Emotions and Reasoning: The Perspective of Neuroethics and the Role of Cognitive Sciences

The Research Unit based at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University (Milan) works on the (neuro)cognitive and socio-psychological inquiry on moral judgement and behavior, and on its relevance for ethical theory and moral practice. 

The aim of the project is to investigate – both theoretically and empirically – the plausibility of an integrated view of moral cognition, contra theories which conceive ethical reasoning as a mere rationalization of emotional responses (Haidt 2001), or as a consequentialist computation (Greene 2014). Together with other influential interpretations of empirical research in moral psychology and neuroethics, these views cast doubt on fundamental normative issues, such as the reliability of moral intuitions (Singer 2005), the soundness of deontology (Greene 2008), and the feasibility of moral progress (Schwitzgebel & Cushman 2015); skeptical claims that, we believe, lack both empirical support (Dean 2010; May 2018) and normative justification.

Our project explores a theoretical approach in which psychobiological dispositions, sociocultural elements and rational reflection interact to bring about normative conclusions. Along with theoretical analysis, the research unit also aims at running a longitudinal experiment to test the empirical plausibility of ‘educating’ moral intuitions, by improving moral judgements and justification through ‘ethical training’. Ideally, this will provide evidence in favor (or against) the likelihood of exercising a cognitive control on biases and on the influence of irrelevant factors, and thus for (or against) a more integrated view of moral cognition (Fine 2006; Reichlin 2014; Sauer 2017).

The San Raffaele research unit is hosted within the activities of CeSEP - Centre for Studies in Ethics and Politics

More information here

Members of the Research Unit

Massimo Reichlin (coordinator)
Graduated in Philosophy at the Catholic University of Milan, he obtained a Ph.D. in Bioethics at the University of Genoa. Since 2004 has been Associate Professor of Moral Philosophy at the Faculty of Philosophy of San Raffaele University, Milan. Since 2015 is Full Professor of Moral Philosophy at the same Faculty, where he teaches Ethics of Life and Contemporary Ethics and coordinates the Ph.D. Program in Philosophy. He also teaches Bioethics at the Faculty of Medicine, San Raffaele University and Ethics at the Master Degree on Politics, Philosophy and Pubblic Affairs, jointly run by the University of Milan and San Raffaele University. He has been Visiting Professor at the University of Bergamo, and at the Humanitas University of Milan. He has written on several issues in bioethics and neuroethics, on aspects of contemporary ethical discussion, both normative and metaethical, and on some topics in the history of ethics. He served in the Ethics Committee of the Scientific Institute San Raffaele since 2002, and is Vice-President of the Italian Society for Neuroethics and the Philosophy of Neuroscience. His published volumes include Etica e neuroscienze. Stati vegetativi, malattie degenerative, identità personale (Milano 2012), L’utilitarismo (Bologna 2013) and La coscienza morale (Bologna 2019).

More information here
Email: reichlin.massimo@hsr.it 


Federica Agosta
Profile on the university webpage.
Email: agosta.federica@hsr.it


Carla Bagnoli
Carla Bagnoli is Professor of Theoretical Philosophy at the Department of Linguistic Studies and Cultures of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, where she is responsible for the Workshop Digital Transformation, member of the DH-More and CRID. She specializes in the theory of rational agency and practical rationality, meta-ethics, moral and social epistemology, with a particular interest in issues of normativity, responsibility, objectivity, and the role of emotions in practical reasoning and agency.  She has held visiting fellowships at the universities of Harvard, Amsterdam, Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne, ENS Lyon, Oxford, and Oslo. Her articles appear in Oxford Studies in Normative Ethics, Oxford Studies in Agency and Responsibility, Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, Synthese, Theoria, Philosophia, and Canadian JP. She edited Morality and the Emotions (Oxford UP 2011), and Constructivism in Ethics (Cambridge UP 2013). Her most recent monograph is Teoria della Responsabilità (Il Mulino 2019).

