Jonathan Haidt: Can a divided America heal?
Jonathan Haidt: Kan een verdeeld Amerika worden geheeld?
Jonathan Haidt studies how -- and why -- we evolved to be moral and political creatures. Full bioChris Anderson - TED Curator
After a long career in journalism and publishing, Chris Anderson became the curator of the TED Conference in 2002 and has developed it as a platform for identifying and disseminating ideas worth spreading. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
in the way that we're familiar with,
het politieke links en rechts.
and how did we get here?
en hoe komt dit zo?
apocalyptic sort of feeling.
that the other side is not just --
we hebben echt een afkeer van ze
we strongly dislike them,
a threat to the nation.
een bedreiging vormen voor de natie.
now on both sides.
want het voelt dit keer anders;
than before; it's much more intense.
at any sort of social puzzle,
van morele psychologie toe
principles of moral psychology,
have to always keep in mind
in je achterhoofd moet houden
insights into human social nature
inzichten in de menselijke aard
against the stranger."
tegen de vreemdeling."
to create large societies
grote gemeenschappen creëren
in order to compete with others.
om met anderen te wedijveren.
and out of small groups,
en uit de kleine groepjes,
een eeuwige rivaliteit.
eternal conflict.
samenleving scherpen dat aan
are making that more bitter,
ingebakken zit in ons mentale functioneren
baked into most people's mental wiring
in de menselijke sociale cognitie.
a basic aspect of human social cognition.
heel vreedzaam samenleven
really peacefully,
bedacht van oorlog voeren.
of fun ways of, like, playing war.
onze stammencultuur kunnen botvieren
to exercise this tribal nature
en ontdekken en nieuwe mensen ontmoeten.
and exploration and meeting new people.
as something that goes up or down --
heeft dus haar eb en vloed --
om elkaar altijd te bestrijden,
to always be fighting each other,
can shrink or expand.
kan toe- of afnemen.
could continue indefinitely.
dat dat proces altijd door kon gaan.
is een tijdje ook echt gegroeid.
the sense of tribe for a while.
tot het nieuwe links-rechts.
the new left-right distinction.
as we've all inherited it,
'arbeid versus kapitaal',
versus capital distinction,
now, increasingly,
who want to stop at nation,
die willen stoppen bij de natie,
met hun eigen plek,
of a sense of being rooted,
hun gemeenschap en hun land.
their community and their nation.
anti-parochial and who --
anti-kleinsteeds zijn en die --
John Lennons nummer 'Imagine':
of the John Lennon song "Imagine."
niets om voor te moorden of te sterven."
nothing to kill or die for."
een mondiaal bestuur zien,
who want more global governance,
they don't like borders.
actually, his name is Shakespeare --
schreef geweldige metaforen,
of ophaalbrug-neerders?"
or drawbridge-downers?"
wat dat betreft 52-48 verdeeld.
52-48 on that point.
who grew up with The Beatles
die zijn opgegroeid met de Beatles
dat droomt van hechtere banden --
of dreaming of a more connected world --
iemand daar negatief over denken'?
anyone think badly about that?"
dat niet alleen dom vinden,
feel that that isn't just silly;
en ze zijn er bang van.
and they're scared of it.
met name in Europa, maar ook hier,
in Europe but also here,
we have to look very carefully
about diversity and immigration.
inzake diversiteit en immigratie.
van houdt en waarvan rechts --
that the left loves and the right --
het niet meer objectief zien.
can't think straight about it.
is er enorm door gegroeid.
has grown enormously from it.
doen een hoop goed,
do a lot of good things.
I think, don't see,
sociaal kapitaal en vertrouwen kost.
cuts social capital and trust.
studie van Robert Putnam,
study by Robert Putnam,
van sociaal kapitaal.
feel that they are the same,
dat ze hetzelfde zijn,
hun welvaart te delen.
a redistributionist welfare state.
kleine homogene landen zijn.
of being small, homogenous countries.
a progressive welfare state,
progressieve welvaartstaat
links-georiënteerd waarden,
left-leaning values, which says,
De wereld is geweldig.
