The Independent Whig
Vision
Religion, Morality, and Ideology: Like Things That Should Be Judged Alike.
Introduction This post is the second half of a two part essay. In part one I argued that religions, moralities, and ideologies are different manifestations of a single underlying element of human nature: our tendency to form into groups of like-minded people and compete with other groups. In this post I continue that argument and make the additional claim that since … Continue reading
What Moral Foundations Really Are, and How They Help Us To Diagnose and Treat The Political Divide
1) Moral foundations are evolved psychological mechanisms of moral and social perception. They are senses. Each moral foundation provides its possessor with a predisposition to perceive the particular aspect of human behavior that is associated with that foundation. The metaphor I like to use is this: Moral foundations are to moral and social perception as … Continue reading
What is Conservatism?
(This post is an excerpt, with some minor updating, from the longer essay in the post What Is Rick Perry Talking About? ) What is Conservatism? Conservatism is the morality which is built on all of the moral foundations in equal balance, as illustrated in this 19 minute video on TED.com: The Moral Roots of Liberals … Continue reading
I Support Viewpoint Diversity
A politically diverse group of social scientists, natural scientists, humanists, and other scholars who want to improve our academic disciplines and universities. We share a concern about a growing problem: the loss or lack of “viewpoint diversity.” When nearly everyone in a field shares the same political orientation, certain ideas become orthodoxy, dissent is discouraged, and errors can go unchallenged.
Venn Diagram of Liberal and Conservative Traits and Moral Foundations and
The Independent Whig 