More information here.
Email: carla.bagnoli@unimore.it 


Federico Bina
Federico Bina is PhD Student in Ethics at the Faculty of Philosophy of Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan. His primary research interests are in moral psychology, moral epistemology and normative ethics. He works on the relevance of recent research in evolutionary and neuro-cognitive psychology for moral theorizing, with a specific focus on the theory and practice of moral progress. He is interested into experimental practical philosophy at large, working also on social norms, science communication and behavioral public policy. He is member of the Operational Board of the Research Center for Ethics and Politics (CeSEP), of the Research Center for Experimental and Applied Epistemology (CRESA), and Teaching Assistant in several courses within the areas of moral philosophy and philosophy of science, at San Raffaele University and at the University of Milan (PPPA). 

Email: federicobina7@gmail.com


Elisa Canu
Elisa Canu is a Researcher at the Neuroimaging Research Unit led by Prof. Massimo Filippi (https://www.unisr.it/docenti/f/filippi-massimo). She has a proven experience in neurodegeneration, neuropsychology and neuroimaging. Her peer-reviewed papers explored brain structural and functional alterations and associated cognitive impairment in neurodegenerative conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal lobar degeneration, motor neuron diseases and movement disorders.  She is currently involved in national and international multicentre projects focused on MRI assessment of brain connectivity abnormalities in these disorders.

More information here.
Email: canu.elisa@hsr.it


Francesca Guma
Francesca Guma is research assistant (assegnista di ricerca) in Moral Philosophy at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University in Milan. Since 2019-20, she teaches Philosophy at “Foundation Year Program” of the University of Pavia. After obtaining her BA and MA degrees in Philosophy at the University of Pavia, working on ethics and bioethics,  in 2018 she obtained her Ph.D. in Philosophy at FINO (North-West Philosophy Doctorate Consortium) defending a dissertation on the concept of well-being in contemporary ethical discussions. She has gained various work experiences, including some collaborations with the department of neurological and psychiatric clinic of the developmental age of the Fondazione Istituto Neurologico C. Mondino in Pavia, and several teaching activities in Higher Education Institutions. She is also member of the School of Freudian Psychoanalysis of Milan since 2010. Her research interests concern ethics and bioethics, focusing on the concepts of well-being and the relation between emotions and moral reasoning in the current philosophical discussion. She has published some papers and one book (Benessere. Una questione morale, Le Monnier, 2020).

Email: guma.francesca@hsr.it 


Roberto Mordacci
Roberto Mordacci is Full Professor of Moral Philosophy and Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy of San Raffaele University, Milan. He teaches Moral Philosophy, Philosophy of History and Leadership and Teamwork in the Medical Profession at San Raffaele. He also teaches Philosophy of Management at Libera Università Luigi Cattaneo, Castellanza (VA). He is the Director of the International Research Centre for European Culture and Politics (IRCECP), and has founded the Centre for Public Ethics (CeSEP) in 2007 and the Film & Philosophy Lab in 2011. His research and teaching activities include issues in the philosophy of history (modernity, postmodernism, neomodernity, utopias), normative ethics (the principle of respect, critical personalism), neuroethics, philosophy of management, bioethics and the philosophy of film. Among his recent publications: Ritorno a Utopia (Laterza, Roma-Bari 2020); Filosofia morale. Fondamenti, metodi, sfide pratiche (Le Monnier, Firenze 2019); La condizione neomoderna (Einaudi, Torino 2017); Come fare filosofia con i film (a cura di, Carocci, Roma 2017); L’etica è per le persone (San Paolo, Milano 2015); Bioetica (ebook; Bruno Mondadori, Milano 2013); Rispetto (Cortina, Milano 2012). Recently published in English: A Short History and Theory of Respect, International Philosophical Quarterly, 59, 2, issue 234  (June 2019), pp. 121-136; Moral Theories, in H. ten Have (ed.), Encyclopedia of Global Bioethics, Springer, Dordrecht 2015; From Analysis to Genealogy. Bernard Williams and the End of the Analytic-Continental Dichotomy, “Philosophical Inquiries” 4, n. 1 (2016), pp. 71-84.

