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

Most societies have chosen the sociocentric answer, placing the needs of groups and institutions first, and subordinating the needs of individuals. In contrast, the individualistic answer places individuals at the center and makes society a servant of the individual.

We also have the ability, under special circumstances, to shut down our petty selves and become like cells in a larger body, or like bees in a hive, working for the good of the group.

the rider’s job is to serve the elephant.

“reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey them.”

Moral intuitions arise automatically and almost instantaneously, long before moral reasoning has a chance to get started, and those first intuitions tend to drive our later reasoning.

intrinsically moralistic, critical, and judgmental.

Intuitions come first, strategic reasoning second.

moral reasoning was often a servant of moral emotions,

human beings are 90 percent chimp and 10 percent bee.

that altruism is mostly aimed at members of our own groups.