PENGUIN The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion

This is a brilliant book very insightful

Excellent livre de sociologie sur les comportements humains dans les relations interhumaines et sociales

Written from scientific, not political or sensational perspective. Well backed with facts, without hype or propaganda. If one is interested in psychology, and not headlines, this is a have to have book. In today's world of bombardment informed and uninformed opinions, often tainted with political radicalism, and emotional slant, this book is a refreshing return to facts derived from science. It does make one to step back from being hijacked by emotions, after reading online opinions, and get into understanding of human psyche, and into cerebral instead of triggered space. Hope it makes sense.

As someone who sees themselves as a conservative with little background on the area of psychology I found this book very interesting. I would like to read it a second time, though, as there were a lot of new concepts to take in. Haidt, himself a liberal, puts forward his theories based on life experience and reading books from conservative authors. He draws his conclusions from Darwin, Shweder, Hume, Glaucon, Durkheim and others. His key points ideas include 1. Intuition drives strategic reasoning 2. His Moral Foundations Theory and how this explains the differences between liberals, libertarians and conservatives 3. We are products of multi level (personal and group) selection - and how we are 90% chimps and 10% bees. My key takeaway, overall, is how liberals and conservatives have become evermore tribe like. So the next time we are next next to someone from the other ”side”, start by finding out what you both have in common - not what separates you. Very interesting and balanced read indeed.

As a psychologist and mother of two young girls I have frequently worried about the negative impact of social media and how to protect children and adolescents from it given the seeming ubiquitous use of smart phones, without being able to fully articulate my concerns. Jonathan Haidt puts together all the pieces of the jigsaw in a clear and eloquent manner, backed by research. This book is a necessary call to action for governments, tech companies, schools and parents.