More information here.
Email: mordacci.roberto@hsr.it


Francesca Pongiglione
Francesca Pongiglione graduated at the University of Genova, holds a PhD in Ethics from the University of Bologna, and is assistant professor (RTD-B) at the faculty of Philosophy of the University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, where she teaches Anthropology, cultures and human rights (BA) and Social philosophy (MA). She also teaches Ethics and ecosystems at the State University of Milan, within the Master program in Philosophy, Politics and Public Affairs. Her research focuses on the ethical implications of climate change, on the role of social norms and moral values in inducing pro-environmental behaviour. She is also interested in the epistemic conditions for moral responsibility and in the role of (culpable) ignorance in the failure to address climate change. Besides climate ethics, she is also doing research on human rights and migration. Francesca was Unit coordinator of a FIRB 2012 project titled “Structures and dynamics of knowledge and cognition”, and, together with Feem (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei) member of a FP7 programme titled “Dynamix – Decoupling growth from resource use and its environmental impact”. Francesca held visiting positions at various institutions: Feem; Collegio Carlo Alberto (Torino); London School of Economics; University of Glagow; Boston University. 

More information here.
Email: pongiglione.francesca@unisr.it 


Roberta Sala
Roberta Sala is Full Professor in Political Philosophy at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University.  She graduated in Philosophy at the Catholic University of Milan, where she obtained a Ph.D. in Bioethics. She teaches Political Philosophy, Public Ethics, and Bioethics. She has been Research Assistant at J. Safra Foundation Center of Ethics, Harvard University, Visiting Fellow at Institute of Philosophy, School of Advanced Study, University of London, Jemolo Fellow at Nuffield College, University of Oxford (UK), and Research Fellow at Department of Comparative Cultural and Social Antropology, European University Viadrina. She has published extensively both in the field of political philosophy and in bioethics.

More information here.
Email: sala.roberta@unisr.it


Sarah Songhorian
Since October 2018, Sarah Songhorian is Research Fellow (Ricercatore a tempo determinato – tipo A) in Moral Philosophy at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University. She obtained her Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience and Philosophy of Mind at San Raffaele University, Faculty of Philosophy, Milan, Italy and IUSS Ne.T.S. (IUSS Center for Neurolinguistics and Theoretical Syntax), Pavia, Italy in 2015. She is also member of the Board of the Italian Society for Neuroethics (Società Italiana di Neuroetica e Filosofia delle Neuroscienze – SINe).  She teaches Neuroethics, Neuroethics and Human Enhancement, and History of Moral Philosophy.
Her research interests revolve around the connection between ethical theory, metaethics, moral psychology, and neuroethics. She has published several articles and two books (Sentire e agire. L’etica della simpatia tra sentimentalismo e razionalismo, Mimesis, 2016; Etica e scienze cognitive, Carocci, 2020).

More information here.
Email:  songhorian.sarah@hsr.it

Events


Programma:


SESSIONE 1 - Emozioni e la loro natura

Giovedì 30 Novembre – Room DO 206

15:15 Massimo Reichlin (Preside della Facoltà di Filosofia, Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele) Saluti e introduzione ai lavori

Chair: Francesca Forlè (Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele)

15:30 Giulio Sacco (Università degli Studi di Torino) "Emozioni e ragione: è ancora possibile essere cognitivisti?"

16:30 Alessandra Fussi (Università di Pisa) "Emozioni, existential feelings, identità narrativa" 

17:30 Tonino Griffero (Università degli Studi di Roma “Tor Vergata”) "Esiste un atmospheric turn? Sentimenti nello spazio vissuto"


SESSIONE 2 - Emozioni e moralità

Venerdì Dicembre – Room DO 206

Chair: Sarah Songhorian (Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele)

9:30 Stefano Pinzan (Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele) "Kant, sentimenti naturali e sentimenti coltivati: una lettura critica"

10:30 Carla Bagnoli (Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia) "Speranza razionale e disorientamento morale" 

11:30 Roberta De Monticelli (Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele) "La cognizione del dolore e il “male assoluto”. Riflessioni a partire dal presente"


La partecipazione è libera. L'evento si terrà presso la sede della facoltà di Filosofia dell’Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele (Palazzo Donatello (Campus Mi2), secondo piano) e online.

