Unfortunately we face a lethal social problem deeply rooted in our cultural history: tribalism. As we have seen, when you have solar panels, drive EVs, resist air travel, eat low emissions food, and even recycle food scraps, society labels you as woke, intended as a derogatory term.
Surprisingly to me, many people actively detest natural surroundings, actively (but quietly) hate nature, and even threaten personal aggression to those who are not of their tribe, The intense passion people show towards sports teams, despotic rulers, and any signs of nonconforming dress styles are just a few examples of how insidious our tribal instincts can be.
It can feel easy and safe to follow this crowd, tribe members even locate their homes in towns and neighborhoods that disallow or allow diversity to feel at home. This can work so powerfully that many people, human and "corporate," deny the plain evidence of a world walking onto a state of what can best be described as Hothouse Earth, which costs us all more dearly as time goes on.
Tribalism lives partly in media, education, and family life, The main division is rooted in whether or not we can use (or even have) critical thinking skills. This characteristic will determine our future, it needs to be encouraged in our dumbed down society. It's a key to our survival, and it's hard to find signs that we will wake up to the fact that it's already largely too late to avoid more catastrophe, yet changes in our behaviors can be helpful.
Good description of some of the limitations of current “tribal” thinking. It is easy to view “free will” as a Boolean, on-off or yes-no type question. I think reality is much more complicated. It seams to me that “free will” requires significant effort, focus, energy. And it can be viewed as gradational in emergent complex systems. The reliance on tribal perspectives - or as Haidt might frame them “Ingroup/Loyalty” & “Authority/Respect” moral foundations is a way to cede some of our free will to the functioning of a larger emergent system people participate in - these may be movements or political parties, or even just peer groups. It does take work/effort and an openness to new ideas to exercise our own free will.
https://co2mmit.substack.com/p/free-will-and-climate-action?r=ry3zp&utm_campaign=comment-list-share-cta&utm_medium=web&comments=true&commentId=290535121
Unfortunately we face a lethal social problem deeply rooted in our cultural history: tribalism. As we have seen, when you have solar panels, drive EVs, resist air travel, eat low emissions food, and even recycle food scraps, society labels you as woke, intended as a derogatory term.
Surprisingly to me, many people actively detest natural surroundings, actively (but quietly) hate nature, and even threaten personal aggression to those who are not of their tribe, The intense passion people show towards sports teams, despotic rulers, and any signs of nonconforming dress styles are just a few examples of how insidious our tribal instincts can be.
It can feel easy and safe to follow this crowd, tribe members even locate their homes in towns and neighborhoods that disallow or allow diversity to feel at home. This can work so powerfully that many people, human and "corporate," deny the plain evidence of a world walking onto a state of what can best be described as Hothouse Earth, which costs us all more dearly as time goes on.
Tribalism lives partly in media, education, and family life, The main division is rooted in whether or not we can use (or even have) critical thinking skills. This characteristic will determine our future, it needs to be encouraged in our dumbed down society. It's a key to our survival, and it's hard to find signs that we will wake up to the fact that it's already largely too late to avoid more catastrophe, yet changes in our behaviors can be helpful.
“Our species needs, and deserves, a citizenry with minds wide awake and a basic understanding of how the world works.” (Carl Sagan)
Good description of some of the limitations of current “tribal” thinking. It is easy to view “free will” as a Boolean, on-off or yes-no type question. I think reality is much more complicated. It seams to me that “free will” requires significant effort, focus, energy. And it can be viewed as gradational in emergent complex systems. The reliance on tribal perspectives - or as Haidt might frame them “Ingroup/Loyalty” & “Authority/Respect” moral foundations is a way to cede some of our free will to the functioning of a larger emergent system people participate in - these may be movements or political parties, or even just peer groups. It does take work/effort and an openness to new ideas to exercise our own free will.