Mind-body dualism as social signalling

Humans across cultures intuitively see the mind as distinct from the body, requiring more than physical properties or processes to explain subjective, conscious experiences such as suffering or joy. This view conflicts with physicalist accounts, which hold that the mind is nothing more than the product of brain activity. Why, then, do these dualistic intuitions persist despite modern neuroscience that suggests that the mind is reducible to physical events? I will suggest that the answer may be found in the critical role these intuitions play in shaping shared norms around moral status, fairness, and moral responsibility. Together with Lucius Caviola, we propose that intuitive dualism is reinforced by the dual action of a strong social pressure to publicly signal dualism due to its function as a basis for ethics, and the fact that we sometimes hold beliefs to convincingly signal that we hold them (beliefs serve a signalling function). Across four experiments, we show that dualists are perceived as warmer, more caring, and more trustworthy than physicalists (Exp. 1); that people expect others to share this perception, establishing dualism as a social norm (Exp. 2); that individuals strategically express more dualist views in contexts where prosociality is valued (Exp. 3 and 4); and that this then goes on to affect their privately held views about the nature of consciousness (Exp. 3 and 4). These results suggest that intuitive dualism may be adaptive as a social signal of moral character, helping explain both its prevalence and its persistence.