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Menti tribali. Perché le brave persone di dividono su politica e religione

Questions About Menti tribali. Perché le brave persone di dividono su politica e religione

by Jonathan Haidt

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Answered Questions (6)

Does "subtle" mean he doesn't fully explain it or tell us what to do to fix it?
Jeremy The word "subtle" in the book description is referring to an explanation of human behavior. Some people like to argue about whether humans are fundame…m´Ç°ù±ðThe word "subtle" in the book description is referring to an explanation of human behavior. Some people like to argue about whether humans are fundamentally selfish or selfless. The book description is implying that those explanations ("selfish" and "selfless") are not subtle. The reason they are not subtle is that it is too easy to form an opinion one way or the other. Anyone who tries to think outside the "selfish vs selfless" box and come up with a different explanation would be doing something *more* subtle, whether or not it's a good explanation. Haidt's different explanation is that humans are fundamentally "groupish". The book (the last third of the book) explains more fully what that means. I would summarize it by saying that people are selfless to their in-group and selfish to their out-group. This is not very interesting as I say it here, but I appreciated the book for the details that Haidt used to support this idea as a professional moral psychologist (that is, someone with experience researching the origins of human morality) and as an amateur philosopher (bringing david hume, thomas jefferson and emile durkheim into the discussion).

I think your real question is probably "Is the book clear?" and "Is the book practical?". I found the book clear, enlightening and delightful. The answer to fixing political division is not in the book. However, someone who reads it might have more understanding towards the people he or she disagrees with.(less)
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why good people are devided by politics and religion?
Samantha M.
This answer contains spoilers� (view spoiler)
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I've just read the first few chapters and finding the terminology is cumbersome and confusing (rational, intuition, morality, reasoning, judgment). Yikes! Know my attention to detail not the best these days of the pandemic, but does it become clearer? Kinda liking the elephant/rider analogy. Interesting and informative that it was printed in 2012. Reading for a newly formed book club.
Jeremy If you're not enjoying the read, then that's the best reason not to continue. However, if you still want to understand the book (or impress your book …m´Ç°ù±ðIf you're not enjoying the read, then that's the best reason not to continue. However, if you still want to understand the book (or impress your book club buds), the book is structured to make cheating easy. I would advise starting with the summaries at the end of the chapters. Use the summary as a guide to read the parts of the chapter that seem interesting (if any). Use the chapter as a tool to help you understand the summary. The summaries might not be easier to read, but they are, of course, shorter. You can read more about tough terms in a dictionary or on wikipedia (sometimes even Simple English wikipedia). And those terms are often in the book's index, so you can see how they have been used in earlier parts of the book. But you know, life is short, and not every book is worth studying. For me, developmental psychology was my favorite subject in school, so I ate this book like candy.

For the specific terms you mentioned, it's helpful to understand the main point of the first part of the book: "Intuitions come first, strategic reasoning second". You've got two people in your brain: one does the thinking, the other operates on impulse. Rationality, reasoning, judgement are all really just synonyms for "thinking". Intuition is really just a synonym for "emotion" or "feelings". So the point is "feelings come before thinking". This isn't always true... we think about all kinds of things we don't care about (like this book?). But for things we do care about, thinking is something that tends to only get used to confirm our feelings. The first four chapters are basically just a bunch of anecdotes and scientific studies to try to convince the reader that that is a helpful way to think about yourself and other people. (less)
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Can anyone tell me if this book is mostly about America and/or Trump, or if it deals with these subjects more generally, and thus would be interesting to read for a European?
A I agree, this is definitely pertinent in Europe and clear parallels with Brexit and the divisive politics in Central and Eastern Europe. Not all examp…m´Ç°ù±ðI agree, this is definitely pertinent in Europe and clear parallels with Brexit and the divisive politics in Central and Eastern Europe. Not all examples work, but as a general framework it's helpful and relevant.(less)
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Can you read parts that interest you and skip over that which doesn't?
A You could skip the whole book and just read the conclusion, as it's a clear and concise summary. However the book itself flows logically and the argum…m´Ç°ù±ðYou could skip the whole book and just read the conclusion, as it's a clear and concise summary. However the book itself flows logically and the arguments rely on previous material, so you cannot dip in and out of the main content.(less)
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