As we come to the close of a particularly vicious election cycle, we bring out of the archives our “Surviving November” series from four years back. Based on Jonathan Haidt’s work, The Righteous Mind, DZ delves into the moral psychology of political strife, and what hope we might be able to gather in spite of it. […]
Five Golden…Themes! What We Just Couldn’t Get Enough of in 2012
One of Mockingbird’s most distinctive features is the repetition. Like Christmas itself, we’re trying to point that one “old, old story,” that ancient theme, as we see it dug up time and again. It’s dug up in all sorts of places, of course, from 18th century poetry archives to slasher films, from church basements to […]
Surviving November Pt 4: Partisan Narratives, Universal Sympathies and Keith Richards’ Choirmaster
Just in the nick of time, the final installment of our series on Jonathan Haidt’s wonderful The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion. To read part one, go here. Living in a “swing battleground state” (VA), I’ve had the distinct privilege of witnessing the escalation of hostilities this fall. And […]
Surviving November, Pt 3: Fact Checkers, Missing Ethics Books, and the Must/Can Distinction
Have you noticed the increase, this election, in talk about “fact-checkers”? I can’t seem to escape articles and tweets about post-debate/-speech tallies of “checked facts.” While no doubt we could use a little help wading through all campaign hyperbole and Wiki-what-have-you, it sometimes seems that we’ve forgotten the time-tested cliche that one man’s fact is […]
Surviving November Pt 2: (Inner) Lawyers, (Inner) Press Secretaries and Presidential Debates
I’m sure I wasn’t the only one thinking about Jonathan Haidt during the recent debates. When it comes to The Righteous Mind, they have been pretty much an Exhibit A situation. That is, for all the learning and sophistication and charisma up on that stage, when two ‘righteous minds’ are locked in what Haidt calls […]
Surviving November, Pt 1: Political Divides, Intuitive Dogs, and Rational Tails
Maybe the non-stop and increasingly ludicrous “opposition ads” have started to make you dread turning on the TV. Maybe you can’t read your (predominantly pop culture-focused!) Twitterfeed without getting depressed about the dehumanizing level of partisanship being so casually embraced by otherwise thoughtful people. Maybe you find blind loyalty to (or hatred of) a particular […]
