(Originally published 2012, Paperback Edition 380 pages)
It's pretty simple. The book floored me. Over the past few decades, I've read a plethora of evolutionary psychology books that were interesting but somewhat lacking. Mr. Haidt's work, however, is a different matter. I found the book to be well documented, supported by solid scientific evidence, and illuminating. The author's assertion that reason is the servant of intuition is sound. He builds a convincing step-by-step collection of scientific evidence to support his claim. It helps that the work is written in an interesting, informative, and lighthearted manner.
Some of the Amazon one-star reviews seem to take great umbrage that the author is an atheist. If you're going to be THAT closed-minded then don't even bother opening up to the first page. The author's intent is not to pillory people who are religious and he does a commendable job. Heck, Mr. Haidt takes to task atheist luminaries Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett and Richard Hawkins in their assertions as to why people won't ditch God. However, the man is a moral psychologist and, understandably, takes the theory of evolution as a given. Any scientist worth his salt or person with half a brain understands that evolution isn't debatable. Interestingly, Mr. Haidt does clearly explain why we all refuse to believe reality or facts when they are in conflict with our tribal mentalities. None of us are excluded from thinking we are more morally superior than people who disagree with us.
As the author states, "People bind themselves into political teams that share moral narratives... We do moral reasoning not to reconstruct the actual reasons why we ourselves came to a judgment; we reason to find the best possible reasons why somebody else ought to join us in our judgment." It is not a book stating that all moralities are relative. It's an attempt to help people of all moral persuasions in understanding that there is not only one way of looking at the world. I found Mr. Haidt's work humbling and, so far, my favorite book this year.
Some of the Amazon one-star reviews seem to take great umbrage that the author is an atheist. If you're going to be THAT closed-minded then don't even bother opening up to the first page. The author's intent is not to pillory people who are religious and he does a commendable job. Heck, Mr. Haidt takes to task atheist luminaries Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett and Richard Hawkins in their assertions as to why people won't ditch God. However, the man is a moral psychologist and, understandably, takes the theory of evolution as a given. Any scientist worth his salt or person with half a brain understands that evolution isn't debatable. Interestingly, Mr. Haidt does clearly explain why we all refuse to believe reality or facts when they are in conflict with our tribal mentalities. None of us are excluded from thinking we are more morally superior than people who disagree with us.
As the author states, "People bind themselves into political teams that share moral narratives... We do moral reasoning not to reconstruct the actual reasons why we ourselves came to a judgment; we reason to find the best possible reasons why somebody else ought to join us in our judgment." It is not a book stating that all moralities are relative. It's an attempt to help people of all moral persuasions in understanding that there is not only one way of looking at the world. I found Mr. Haidt's work humbling and, so far, my favorite book this year.
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