IQS is hosting a new session of its IQS Harvard Talks series featuring Professor Joshua Greene, one of Harvard University’s most distinguished professors and an internationally renowned for his groundbreaking work at the intersection of experimental psychology, neuroscience, and moral philosophy.
IQS Welcomes Harvard Professor Joshua Greene, a Global Leader in Moral Neuroscience at the IQS Harvard Talks Series
The conference will take place on 12 November at 11:00 am in the IQS-URL multimedia hall.
During his presentation, Dr Greene will share his insights on the psychology of moral judgment and the design of ethical and cooperative systems along with offering practical strategies to enhance leadership, negotiation, and collective decision-making in today’s complex social environment.
A pioneer in moral neuroscience
Joshua Greene is renowned for developing the dual-process theory of moral judgment, a model explaining how automatic emotional processes and controlled rational processes interact in ethical decision-making. This framework has had a profound impact across multiple areas of management, from ethical decision-making and leadership to organizational behavior, incentive and nudge design, negotiation, and creating cohesive corporate cultures.
Among his most notable achievements is his role as a pioneer in using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study moral dilemmas. He was one of the first scientists to observe what happens in the brain when people face life-and-death decisions and ethical conflicts, earning him recognition as one of the founders of the field of moral neuroscience.
Revealing the hidden mechanisms of morality
Greene has also been described as the “revealer of the secret joke” behind our moral convictions: his research suggests that many of our deepest ethical principles may actually stem from emotional impulses rather than conscious reasoning. According to his work, when we debate what is right or wrong, we are often rationalizing intuitions instead of reasoning from first principles.
Towards a shared morality
Another one of Greene’s major contributions is his proposal for a “common currency” for moral conflicts, a metatheory he calls “deep pragmatism.” This framework seeks to provide a shared ground for understanding that enables groups with differing values to cooperate effectively, offering pragmatic solutions to real-world ethical dilemmas.
From the laboratory to everyday life
Far from remaining in the academic sphere, Greene has brought his ideas into practice. He has led innovative projects such as Giving Multiplier, a psychology-based tool designed to make philanthropy more effective, and Tango, a game created to reimagine how we engage in dialogue with those who hold opposing views.
His contributions are captured in his acclaimed book Moral Tribes, which synthesizes his pioneering research and offers a pragmatic framework for resolving moral conflicts. The book has been praised for its ability to make complex interdisciplinary ideas accessible and for its influence on contemporary ethical thought.
Professor Joshua Greene remains an influential voice in understanding the architecture of morality and human cooperation, inspiring a new generation of leaders and thinkers committed to building more just, empathetic, and collaborative societies.