The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided By Politics And Religion (2012) - Plot & Excerpts
If there is a central thesis of the book it's that people do not typically form their worldviews through reason or rationality, but instead see the world intuitively and use reason post hoc to justify their beliefs. Smarter people can create more arguments as to why they are right, but it wasn't those arguments that sold them on the position in the first place. There is wisdom here considering how many times people make bad choices when they know full well what the good choices are. Haidt goes on to share his own studies through questionnaires getting at the heart of what baggage people bring along with them when they form judgments on the world.Because people do not make their decisions through reason they cannot be persuaded through reasons to change their minds. This explains why debates are almost always academic. The problem in modern politics is when people do not understand where the other side is coming from and chalk up disagreements to bad character traits instead of a different worldview. The point of the book is to help you understand how the people you disagree with see the world so that you can better engage with them. What makes the book most interesting is how Haidt tries to understand beliefs he does not hold. For instance, Haidt identifies as a member of the secular Left and yet he concludes through his research that religion has value in the way it binds societies together even though he believes it all to be a fiction developed by tribes of people as they evolved. He sees it as a social currency that allows practitioners to trust one another and take risks together. He goes on to explain that this social currency is essential to progress and growth and more effective religions have won throughout history and gained their defeated rivals as converts.The take away from the book is that growth is gained through understanding that people think and act differently not because they are inherently bad, but because their biology predisposes them to see the world in different ways. This book will be infuriating to people that can only see political disagreements through a series of heroes and villains, but it will be quite illuminating to people who are trying to understand why otherwise reasonable and moral people disagree with them on politics. Superb book. If you wonder why good people disagree so often about politics and religion, this book is for you. Very enlightening, well researched, and Haidt is honest about his own biases. Presents a good analytical framework for decoding debates among the right and left about the political economy and pressing moral and cultural issues. Synthesizes evolutionary psychology, anthropology, social psychology and moral philosophy into a potent story about why we and other groups believe what we/they do. Not a dry academic text; a very compelling and good read.
What do You think about The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided By Politics And Religion (2012)?
Insightful study on the foundations of morality and what makes liberal and conservatives different.
—anchor
Great insights into why we are divided in politics and other areas of our lives
—Sidsinj110
