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book2012

The Righteous Mind

Disciplines:
psychology
politics
ethics/morality
haidt

Summary

Jonathan Haidt's 2012 argument that moral reasoning is post-hoc rationalization of intuitive moral judgment (the elephant and the rider) and that liberals and conservatives use different moral foundations — providing the psychological account of political polarization.

Core Contribution

Creates Moral Foundations Theory and explains political polarization psychologically — Haidt's argument that conservatives use all six moral foundations (care, fairness, loyalty, authority, sanctity, liberty) while liberals primarily use two (care and fairness) explains why liberal arguments often fail to persuade conservatives.

Historical Influences

Jonathan Haidt David Hume

Intellectual Lineage

Jonathan Haidt Pantheon Books

Allied Works

The Coddling of the American Mind Thinking Fast and Slow

Contemporaries & Peers

The Coddling of the American Mind Strangers in Their Own Land

Minds Influenced

Political psychology Lenny's Podcast

Intellectual Posterity

The Righteous Mind Moral Foundations Theory The Elephant and the Rider

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The Righteous Mind

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