Sociological Cultural Studies

Sociological Cultural Studies

The Relationship between the Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism from the Perspective of Cognitive Science

Document Type : .

10.30465/scs.2025.53352.3080
Abstract
This article, in line with its overarching objective of revisiting classical concepts in the social sciences through the lens of recent advances in cognitive science, seeks to reinterpret the concept of Habitus in Weber’s thought by drawing on the framework of embodied cognition. This theoretical approach, which has gained prominence in cognitive science over the past few decades, emphasizes the mutual interaction between mind, body, and environment. By presenting four interpretations of this approach based on existing research in cognitive anthropology and sociology, and through a descriptive–analytical method, the study explores the affinities between Weber’s concept of Habitus and related concepts such as Gesinnung, spirit, and Lebensführung , with particular emphasis on The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. The findings suggest that Weber’s understanding of these concepts—especially that of the spirit—can be analyzed simultaneously on biological, psychological, and social levels. Through the perspective of embodied cognition and Weber’s concept of Habitus it becomes evident how the dynamic interaction among these three levels constitutes a cognitive ecosystem within which the Protestant ethic gives rise to the spirit of capitalism and the emergence of Berufsmensch.
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Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 08 December 2025