How Meditation Affects Ethical Reasoning and Ethical Behavior: Limitations of Current Research and Suggestions Moving Forward
The Institute of Mind Humanities October 31, 2023 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.61420/mp.2023.4.2.78 via Semantic Scholar
Summary
Research on mindfulness, lovingkindness, and compassion meditation often conflates improved ethical reasoning with increased ethical behavior, but experimental philosophy reveals a gap between the two. While later studies acknowledge mitigating factors, current evidence for meditation changing ethical behavior remains limited. The paper argues that multidisciplinary work combining philosophy and religious studies is needed to better inform psychological research in this area.
Study at a glance
| Design | theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key finding | Current evidence on meditation and changing ethical behavior is limited, and future research requires multidisciplinary insights from philosophy and religious studies. |
Abstract
Some earlier scientific research on mindfulness, lovingkindness and compassion meditation have investigated their effects on ethical reasoning and ethical behavior. Unfortunately, when these studies are cited, improving ethical reasoning or awareness or judgment is too often conflated with increasing ethical behavior. However, empirical evidence from Experimental Philosophy shows a key gap between reasoning and behavior. A similar issue exists with research on meditation and ethical awareness or ethical judgment. Later studies on meditation and ethics acknowledge that there are mitigating factors that influence changing ethical behavior. Though I conclude that the current evidence from research is limited, it is still a promising area of study. This paper argues for the need for more multidisciplinary work to combine insights from the discipline of philosophy and the field of religious studies in order to inform psychological research on meditation and changing ethical behavior.