Openminded or Closedminded?
About this video – Talks – Jonathan Haidt on the moral roots of liberals and conservatives.
It is difficult to compare the merits of conservatism and liberalism because value judgments are divisive by nature. Jonathan Haidt argues that we can avoid this argument because these seemingly conflicting values actually compliment each other (yin and yang). This is another way of saying that we ought to avoid extremes and strive to find balance.
My biggest problem with staunch conservatism is that we appear to live in an emergent universe in which change is the only constant. Evolution implies constant adaptation. A flexible branch can move with the wind, but a rigid one will break.
One who is resistant to change will eventually find him or herself out of synch with his or her environment. If conservatives sometimes feel their values are under attack, they may be experiencing the effects of dynamic forces pushing against ideas that belong to another time.
About Jonathan Haidt
Psychologist Jonathan Haidt studies the five moral values that form the basis of our political choices, whether we’re left, right or center. In this eye-opening talk, he pinpoints the moral values that liberals and conservatives tend to honor most.
He studies morality and emotion in the context of culture. He asks: Why did humans evolve to have morals — and why did we all evolve to have such different morals, to the point that our moral differences may make us deadly enemies? It’s a question with deep repercussions in war and peace — and in modern politics, where reasoned discourse has been replaced by partisan anger and cries of “You just don’t get it!”
Haidt asks, “Can’t we all disagree more constructively?” He suggests we might build a more civil and productive discourse by understanding the moral psychology of those we disagree with, and committing to a more civil political process. He’s also active in the study of positive psychology and human flourishing.
Openness to experience
“Open individuals have an affinity for liberal, progressive, left-wing political views — they like a society which is open and changing — whereas closed individuals prefer conservative, traditional, right-wing views.”
The five foundations of morality are:
- harm / care
- fairness / reciprocity
- in group loyalty
- authority/ respect
- purity / sanctity
A lot of the problems we have to solve are problems that require us to change other people. And if you want to change other people, a much better way to do it is to first understand who we are — understand our moral psychology, understand that we all think we’re right — and then step out – even if it’s just for a moment, step out — check in with Seng-ts’an.
Step out of the moral matrix, just try to see it as a struggle playing out in which everybody does think they’re right, and everybody, at least, has some reasons — even if you disagree with them — everybody has some reasons for what they’re doing.
Step out. And if you do that, that’s the essential move to cultivate moral humility, to get yourself out of this self-righteousness, which is the normal human condition. Think about the Dalai Lama. Think about the enormous moral authority of the Dalai Lama — and it comes from his moral humility.
Learn more about Jonathan Haidt’s drive for a more productive and civil politics — and sign a pledge to engage in civil politics — on his website CivilPolitics.org And take an eye-opening quiz about your own morals at YourMorals.org
Information that was interesting to be read.
I’m glad you liked it. I thought the video was excellent. It explained so many things to me.
Well, I cannot disagree with what you have said…too bad I can’t do videos (bandwidth issues).
It makes me wonder, though, why I am the only liberal in a large, widely-spread out family of conservatives. Considering that my grandparents, parents, siblings and children are all conservative, from whence did the lone liberal spring?
I have often found it amusing that the successful liberal cause of yesterday is the conservative’s protectorate of today.
I am reminded that the first of the great Greek thinkers, Heraclitus, thought that, “War is the Father of us all.” The God of the Hebrews constantly reminded them that he was “A God of war!” as well as being a jealous, wrathful and vengeful God. Jesus taught that God was “love”, a radical departure indeed,
500 years or so before in another radical departure, Buddha had refused to answer any questions about the existence or non-existence of the Deity. Morals may have developed out of the need to maintain and strenghten the chances for the early groups of men to survive against a hostile environment. Perhaps we are living in another time of radical change. Perhaps, just perhaps, we are too close to
the elements of the change and can only react by taking a “side” and labeling ourselves. Here,I think, Buddha had the last word: “You must be a lamp unto yourselves.”
I really enjoyed this video & that [wisdom of buddha]. Very satisfying. Is there anyway I can get this video for my personal use.
Great video! I liked it very much, but of course my degree is in Psychology. It was informative and helpful in that the speaker allows you to see the other side without castigating them. And that is so easy to do, particularly in forums such as this. Anonymity behind the keyboard affords one the luxury of being more sharp of tongue than we might be if we all were sitting around a table.
I took a couple of his sample studies and found that I am left of the hard right, but still right of center. Where I differ with the hard right is on peace, fairness and loyalty. (yes I took more than one study) Oddly enough, I am closer to the left on harm.
All-in-all a very enlightening video and enjoyable web site. Thank you for posting.
This makes sense to me. I’ve often felt, for example, that fundamentalism is fundamentalism. That is, whatever the particular religious affiliation, the mindset is similar.
I couldn’t agree with you more. Change is an inevitable process of life. To grow we must change. To improve we must accept change. To be able to grow and improve, egoism must not prevail but an open mind to accept that others may have a better solution for all of us.
Interesting Article! Change is always going to be inevitable! We have evolved into the way we are through change. We’re all familiar with Darwin’s survival of the fittest theory. The thing about change is: You shouldn’t try to change people. You wouldn’t like someone to change you. We’re all raised with the mind set that our views and perspectives are the best and it is the best for everyone around us. In a way, we all kind of play “God”. We don’t have the superpowers that make us God, but we try to be the Judge.
What I’m trying to say is, if you can’t change others, why not try and change yourself? You don’t have to change your values or morals, but understand why you feel the way you do and also understand why that person you’re trying to change is affecting your actions. I’d like to share a quote with you, “Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” — Carl Jung. I believe that we can still do our part in the world and follow our beliefs and morals without letting our peers affect the outcome.
I like your post! You have to step out of the box and open up your mind! Keep up the good writing! (=
It would seem that disagreeing without being disagreeable should be an easy issue. Open dialogue can be the place where two parallel lines intersect, if only for awhile. But these days, boots are dug in and truth has become gray, rather than clear. Truth has become a platform. Truth has been obscured by Party lines. Truth is no longer the quest. It is a sad time, indeed.
Another post of wisdom there. I comment your effort to continously unite people despite the differences. It is such a complex universe-the human mind. We are common in terms of biology but our beliefs can actually tear us apart.
I too am a lone liberal surrounded by a family of conservatives. It can be daunting at times. Like family reunions. I know what you deal with.
Hi we enjoyed reading your blog, me and my husband love this stuff! Great information and we’ve added you to our favorites!
Thanks Michele