Morality Ladder: A Graded Moral Regulation Model of Moral Agency Under Uncertainty

This paper introduces the concept of the “Morality Ladder” as a structural model for understanding moral agency under conditions of uncertainty. Instead of framing moral judgment as rule-following or value adherence, the paper proposes that moral behavior operates through graded regulation across multiple levels of constraint. The model distinguishes between biological, social, value-based, and reflective levels, not as a hierarchy of moral worth, but as a layered system of interacting constraints. Moral conflict is reframed as a misalignment between these levels rather than a direct conflict between values. This approach provides a non-foundational account of moral agency that explains both the persistence of moral disagreement and the stability of moral behavior without appealing to universal principles. Responsibility is treated as graded and dependent on the capacity to regulate across competing constraints. The paper contributes to neuroethical discussions by aligning moral judgment with broader models of distributed cognition, conflict monitoring, and regulatory dynamics, offering a framework that remains coherent under conditions of moral fragmentation and uncertainty.