The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and ReligionWhy can it sometimes feel as though half the population is living in a different moral universe from you? Why do ideas such as 'fairness' and 'freedom' mean such different things to different people? Why is it so easy to see the flaws in others' arguments, and less in our own? Jonathan Haidt, one of the world's most influential psychologists, reveals that the reason we find it so hard to get along is because our minds are designed to be moral. Not only that, we are hardwired to be moralistic, judgemental and self-righteous too. Our intrinsic morality enabled us to form communities and create civilization, and it is the key to understanding political and religious divisions. It explains why some of us are liberal, others conservative. It is often the difference between war and peace. It is also why we are the only species that will kill for an ideal. Drawing on moral psychology, ancient philosophy, modern politics, advertising and the semantics of bumper stickers, Haidt's incredibly wise and enjoyable book examines how morality evolved ; why we are predisposed to believe certain things ; how our surroundings can affect our morality ; and how moral values are not just about justice and fairness - for some people authority, sanctity or loyalty are more important. Morality binds and blinds, but with new evidence from his own empirical research, Haidt shows that it is possible to liberate ourselves from the disputes that divide good people and cooperate with those whose morals differ from our own. After all, they might just have something to say. |
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LibraryThing Review
User Review - Martha_Thayer - LibraryThingInteresting, eye-opening. I do worry that the folks to the right of me politically (nearly everyone) will not be as interested in understanding me as I am in understanding them. Read full review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - rocketjk - LibraryThingThe Righteous Mind is psychologist/ethicist Jonathan Haidt's attempt to understand and explain why humans can come to see things so differently from each other and, most importantly, to become so set ... Read full review
Other editions - View all
The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion Jonathan Haidt Limited preview - 2012 |
The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion Jonathan Haidt No preview available - 2013 |
The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion Jonathan Haidt No preview available - 2012 |
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ability actions adaptive American animals arguments asked Authority become began begin behavior believe better brain called capital chapter claim concerns conservatives cooperation create cultural Democrats described developed don't effect elephant emotions equality ethic evolution evolved example experience explain fairness feel figure foundation genes give group selection groups happen harm hive human idea important individuals intuitions it's judgment kind lead less liberal live look Loyalty major mean minds moral nature original parties percent person play political principle psychology question reasoning religion religious response rider rules seems selection selfish sense shared social society sometimes story subjects theory things tion triggers trying turn understand United University values wrong