EPISODE NOTES

When you look at the online reactions to major events, or watch news footage of political rallies, you might conclude that people on the political Left have a completely different moral compass – or sense of right and wrong– from people on the political Right. But Kurt Gray, a social psychologist who studies morality and politics, says that’s not true. 

The main thesis behind Gray’s work at the Deepest Beliefs Lab at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and his new book Outraged: Why We Fight About Morality and Politics, and How to Find Common Ground – is that humans share a sense of morality based on fear of harm, the product of our evolutionary heritage.  However perceptions of who is vulnerable to harm and how those vulnerable should be defended differs widely across the divide. 

In this episode, Kurt Gray draws on research to shed light on issues including:

• Why so many people reacted positively to the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson

• Why we often think our communities and our children are less safe than they actually are

• How the decline of local news may contribute to polarization 

• Why facts rarely change minds in a political argument

• How to approach politics with a sense of “moral humility” 

Learn more about Kurt Gray and the book at kurtjgray.com. Follow his newsletter, Moral Understanding: The Science of What Divides Us, at moralunderstandingnewsletter.com.