"The emotional dog chases because it wants to, not because it believes it will catch."
This quote by Jonathan Haidt suggests that people often act based on instincts or emotions rather than rational thinking or beliefs. It implies that the desire to pursue something stems from an innate drive, not a logical conviction that success is achievable. In other words, we may chase after goals because it's what we want to do, not necessarily because we truly believe we can achieve them. This idea underscores the significant role of emotions and instincts in human behavior.
"When moral arguments clash, people whose identity is bound up in a particular ideology or cause will respond with anger and contempt, not reason and evidence."
This quote highlights that when individuals strongly identify themselves with a specific ideology or cause, they may react emotionally (anger and contempt) rather than rationally (reason and evidence) when their beliefs are challenged. The underlying idea is that identity-based attachments can lead to biased decision-making, hindering productive dialogue and the pursuit of objective truth.
"The mind is like an elevator: It goes down just about as easily as it goes up."
This quote suggests that it's easier for our minds to embrace negative or pessimistic ideas than positive or optimistic ones, often requiring more effort to overcome negativity. In essence, it indicates a natural human inclination towards noticing problems and challenges rather than successes and solutions, emphasizing the importance of consciously working against this tendency for a balanced perspective.
"The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance."
This quote by Jonathan Haidt encourages embracing change rather than fearing or resisting it. It suggests that instead of standing still while the world moves around us, we should actively engage with change, adapt, and evolve to make sense of it. In other words, life is a dance and change is an integral part of it; therefore, one must learn to move in harmony with these changes to navigate through life effectively.
"People's beliefs don't depend on facts; they depend on what it pleasant to believe."
This quote suggests that personal beliefs are often influenced more by comfort or pleasure than by factual evidence. It implies that people tend to seek out or accept information that aligns with their existing preferences, values, or feelings, rather than objectively evaluating the facts. In other words, it's easier for individuals to believe in something that feels good or reinforces their personal biases, rather than something that may challenge their beliefs and potentially cause discomfort or cognitive dissonance.
Conservatives tend to see the world more in terms of good-versus-evil and, for some of them, the nightmare is a disarmed citizenry that can be preyed upon by criminals. They know that having a gun in the house would increase the risk of an accident for a member of their family, but they're willing to take that risk.
- Jonathan Haidt
Liberals tend to be much more concerned about business and corporations as the oppressors. They look to government as the solution. On the Right it's the opposite. They see business as good, as what generates wealth in society, and they see government as the oppressor, which makes it hard for especially small businesspeople.
- Jonathan Haidt
It really is a fact that liberals are much higher than conservatives on a major personality trait called 'openness to experience.' People who are high on openness to experience just crave novelty, variety, diversity, new ideas, travel. People low on it like things that are familiar, that are safe and dependable.
- Jonathan Haidt
I think Republicans need to take income inequality more seriously. Not because I favor equality of outcomes. I do not. I think the Right is correct to stress merit and earned rewards, not handouts and forced equality. But I think what Republicans are blind to is that power corrupts.
- Jonathan Haidt
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