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* [http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/341 TED Talks: Jonathan Haidt on the moral roots of liberals and conservatives] at [[TED (Conference)|TED]] in 2008
* [http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/341 TED Talks: Jonathan Haidt on the moral roots of liberals and conservatives] at [[TED (Conference)|TED]] in 2008
*[http://bigthink.com/ideas/832 Bigthink Interview: The Righteous Mind]
*[http://bigthink.com/ideas/832 Bigthink Interview: The Righteous Mind]
*[http://newbooksinbrief.wordpress.com/2012/04/02/a-summary-of-the-righteous-mind-why-good-people-are-divided-by-politics-and-religion-by-jonathan-haidt/ An Executive Summary of 'The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion'] April 2, 2012


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Revision as of 11:51, 4 September 2012

Jonathan Haidt
Born (1963-10-19) October 19, 1963 (age 60)
Alma materUniversity of Pennsylvania (Ph.D.)
Scientific career
FieldsPositive psychology, political psychology, ethics and morality, attitudes and beliefs
InstitutionsNew York University Stern School of Business (professor)
Doctoral advisorJonathan Baron

Jonathan Haidt (born October 19, 1963) is a professor at New York University Stern School of Business. For 16 years he taught psychology at the University of Virginia. His research focuses on the psychological bases of morality across different cultures and political ideologies. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992. He was awarded the Templeton Prize in Positive Psychology in 2001.[1] His book The Happiness Hypothesis examines ten "great ideas" dating from antiquity and their continued relevance to the happy life. Part of his research focused on the emotion of elevation.

Personal life

Haidt describes himself as politically centrist and formerly liberal prior to his work on the moral foundations theory. [2]

Social Intuitionism

Haidt's early claim to fame was the research program known as Social intuitionism.[3] According to this view, moral judgments are mostly the products of quick, intuitive evaluations of scenarios with certain content. Moral reasoning is usually a largely post hoc phenomenon. People are, as Haidt says, "intuitive lawyers" whose reasoning usually seeks to vindicate the person's own intuition rather than openly assess the case from an impartial points of view.

However, the view allows that other people's reasoning can affect one's own intuitions. (This seems to mean both the nature of one's intuition at a time and one's dispositions to have intuitions at a later time.) Social reasoning is the typical means by which people's moral views change, when they change, according to Social Intuitionism--this is the 'Social' aspect of the theory.

Moral Foundations Theory

Haidt is best known for what he dubs "Moral Foundations Theory", which has been reported in publications such as The Atlantic,[4] Boston Globe,[5] and The Huffington Post.[6] It is the basis of his first TED talk.[7]

Moral Foundations Theory considers the way morality varies between cultures and identifies five (later revised to six)"foundations" that underlie morality in all societies and individuals. He names them using pairs of opposites to indicate that they provide continua along which judgments can be measured.[8] These are:

  1. Care/harm for others, protecting them from harm.
  2. Fairness/cheating, Justice, treating others in proportion to their actions, giving them their "just deserts".[9][10] (He has also referred to this dimension as Proportionality.)
  3. Liberty/oppression, characterizes judgments in terms of whether subjects are tyrannized.
  4. Loyalty/betrayal to your group, family, nation. (He has also referred to this dimension as Ingroup.)
  5. Authority/subversion for tradition and legitimate authority. (He has also connected this foundation to a notion of Respect.)
  6. Sanctity/degradation, avoiding disgusting things, foods, actions. (He has also referred to this as Purity.)

Haidt found that the more politically liberal or left-wing people are, the more they tend to value care and fairness (proportionality), and the less they tend to value loyalty, respect for authority and purity. Conversely, the more conservative or right-wing people are, the more they tend to value the latter three. Similar results were found across the political spectrum in other countries.[11]

Haidt has also described the liberal emphasis on care as "one foundation morality", contrasting with the conservative moral balance.[12][13]

Criticism

Moral Foundations Theory

Haidt was criticized for oversimplification and lenience toward moral beliefs that historically led to grave injustices. In a response to Haidt's suggestion that atheists "pollute the scientific study of religion,"[14] author Sam Harris wrote, "Even if Haidt's reading of the literature on morality were correct, and all this manufactured bewilderment proves to be useful in getting certain people to donate time, money, and blood to their neighbors—so what? Is science now in the business of nurturing useful delusions? Surely we can grow in altruism, and refine our ethical intuitions, and even explore the furthest reaches of human happiness, without lying to ourselves about the nature of the universe."[15]

