Morality and Mind-Body Connections

Abstract

Sociologists who study morality have incorporated a variety of models of mind-body connections into their research. These models generally fall within three categories: cognitivist, intuitionist, and holistic models. Cognitivist research is focused on deliberative, “rational” thought, schemas, and cognitive frames. Intuitionist research emphasizes “pre-rational” emotions related to empathy, shame, anger, and disgust. Holistic research treats cognition and emotion as super-tightly integrated, and investigates them together. While there are analytic and methodological advantages to sharply distinguishing between cognition and emotion, researchers have developed a number of innovative methods for analyzing moral decision-making more holistically.