#jonathon haidt

[nosferdoc]

Jonathon Haidt on Universities and Intellectual Freedom.

[hornak-reflections]

The Happiness Hypothesis

Written By: Jonathon Haidt

“I am dragged along by a strange new force. Desire and reason are pulling in different directions. I see the right way and approve it, but follow the wrong.” -Publius Ovidius Naso

Haidt’s writing is based upon the feeling depicted within Ovid’s poem above. Haidt believes that there is a separation of mind and body, and if they do not work together the incoherence will create adversity. Haidt creates an effective metaphor to help understand the relationship of mind and body throughout his book.

The comparison is that the mind and body are like a rider on the back of an elephant.  The rider has the reins in his hand, and he can pull the reins in one way or the other and tell him to turn, stop, or go. He can direct things, but only when the elephant doesn't have desires of his own. When the elephant really wants to do something, the rider is no match for him.

The rider is an advisor or servant- conscious controlled thought. The elephant is everything else- gut feelings, visceral reactions, emotions, intuitions that comprise much of the autonomic system.

So how do we overcome the problem of desire and reason pulling in different directions?

Haidt believes that it is possible to redirect the body’s desires. He believes that it is possible by meditation, Prozac, or cognitive therapy.

My favorite method of the group was cognitive therapy. “The mind reacts to bad things more quickly, strongly, and persistently than to equivalent good things.” So in other words, we often distort the bad thoughts.  We have to minimize the negativity. A good exercise to do this is to write down uncensored thoughts every day and then develop alternative or more accurate ways of thinking. Cognitive therapy users will learn to challenge autonomic thoughts and behaviors. Bit by bit, small changes in thought and behavior will grow into a lasting change in outlook and mood; the elephant will be trained.

Haidt talked about many different desires of the elephant, but the one that really stuck out to me was conspicuous consumption. Conspicuous consumption is when people seek out luxuries or delights rather than things that would make them lastingly happier. According to research by Robert Frank, the problem with conspicuous consumption is that material possessions easily lose their value. This happens because many other individuals have the power to outdo our material possessions. Robert Frank worded it, “Each person's move up devalues the possessions of others. We are wired to impress because of natural selection.”

On the other hand, there is inconspicuous consumption. Frank says, “Inconspicuous consumption refers to goods in activities that are valued for themselves, that are usually consumed more privately, and that are not bought for the purpose of achieving status.” If we focus on things that do not gain us any prestige, then we will be able to find peace among others and ourselves. Spending good time with a friend or family, learning about something, going on a road trip; experiences and knowledge are things that can always be cherished no matter what.

[vicariouslyme]

TED Talk of the Day (Thursday):

Jonathon Haidt makes a compelling argument about how political parties and its following continue to fight eachother on ideas that, in retrospect, might actually agree on.  A very persuasive talk on how working together may not be as painful as originally thought.

[memeengine]

Jonathan Haidt: The moral roots of liberals and conservatives

I don't usually post long content like this 20 minute TED talk.  However, this one was worth it.  Jonathan Haidt is the author of a book I've just added to my shelf (unread as yet) that I can't wait to read.

I've been told by some smart people that his book goes a long way toward explaining the seemingly widening divides we see between people:

Political left vs Political right

Religion vs Atheism

Socialism vs Capitalism

In this video he takes a stab as explaining where these harsh polarizations might come from, and there are several moments that make me want to stand up and applaud.

It's clear that (like much of the online community here), Haidt himself is a "left-leaner".  However, he has this to say mid-talk: "The great Conservative insight is that order is really hard to achieve... it's precious, and it's really easy to lose..."

For those that want to wait, it's likely I'll eventually extract some shorter audio clips, but really, I recommend the full 20 minutes.  It could plant a seed of change in your head.

[selcouthmassage]

A psychologist's take on the dividing lines between liberal and conservative values—& what can be done to overcome these differences.

Jonathon Haidt (author of The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion) studies how (& why) morality evolved.

[emptymanuscript]

Jonathon Haidt's TED talk on "The Real Difference Between Liberals and Conservatives." So, yes, I find this talk fascinating but what really grabs me is that it has suggested to me that perhaps the claim that the right is more moral might actually be legitimate and I don't feel badly about it, just like I should try and understand it. And I think I may go and take the test myself, though I expect I should come out pretty stereotypically liberal.