Resources

 

To learn about moral psychology and the causes of moral conflict and self-righteousness:

  • Read summaries of the talks given at the conference on "Beyond Moralistic Politics," which launched this project and website.
  • Read Ch. 4 of "The Happiness Hypothesis," on hypocrisy and the "myth of pure evil."
  • Read this short review of the current state of research in moral psychology, by Jonathan Haidt.
  • Read this review article on ideology, by John Jost.
  • Read this book on the foundational metaphors and cognitive frames that underlie and guide political thought (Moral Politics: How liberals and conservatives think, by George Lakoff.)
  • Read this book on how different visions of human nature underlie the worldviews and political beliefs of liberals and conservatives: A conflict of visions: The ideological origins of political struggles. By Thomas Sowell.
  • Read this paper on the "bias blind spot" -- our inabllity to see our own biases, by Emily Pronin, Tom Gilovich, and Lee Ross.

To learn about the rise in partisan rancor since the 1980s and its causes:

  • Read this paper which reviews the evidence on what really caused the polarization of political elites in the USA in recent decades. Hetherington, M. (in press) Putting Polarisation in Perspective. British Journal of Political Science.
  • [others? Please send suggestions to haidt@virginia.edu]

To learn about civility and its importance for democracy: :

  • Read this book: Civility: Manners, morals, and the etiquette of democracy, by Stephen L. Carter.
  • Read the report of this exepriment, demonstrating that exposure to uncivil news/talk programs decreases viewers' trust in government and polticians, and harms the democratic process. (Mutz, C., & Reeves, B. (2005). The new videomalaise: Effects of televised inciviliyt on political trust. American Political Science Review, 99)

To help liberals understand (and be civil to) conservatives:

  • Read this paper on the psychological foundations of morality and ideology, by Jon Haidt and Jesse Graham.
  • Read Ch. 9 of The Happiness Hypothesis, on the psychological dimension of divinity, which tries to explain what many religious people find objectionable about a purely secular culture.
  • Read this book on the moral world of a "religious right" community, interpreted by a sympathetic sociologist (Spirit and Flesh, by James Ault).
  • Read this article on the lack of ideological diversity in psychology, and why the exclusion of conservatives harms the scientific and pro-social missions of psychology: Redding, R.E.  (2001).  Sociopolitical diversity in psychology: The case for pluralism.  American Psychologist, 56(3), 205-215.
  • [others? Please send suggestions to haidt@virginia.edu]

To help conservatives understand (and be civil to) liberals:

  • Read this book on how diverse modern societies can keep some of the richness of traditional ways and identities while avoiding the ugliness of identity politics. (Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a world of strangers. by Anthony Appiah).
  • [we need a lot more here: what essays can transmit the essential insights and compassion of liberalism in a way that conservatives will "get" and not be turned off by?]
  • [others? Please send suggestions to haidt@virginia.edu]

 

Resources for teachers and public speakers who want to promote civil politics:

  • Show this video of Stephen Carter giving a lecture titled: "Beyond the shouting: Civil politics for a sound America.
  • Show this video of Jonathan Haidt giving a lecture titled "Morality 2012, when liberals will understand conservatives and most other people."
  • Website of the Penn Conference on Civility and American Politics
  • [others? Please send suggestions to haidt@virginia.edu]

 

Miscellaneous resources and essays:

  • Rod Dreher (2007), Playing the anti-science card [This is a good essay to help scientists overcome self-righteousness and see that even in scientific debates, moralism often plays a blinding role.]
  • [others? Please send suggestions to haidt@virginia.edu]

Do you have a suggestion for an essay or other resource on the Web that can promote understanding and civil politics? Please email it to haidt at civilpolitics dot org.