Per qualsiasi informazione e per registrarsi, contattare s.pinzan@studenti.unisr.it



Programma:


Giovedì 16 Novembre – Room DO 208

15:30 – Massimo Reichlin (Preside della Facoltà di Filosofia, Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele) – "Introduzione al seminario: La nuova traduzione italiana di Principia Ethica"

16:15 – Sergio Cremaschi (Università del Piemonte Orientale) - "La doppia vita di Moore: filosofo professionale e intellettuale pubblico" 

17:15Gianfranco Pellegrino (Università LUISS Guido Carli) - "Moore e la liberazione dell’utilitarismo contemporaneo: livelli di pensiero etico e ignoranza delle conseguenze"


Venerdì 17 Novembre – Room DO 208

9:30 – Maria Silvia Vaccarezza (Università di Genova) - "Fatti e valori. Forme della critica neo- naturalista a Moore nella Oxford del primo dopoguerra" 

10:30Luca Fonnesu (Università di Pavia) - "Moore filosofo della morale" 

11:30 – Conclusioni


La partecipazione è libera. L'evento si terrà presso la sede della facoltà di Filosofia dell’Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele (Palazzo Donatello (Campus Mi2), secondo piano) e online.

Per qualsiasi informazione e per registrarsi, contattare guma.francesca@hsr.it


10:00 - 13:00, Room DO 203


Programma:


Jada Twedt Strabbing (Wayne State University) – “What It Is for Attitudes to Be Up to Us”


Terence Cuneo (University of Vermont) – “Is the OQA DOA? The Essentialist Open Question Argument”


La partecipazione è libera. L'evento si terrà presso la sede della facoltà di Filosofia dell’Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele (Palazzo Donatello (Campus Mi2), secondo piano) e online.

Per qualsiasi informazione contattare songhorian.sarah@hsr.it.



Programma:


Lunedì 19 dicembre – Room DO 207

14:00 – Massimo Reichlin (Preside della Facoltà di Filosofia, Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele) – Saluti e introduzione ai lavori

14:15 – Michel Croce (Università di Genova) – “Esperti morali e non-morali: intersezioni tra dibattiti”

15:30Eleonora Severini (Università di Pavia) – “Esperti morali tra understanding e limiti della testimonianza”

16:45Federico Bina (Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele) – “Expertise morale: tassonomia concettuale, vincoli empirici e opzioni plausibili”


Martedì 20 Dicembre – Room DO 207

9:30Silvia Camporesi (Università di Vienna) – “Expertise in materia bioetica: l'approccio delle scienze sociali”

10:45 – Davide Battisti (IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele) – “L'expertise bioetica come competenza metodologica”

12:00Considerazioni conclusive


La partecipazione è libera. L'evento si terrà presso la sede della facoltà di Filosofia dell’Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele (Palazzo Donatello (Campus Mi2), secondo piano) e online.

Per qualsiasi informazione e per registrarsi, contattare federicobina7@gmail.com.



Programme


Monday 24 October (15:00 - 17:45 CEST) – Room DO 207

From Reasoning to Moral Reasoning

15:00 – Massimo Reichlin (Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University) – Welcome address

15:15 – Federico Bina (Vita-Salute San Raffaele University) – “Models of Moral Decision-making: Recent Advances and Normative Relevance”

15:45 – KEYNOTE: Wim De Neys (CNRS, Université de Paris), Charlie Kurth (Western Michigan University, Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies)  – “Moral Reasoning, Fast and Slow?”

Discussant: Antonella Somma (Vita-Salute San Raffaele University)

17:00 – General Discussion


Tuesday 25 October (9:15 - 12:00 CEST) – Room DO 208

From Moral Reasoning to Moral Philosophy

9:15 – Stefano Pinzan (Vita-Salute San Raffaele University) – “The Value of Empirical Research for Moral Philosophy: Past and Present”

9:45 – KEYNOTE: Charlie Kurth (Western Michigan University, Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies) – “Moral Anxiety: A Kantian Perspective”

Discussant: Sarah Songhorian (Vita-Salute San Raffaele University)

11:00 – General Discussion

11:45 – Concluding Remarks


Invitation and venue: Participation is free and anyone interested in cognitive science, decision theory, moral psychology and ethics is welcome to attend. The event will take place at Palazzo Donatello (Campus Mi2), 2nd floor, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan and online.

