The Righteous Mind
by Jonathan Haidt · first published 2012
65% recommend33% neutral2% critical
Why HN recommends it
Explains how moral intuitions and emotion drive political and religious views more than logic, helping readers understand opposing sides and find common ground. Suits anyone who debates politics or wants more empathy.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
A groundbreaking investigation into the origins of morality, which turns out to be the basis for religion and politics. The book explains the American culture wars and refutes the "New Atheists."
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…majority of people have pretty poor personal epistemic hygiene—it's not much required in most people, most of the time, in most jobs. We evolved to form tribes, not to be "right." Jonathan's Haidt's The Righteous Mind deals with this topic well. https://jakeseliger.com/2012/03/25/jonathan-haidts-the-right...
on “The Problem of Free Speech in an Age of Disinformation” ↗…opinions among the teaching ranks. How many professors are conservative or openly religious? I suspect those positions are viewed as defacto disqualifications by most on the left. I recommend everyone read Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt. He discusses with nuance and much persuasiveness the importance of returning political representation to higher education. I see it all very differently now.
…someone would believe in Christianity/religion in general, let me ask you are you WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, and Democratic)? If the answer is yes, I can highly recommend the book The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt. It didn't really change my opinion on religion but it did give me a different view and perspective into why some others do believe in it.
on “Why do Americans claim to be more religious than they are?” ↗I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this one yet: "The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion", by Jonathan Haidt [0]. This book fundamentally changed how I think about religion and politics. It helped me understand a lot of behaviors which…
on “Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?” ↗I wonder what the author's thoughts are on "The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion" by Jonathan Haidt. It mentions many clear refutes backed up by history to the idea of how bad it is for humans to be "addicted to righteousness".…
on “The Righteousness Fix” ↗This was touched upon heavily in the book 'The Righteous Mind' by Jonathan Haidt, an amazing book if you're interested in this sort of thing and part of Bill Gate's reading list where I first found it. This quote (by Bertrand Russell) stood out: "Social cohesion…
on “The Strange Disappearance of Cooperation in America (2013)” ↗…non-fiction book that goes into more detail about some of these ideas concerning focus in the contemporary era. Another great non-fiction book that really couldn't be presented in another medium is "The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion" by Jonathan Haidt. The Righteous Mind is not an easy read because the ideas presented are complex and wide-reaching. It takes a lot of time to go…
on “Ask HN: Are books worth it?” ↗…about the web's planned positive effects on free speech and free discourse: now it seems that a new and, to my mind, strange censoriousness seems to have settled in. When I read Jonathan Haidt's The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion, I don't think I understood how broadly applicable it would be. His follow-up, with Greg Lukianoff, The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions…
on “Spotify employees threaten to strike if Joe Rogan podcasts aren’t edited/removed” ↗…was that increased legalization would lead to increased teenage consumption of cannabis....It’s a criticism that exemplifies the theory of the author Jonathan Haidt, who showed in his classic volume The Righteous Mind that most people form their opnions by making an emotional conclusion—teenage consumption of cannabis is bad—and then using ad-hoc rationalization backwards to find whatever intuitive reasoning is needed…
on “Studies Link Marijuana Legalization to Positive Public Health Outcomes” ↗Even when they hold essentially the same views as I do, it's often for bad reasons I noticed this too, and for a long time it bothered me. But I recently read Jonathan Haidt's book The Righteous Mind, and in it he points out that a lot of people appear to hold believes about a wide array of issues (politics, religion, consumer products, and so forth) that they don't really hold based on logic and…
on “Smart people don't think others are stupid” ↗"The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion" If you're like me and love debates, this book is awesome. It'll show you how to find common ground and understand implicit values behind arguments.…
on “Ask HN: What book changed your life in 2013?” ↗I can't choose one, but I'd cite: * Jonathan Haidt's The Righteous Mind, for explaining so much personally and culturally so concisely. * Everything on this list: http://jakeseliger.com/2010/03/22/influential-books-on-me-th.... * The Lord of the Rings, for its combination…
on “Ask HN: What are the most thought-provoking books that you have read?” ↗…https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12881288 - Principle of Charity: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12774600 - Rapaport's Rules: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12774692 I also found Jonathan Haidt's "The Righteous Mind"[0] really worthwhile. I mean to read it again in the next week or so. What I find particularly impressive with his work is that he found that his research actually changed his own thinking. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Haidt…
on “We’re Scientists, Moms, And We Avoid Non-GMO Products” ↗If this is a topic you're interested in, I think you'll find Jonathan Haidt's book "The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion" particularly useful. I've read it through twice and it's helped me better understand the nature of the issue.
on “Tell HN: Political Detox Week – No politics on HN for one week” ↗…hazard a guess that most pro-vacciners are close to someone who is not (family connections, etc). There is comfort in being "right". But being "right" does not in itself translate to right outcomes. The Righteous Mind (https://www.amazon.com/Righteous-Mind-Divided-Politics-Relig...) is a very worthy read. A few things it points out: 1. On a polarized issue, facts will increase the polarization (and I'm guessing justifying…
on “Why Facts Don't Change Our Minds” ↗