The Righteous Mind

Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion

By: Jonathan Haidt

Narrated by: Jonathan Haidt

Length: 11 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Why can’t our political leaders work together as threats loom and problems mount? Why do people so readily assume the worst about the motives of their fellow citizens?

In The Righteous Mind, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt explores the origins of our divisions and points the way forward to mutual understanding. His starting point is moral intuition - the nearly instantaneous perceptions we all have about other people and the things they do. These intuitions feel like self-evident truths, making us righteously certain that those who see things differently are wrong.

Haidt shows us how these intuitions differ across cultures, including the cultures of the political left and right. He blends his own research findings with those of anthropologists, historians, and other psychologists to draw a map of the moral domain, and he explains why conservatives can navigate that map more skillfully than can liberals. He then examines the origins of morality, overturning the view that evolution made us fundamentally selfish creatures.

But rather than arguing that we are innately altruistic, he makes a more subtle claim - that we are fundamentally groupish. It is our groupishness, he explains, that leads to our greatest joys, our religious divisions, and our political affiliations. In a stunning final chapter on ideology and civility, Haidt shows what each side is right about, and why we need the insights of liberals, conservatives, and libertarians to flourish as a nation.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2012 Jonathan Haidt (P)2012 Gildan Media LLC

Critic reviews

"Haidt is looking for more than victory. He's looking for wisdom. That's what makes The Righteous Mind well worth reading…. a landmark contribution to humanity’s understanding of itself.” ( The New York Times Book Review)

Incredibly insightful book for human morality

Haidt provides compelling reasons and context for why different political groups are at odds.
The message of the book is marvelous. We've heard it before though. We must seek to be understanding with one another.
In this book, Haidt makes achieving mutual understanding easier by helping us understand and behold our own morals. By understanding your own morql values better, it makes it easier to to understand the morals of others we don't agree with.
When we understand others, it makes it that much harder to bear anger towards them.
Thank you very much for your research and message, Mr. Haidt.

Interesting!

This book has an in interesting perspective. I enjoyed hearing thecresults of many of his study's. However I find it ironic that someone purporting evelotion continually talks about design. Randomness never designed anything!

incredible insights into the mind

This has been a life changing read. Haidt presents a view of the mind that helps to explain some of the most difficult questions out there. If you are at all interested in understanding why people so often fundamentally disagree on the most important issues, you need to read this book.

Excellent framework for political analysis

Very insightful. Perhaps overreaching when looking backward into evolution but strong in areas based on present day research.

Recommended IRL

Overall: This book is thought provoking and if you are interested in humanity and they way they think and behave you would do well to read this book.

The not so awesome: I don't agree with some of the author's basic assumptions about the world. The examples at the end of the book are helpful but shallow. Some of the images he uses are not easy to keep in my mind.

The good: In general the material was presented in a way that I found easy to understand and my mind was continually inspired to think about how these principles could be used in different areas of life.

Audible20

Calmed Me Down About Politics

This book is great. I used to get very personally offended with people and their politics. but after reading this book and seeing the underlying motivations for people- I can better argue with people and not get offended. it's great

Very Interesting in Parts

there is a lot of great stuff in this book to provoke thought and compassion across divides. but there were parts where I got totally lost when the author went way too deep into evolutionary psychology. the hive switch and group/multilevel selection was interesting but far too long, and there were times where I wish I had the diagrams to better understand. but overall a great listen that will stick with you.

Haidt's work is brilliant

providing real and thoughtful exploration of how liberal societies are fundamentally unique in the world--and how they might stand to learn from other perspectives--Haidt offers a grounded rationale for moderacy in a deeply divided country.

outstanding

an essential read for anyone interested in better understanding politics and being more persuasive in political and religious and moral discussuions. a difficult task. enjoyable, well researched and well organized. Haidt is a master and ill be reading his other material for sure.

a very enlightening book indeed

I found his theories to be sound and his ideas enlightening in many ways. this book is full of fresh ideas and should be considered by anybody who doesn't understand why the other side thinks the way they do.