…human beings are hive-minded animals whose moral judgments are shaped more by sentiments than by reason. Thus, when we are confronted by arguments we disagree with, we can easily find reasons to reject them. The search for disconfirming evidence, however, can sometimes be short-circuited, especially when we feel close to the person making an argument we disagree with. As the social psychologist Jonathan Haidt concluded in his 2012 book, “The Righteous Mind,” if we have “affection, admiration, or desire to please” other people, we lean toward them and attempt to “find the truth” in their arguments. Social proximity matters.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/23/opinion/conservative-identity-politics.html
Jon A. Shields, an associate professor of government at Claremont McKenna College, is a co-author of “Passing on the Right: Conservative Professors in the Progressive University.”
Add your thoughts to the discussion