In discussing his book The Righteous Mind[16] during an interview with WNYC's Leonard Lopate (aired April 17, 2012), Haidt expressed the opinion that the failure of the Occupy Wall Street movement was due to their willingness to listen to the point of view of everyone, even "the mentally ill."[17]

In a review of The Righteous Mind[18] posted on the Truthdig.com website, author and activist Chris Hedges writes that Haidt, "transform[ed] from a liberal to a conservative" attributing a number of conservative views to Haidt.[19] Haidt, himself, argues that Hedges takes Haidt's descriptions of what are clearly the views of other people and removes the context to make them look like Haidt's views.[20] New York Times reviewer William Saletan also contradicts Hedges, writing that Haidt considered himself a partisan liberal up until 2009.[21] Haidt wrote in his book The Righteous Mind that he did not like George W. Bush at any time during his presidency although he supported his decision to invade Afghanistan. Regarding Iraq, Haidt noted that "leaders can easily exploit the rally-round-the-flag response for their own ends, as many believe happened with the subsequent invasion of Iraq." [22] Regarding his political positions Haidt stated:

I think I'm a centrist, in terms of liberal/conservative. And I feel like I'm sort of, I sort of, like, stepped out of the game. And now that the game has gotten so deadly, I'm hoping that, in the coming year, I can be the guy saying, ‘Come on, people, just, here, understand the other side so you stop demonizing, and now you can argue more productively.’[23]

References

  1. ^ "This Emotional Life: Jonathan Haidt, Ph.D." PBS. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  2. ^ "Haidt on Moyers & Company".
  3. ^ The most famous articulation of Social Intuitionism is Haidt's "The Emotional Dog and its Rational Tail", a 2001 paper in Psychological Review.
  4. ^ Edsall, Thomas Byrne (February 6, 2012). "Studies: Conservatives Are From Mars, Liberals Are From Venus". The Atlantic. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  5. ^ "Irreconcilable differences links". The Boston Globe.
  6. ^ "Conservatives vs. Liberals: More Than Politics". Huffington Post. 2012-02-09.
  7. ^ "Jonathan Haidt on the moral roots of liberals and conservatives | Video on". Ted.com. Retrieved 2012-06-03.
  8. ^ Haidt, Jonathan (2007). "When Morality Opposes Justice: Conservatives Have Moral Intuitions That Liberals May Not Recognize" (PDF). Social Justice Research. 20 (1): 98–116. doi:10.1007/s11211-007-0034-z. Retrieved 2011-02-24. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ "Moral Foundations Theory homepage". virginia.edu. January 22, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  10. ^ Haidt 2012, Chapter 7-8 harvnb error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFHaidt2012 (help)
  11. ^ TED Talks: Jonathan Haidt on the moral roots of liberals and conservatives at TED in 2008
  12. ^ "Haidt lecture at Stanford University".
  13. ^ "Haidt on Moyers & Company".
  14. ^ Haidt, Jonathan. "Moral Psychology And The Misunderstanding Of Religion". Edge. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  15. ^ Harris, Sam (September 11, 2007). "A Response to Jonathan Haidt". The Richard Dawkins Foundation. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  16. ^ Haidt 2012 harvnb error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFHaidt2012 (help)
  17. ^ Lopate, Leonard. "Jonathan Haidt on The Righteous Mind". The Leonard Lopate Show. WNYC. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  18. ^ Haidt 2012 harvnb error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFHaidt2012 (help)
  19. ^ http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/the_righteous_road_to_ruin_20120628/
  20. ^ Haidt, Jonathan. "Chris Hedges Joins the Tea Party". The Righteous Mind. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
  21. ^ Saletan, William (March 23, 2012), "Why Won't They Listen: The Righteous Mind", The New York Times, retrieved July 3, 2012
  22. ^ Haidt 2012 harvnb error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFHaidt2012 (help) chapt. 9, footnote 31
  23. ^ Haidt, Jonathan (June 1, 2012), Moyers, Bill (ed.), "Encore: How Do Conservatives and Liberals See the World?", Bill Moyers and Company, retrieved July 3, 2012

Books

See also

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