[lbo-talk] The Righteous Mind

// ravi ravi at platosbeard.org
Fri Feb 3 10:09:27 PST 2012


And now, having made reference to EP style arguments, and to make penance for not reading THE book (*), I present the “your mind doesn’t really think” version of the matter:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=mind-reviews-the-righteous-mind

Jonathan Haidt, yay:


> According to Haidt, a professor of social psychology at the University of Virginia, logic is not a suitable guide for interpreting moral issues. To better explain the relation between our moral inclinations and conscious thought, he uses the metaphor of an elephant and its rider. The bulky elephant, which signifies our emotions, makes the first decisive moves along a moral trajectory. The rider, who embodies reason, attempts to steer the giant beast by concocting justifications for the new course. Understanding that our emotions are in control, Haidt believes, will help bridge the gap between groups with conflicting ideas.

Metaphors are so cool! I wish I could make some.

—ravi

(*) not to worry, I have, in fact, read the SMTP and POP/IMAP RFCs. So this message is well substantiated :-). And yes, that’s how much I love the Internet. :-)

(yes, can’t make them myself)



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