Please register by sending an e-mail to federicobina7@gmail.com.


Neuroethics in a Time of Global Crises

May 13th, 14th, 20th, 21st, 2021 - CEST

More information here.


Introduce e modera Massimo Reichlin (Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele)

Relazioni: Anna Donise (Università di Napoli Federico II), Vincenzo Costa (Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele), Francesca De Vecchi (Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele) e Sarah Songhorian (Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele)

Il Seminario si svolgerà in presenza, nella sede della Facoltà di Filosofia a Cesano Maderno - Aula 2


In collaboration with International Neuroethic Society (INS)

Neuroethics: New Ways of Investigating the Brain

Meetings on Neuroscience and Society, XII Edition

May 13th, 14th, 20th, 21st, 2021 - CEST

More information here.


Chair: Massimo Reichlin (Vita-Salute San Raffaele University)

Speakers: Shaun Nichols (Cornell University) Tribalism and Rational Learning; Josh May (University of Alabama) and Victor Kumar (Boston University) Harnessing Moral Psychology to Reduce Meat Consumption; Eric Schwitzgebel (University of California, Riverside) On the Non-Existence of Moralometers

To subcribe click here.


Nella prima parte del workshop, dopo un'introduzione a cura di Roberta Sala (Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele) e Massimo Reichlin (Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele), interverranno Anne Meylan (University of Zurich) e Carla Bagnoli (Università di Modena).

Nella seconda parte del workshop interverranno Jan Willem Wieland (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), Francesca Pongiglione (Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele) e Carlo Martini (Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele).

      More information here.  


Introduce e modera Massimo Reichlin (Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele)

Discuteranno con l’autore Davide Battisti (Università degli Studi dell’Insubria, Varese), Andrea Lavazza (Centro Universitario Internazionale, Arezzo) e Sarah Songhorian (Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele)


Reading and discussion of relevant papers for the PRIN project

February 25, 2021 - Seminario online Migliorare le capacità morali. La sfida delle scienze cognitive

Dopo un'introduzione a cura di Massimo Reichlin, interverranno Federico Bina (Il miglioramento della giustificazione morale alla prova empirica), Francesca Guma (Diventare agenti morali migliori rafforzando il libero arbitrio. Una prospettiva possibile?), Sara Songhorian (Un modello per la cognizione morale. Come i dati possono informare la riflessione filosofica)

February 17, 2021 - Work on the experimental draft

February 3, 2021 - Work on the experimental draft

January 28, 2021 - Work on the experimental draft

January 14, 2021 - Work on the experimental draft

December 15, 2020 - Normative ignorance, moral reasoning, judgment and decision making 

Discussion of W. J. FitzPatrick (2008), C. K. Morewedge et al. (2015) and G. O. Schaefer & J. Savulescu (2019).


December 1, 2020 - Moral reasoning, debiasing, and rational moral motivation

Discussion of C. Fine (2006), and J. May (2013). 


November 17, 2020 - Which role for reason in moral cognition, deliberation and justification?

Discussion of J. May (2018), and S. MacLean, M. Burgess (2010). 


November 3, 2020  - Do ethics classes, philosophical expertise, and/or reflection improve moral judgements (and/or behavior)? A critical evaluation of two empirical studies

Discussion of E. Schwitzgebel, F. Cokelet, P. Singer (2020), and E. Schwitzgebel, F. Cushman (2015)


October 20, 2020 - Situational factors, cognitive control and progress in moral judgement

Discussion of M. Klenk, H. Sauer (2020, manuscript)



Adina Roskies (Dartmouth College) - The Limits of Neuroscience for EthicsDiscussants: Mario De Caro (Roma Tre University – Tufts University), Massimo Reichlin (Vita-Salute San Raffaele University)


Updated event list available on the university webpage

Publications