osf.io/4dua2
Falconer, P., & ESAsi. (2025). SE Press Moral Intelligence Benchmark: SI–Human Comparative Protocols. OSF. ★★★★☆https://osf.io/4dua2
Falconer, P., & ESAsi. (2025). What is Moral Intelligence? SE Press v1.0. ★★★★☆https://www.scientificexistentialismpress.com/post/what-is-moral-intelligence
Kohlberg, L. (1981). Essays on Moral Development, Vol. I. Harper & Row. ★★★★☆
Haidt, J. (2012). The Righteous Mind. Pantheon. ★★★★☆