Spirituality, Tools of the Mind, and the Social Brain.

Many have argued that the world’s major challenges are ultimately 'spiritual' in nature, stemming from misconceptions about the kinds of beings we are, and the consequent difficulties in aligning our beliefs, values and actions. It has also been argued that addressing 21st century challenges depends upon cultivating competencies and character traits that are not currently widespread. These two major discourses do not inform each other adequately, and both appear to lack theoretical coherence and empirical support. The overarching aim of this project is to examine how a scientific account of our social and automatic natures might help to reconceive the role of spirituality in character development. Our goal is to provide fresh insight on the complex challenge of becoming a better person: How can the relationship between spirituality and character development be informed by new insights into human nature? This question will be explored through 3 defining themes of RSA's Social Brain Centre. We will investigate the social resources required to support meaningful HABITS, examine how social norms shape people’s DECISIONS on matters of character, and consider how to support forms of ATTENTION that help people connect with themselves, each other and beyond. We will host a series of research workshops, public events, a design exhibition and a symposium to explore practical applications, leading to a widely disseminated RSA report. As non-partisan thought leaders, RSA is ideally placed to contextualise and revitalise spirituality, and show its central relevance to the challenge of character development. Our world class events programme, established links with leading academics, policymakers and journalists, and fellowship of 27,000 means that the ideas developed will be widely heard and carefully considered. We hope to help people to begin to speak of ‘the spiritual’ in public life with clarity and confidence, regardless of their religious position.