
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.
Jonathan Haidt • The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion
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.
Jonathan Haidt • The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion
Intuitions come first, strategic reasoning second.
Jonathan Haidt • The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion
the most cohesive and cooperative groups generally beat the groups of selfish individualists.
Jonathan Haidt • The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion
But human nature was also shaped as groups competed with other groups.
Jonathan Haidt • The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion
collapse of cooperation across party lines.
Jonathan Haidt • The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion
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.
Jonathan Haidt • The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion
the rider’s job is to serve the elephant.
Jonathan Haidt • The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion
that altruism is mostly aimed at members of our own groups.