1. The Moral Roots of Liberals and Conservatives
• Disabuse yourself of your natural self-righteous position by acknowledging that everyone believes they are right, and by being open to others' experiences.
• Step out of the moral Matrix to which we are all connected. "If you want the truth to stand clear before you, never be for or against. The struggle between 'for' and 'against' is the mind's worst disease;” ― Jianzhi Sengcan (15:10)
2. How to Step Outside your Biases
• The phrase, "man is the measure of all things," is a self-serving rationalization disguised as philosophy. Seek truth. not confirmation. (5:00)
• It's seductive to believe that all your believes happen to be true. Being right feels good, which leads to seeking support your position and acting in bad faith. (5:58)
• Social media (including Google) is designed to feed us information that cooresponds to beliefs we already espouse, re-inforcing our respective confirmation biases. (9:00)
• Humbly dare to know the truth by stepping outside your bubble of catered information. (10:50)
3. Can a Divided America Heal?
• Rational self-interest is not the dominating factor in decision making. Studies have shown that people are highly motivated to punish cheaters. (E.g., Negative partisanship or voting for the lesser of two evils) While altruistic punishment may be the glue that temporarily holds society together, we will require a new kind of empathy to cooperate in order to realize a more sustainable future. (14:30)
• We can benefit from ancient wisdom to help us navigate modern-day political animonsity. Jesus, Buddah, Marcus Auralius, etc. help students to drop their fear, reframe things, and stop seeing others as enemies. (18:00)
• Don't just sit there and decide to be more understanding. Make the effort to reach out and appreciate others' different views. (18:30)
4. How to Disagree Productively
• Contempt has replaced conversation. (0:35)
• The way that you reach people (debate most productively) is by (a) finding common ground no matter how narrow it is, (b) separating ideas from identity, (c) being genuinely open to pursuasion (3:00)
• Common ground — What psychologists call shared reality is the antidote to alternitive facts. (4:40)
• Seperating ideas from identity — Our public and personal discourse can be transformed by debating ideas rather than discussing identity. (9:00)
• Being open to ideas — Engaging in debate (arguing both sides) flips a switch in the mind that opens the individual to intellecutal humility. (9:30)
• Julia Dhar's 2021 TED talk mirrors this one. To have a constructive conversation, you need three elements: (1) to listen (2) to be heard and (3) to understand.
5. How to Lead a Conversation Between People who Disagree
• Establish a safe environment where people are open to hearing, being heard, and understandings one another. This requires a deinflamation of ego.
• Real dialogue is possible once biases are verbally acknowledged. (4:00)
• Individuals report that they are relieved to put down their political arms and openly learn from one another. (6:40)
• Hearing real people's voices (instead of just reading their typed words) actually encourages humility and openness to the humanity in one's opponent. (a different TED talk?)
• Snark, shame, and condescencion is an immediate shutdown to dialogue. (8:00)
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