FEB 23

11: FEB 23

Assigned

• Haidt, Chapter 7, "The Moral Foundations of Politics" (34)

In-class Topics

• Update on SW1 grading, in progress....
• Method Point: Layers of Explanation
• Practical Advice for better values conversations

Practical advice for better political and moral discussion in light of physio-politics

• We'll be thinking about the practical advice that follows from our research on political difference more later in the term. Here we just pause to make a few inferences from Hibbing et al's "physio-politics"

• Model exploratory thought. (How do you do that, specifically?)
• Avoid escalation of physiological responses. (How do you do that, specifically?)
• Acknowledge insight across the spectrum.
• Cultivate diverse relationships if possible.
• Avoid pejorative labels.
• Views can change even if orientations don't.
• Accept difference that won't change, focus on pragmatics and cooperation on issues.
• Humor, if possible. Self-effacing first.
• Acknowledge physio-politics in the discussion.
• Don't "sugar coat" differences. (Be true to yourself.)

Haidt, Chapter 7, "The Moral Foundations of Politics"

• Homo economicus vs. Homo sapiens -- column a b -- shows costs of sapiens psych. commitments "taste buds"
• Note on Innateness and Determinism: "first draft" metaphor; experience revises - pre-wired not hard-wired. innate without being universal. (Note this is the same anti-determinism disclaimer we got from Hibbing & Co.)
• Notes on each foundation:

• Care/Harm -- evolutionary story of asymmetry between m/f interests/strategies in reproduction, attachment theory (read def). current triggers. Baby Max and stuffed animals -- triggers.

• Implicit theory about "re-triggering" note red flag. unexplained. Consider plausibility.

• Fairness/Cheating -- We know we incur obligation when accepting favors. So,... Trivers and reciprocal altruism. "tit for tat" ; equality vs. proportionality. Original and current problem is to build coalitions (social networks) without being suckered (exploited). Focus on your experience of cooperation, trust, and defection (which could just be declining cooperation). Public goods game research also fits here. Libs think of fairness more in terms of equality, conservatives more about proportionality.
• Loyalty/Betrayal -- Tribalism in story of Eagles/Rattlers. liberals experience low emphasis here; note claim that this is gendered 139. sports groupishness is a current trigger. connected to capacity for violence. Liberals can come across as disloyal when they think they are just being critical. Note current culture conflicts over confederate symbols and statues fits here.
• Authority/Subversion -- Cab driver story. Hierarchy in animal and human society; liberals experience this differently also; note cultural work accomplished by the "control role" -- suppression of violence that would occur without hierarchy. Alan Fiske's work on "Authority Ranking" -- suggest legit recognition of difference and, importantly, not just submission. Authority relationships are a two way street (maybe esp for conservs?). Tendency to see UN and international agreements as vote dilution, loss of sov. (Digressive topic: Should we mark authority relationships more?)
• Sanctity/Degradation -- Miewes-Brandes horror. Ev.story: omnivores challenge is to spot foul food and disease (pathogens, parasites). (Being an omnivore is messy. One should not be surprised to find that vegetarians often appreciate the cleanliness of their diet.) Omnivores dilemma -- benefit from being able to eat wide range of foods, but need to distinguish risky from safe. neophilia and neophobia. Images of chastity in religion and public debate. understanding culture wars. The ability to “sanctify” something (bodies, environment, principles) is an important current trigger.

Small Group Discussion

• Haidt introduces the “Cultural Frame” with the move metaphor of “The Matrix”. Cultures include family and kin, cultures of origin, and national cultures.
• Questions: Does it make sense to talk about "stepping out of a matrix"? Perhaps you have had this experience within US culture as you moved from family culture or the culture of your hometown to college. Or from international travel. Do you have a parallel story to Haidt's? Share with each other some details of the “cultural frames” you inhabit.

Point on Method in the Course: "Layers of Explanation" or "Frames"

• Consider the "disciplinary" layers we have introduced in our study of ethics:

• 1. The Biological - Selection mechanisms, cooperation, groupishness, theory of mind, all work to create a "moral/social" world in which reputation matters and values help us solve problems, like being taken for a sucker.
• 2. The Psychological - System 1 give lots of evidence of an evolved psychology, with "modules" around specific evolutionary "value problems" (moral problems). C F L A S
• 3. The Political - Physio-politics provides evidence of differences among us in cognitive attention, especially to social cues and threats, but also to policy and our view of society. Many of these differences correlate somewhat with political orientation. Liberalism and conservatism do not change much over time, and seem tied to personality. (More to come in this story: How orientation interacts with "issue commitment". Strategies for non-polarized interaction on political issues.)
• 4. The Cultural - Differences between cultures, including, for example the remarkable emergence of WEIRD culture. This reading is coming up in the next couple of weeks. (Joe Henrich, The Weirdest People on Earth) literacy and the brain, Christianity as a driver of culture (the Marriage and Family Plan, impersonal honesty and sociality, etc.). Some remarkable new explanations from a field only 2-3 decades old.