Social reality is so complicated that, once you join one team or the other, you become specialized in detecting certain patterns, but you become blind to other patterns.
Jonathan HaidtRead
The social intuitionist model offers an explanation of why moral and political arguments are so frustrating: because moral reasons are the tail wagged by the intuitive dog. A dog’s tail wags to communicate. You can’t make a dog happy by forcibly wagging its tail. And you can’t change people’s minds by utterly refuting their arguments.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes that people's moral beliefs are often based on intuition rather than rational arguments.
Jonathan Haidt suggests that our moral and political beliefs are primarily driven by intuition, not through logical reasoning. This means that traditional arguments and refutations may not be effective in changing someone's mind, much like one cannot make a dog happy merely by wagging its tail. Instead, understanding and communicating with someone on an intuitive level may be more beneficial.
Themes
MoralityIntuitionArgumentsPoliticsBeliefs
In practice
Example use cases
During a debate on ethical issues, one can reference this quote to highlight the challenges of changing someone’s mind.
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