🎧 Why Do We Always Think We're Right?
What transforms reasonable people into an angry mob? Why are we so eager to dismiss those who disagree with us as inherently evil? These are questions which Jonathan Haidt has spent his career trying to answer. One of the world’s most influential social psychologists and a member of Persuasion's Board of Advisors, he argues that a lot of recent cultural shifts are encouraging emotional fragility rather than resilience. A professor of ethical leadership at NYU's Stern School of Business, Haidt seeks to employ moral psychology to promote dialogue rather than division.
In this week’s episode of The Good Fight, Yascha Mounk sits down with Jonathan Haidt to discuss psychological differences between the left and the right, the human tendency to discriminate in favor of the in-group, and how to build a less tribal culture and country.
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🎧 Why Do We Always Think We're Right?
A terrific podcast, of course. And I enjoyed listening to Haidt even more than reading “The Righteous Mind.” The first segment is based on the theory from that book. It’s fascinating and does provide some guidance for understanding the real world. But applying such general theory to real-world complexity is tricky.
For example, Yascha’s conclusion (58:30) about a key dictate of wokism is that “the only way to make sense of that is as sanctity thinking.” He was talking about banning a work of literature because it used a not-PC word even though the author was taking an anti-racist position. I was convinced. It seemed to fit Haidt’s general theory. But Haidt said “No, I think there’s another way,” and I found his view even more persuasive and much more helpful in thinking about what to do.
For reasons like this, I found the 2nd half more fascinating. Also, I loved the ad at the start for John Wood’s organization “Better Angels,” and for his essay posted here on Persuasion, Nov 30. Here’s the link to the buried post.
https://www.persuasion.community/p/remember-martin-luther-king-jr
I have yet to listen to Jonathan and failed to learn something. It makes me happy that Yascha had such a visceral memory of when he read The Righteous Mind. Mine came with The Coddling, but this podcast underscored his perspective (and my agreement) that “hard wired” may be too binary a perspective save for the fact that these receptors exist and can be “triggered” based on facts and circumstance. I would also underscore that nature also has something to do with one’s capacity to have certain receptors “triggered”. Regardless, I believe the acknowledgment of both commonality and differentiation keep you on your toes when approaching all of the problems of the day. I am very wary of those that think/talk/act in absolutes. It’s good for thought experiments and pushing boundaries but not as a value by which to live/address life.