The world is a great place.
we moeten ze verwelkomen.'
we must welcome them in."
deze zomer in Zweden --
this summer,
nogal politiek correct is
is fairly politically correct
niet kunnen bespreken,
mensen binnenkomen.
zoals hier in Amerika,
as we have in America,
raciaal verdeelde -- gemeenschap.
racially divided, society.
ongemakkelijk onderwerp.
uncomfortable to talk about.
maar ook bij ons, toch naar moeten kijken.
especially in Europe and for us, too,
themselves not racists,
gewoon te verschillend zijn;
humans are just too different;
teveel van onszelf verlangen,
our sense of what humans are capable of,
die te anders zijn.
much more palatable
veel verteerbaarder maken
niet om ras hoeft te gaan.
scientist named Karen Stenner,
wetenschapper Karen Stenner
het gevoel hebben
dat we hetzelfde zijn,
we're all the same,
a predisposition to authoritarianism.
om autoritair op te treden.
there's not a threat
als een bedreiging voelen
we zijn minder hetzelfde,
people are getting more different,
en moeten de afwijkenden eruit.
they want to kick out the deviants.
die autoritaire reactie.
an authoritarian reaction.
the Lennonist line --
reactie creëren.
an authoritarian reaction.
met de 'alt-right'.
in America with the alt-right.
en in heel Europa.
we've seen it all over Europe.
or the nationalists, are actually right --
feitelijk een punt hebben --
our cultural similarity,
overeenkomsten benadrukt,
matter very much.
approach to immigration
a generous welfare state,
welvaartstaat hebt,
that we're all the same.
dat we allemaal hetzelfde zijn.
and fears about that
en de angst daarvoor
of the current divide.
van de huidige verdeeldheid.
van morele psychologie
strategic reasoning second.
daarna pas strategisch redeneren.
van bevooroordeeld redeneren
the term "motivated reasoning"
en onze verbale vermogens
and our verbal abilities
not to help us find out the truth,
niet om de waarheid te achterhalen
defend our reputation ...
onze reputatie te verdedigen ...
at justifying ourselves.
in het rechtvaardigen van onszelf.
group interests into account,
het is mijn team tegen het jouwe,
it's my team versus your team,
that your side is wrong,
dat jouw team fout is,
a political argument.
geen politiek debat winnen --
with reasons and evidence,
met redenen en bewijs,
the way reasoning works.
give us Google:
kijk naar Google:
was born in Kenya.
in Kenya is geboren.
10 million hits! Look, he was!"
10 miljoen hits! Het is zo!"
surprise to a lot of people.
een vervelende verrassing.
by techno-optimists
door techno-optimisten geprezen
that would bring people together.
achter de eenwording van mensen.
unexpected counter-effects to that.
contra-effecten geweest.
gecharmeerd van yin-yangmodellen
of yin-yang views
en links-rechts --
op sommige punten gelijk heeft,
about certain things,
that human nature is good:
in de goedheid van mensen:
the walls and all will be well.
breek de muur af en alles komt goed.
niet libertariërs --
not libertarians --
dat mensen hebzuchtig kunnen zijn
believe people can be greedy
and we need restrictions.
laat communiceren,
all over the world,
en een hoop racisme.
zijn zo oud als de straat.
have been with us forever.
this feeling of division?
van verdeeldheid zo aangewakkerd?
different threads all coming together.
eigenlijk allemaal samen komen.
actually, America and Europe --
eigenlijk in Amerika en Europa --
from Joe Henrich and others
van onder meer Joe Henrich
in a commons dilemma
met een sociaal dilemma
during World War II,
looking for scraps of aluminum
aluminium zoeken
and government,
at compromise and cooperation.
in compromissen en samenwerken.
by the end of the '90s.
alleen nog babyboomers.
each other within each country,
in hun eigen land,
"The Greatest Generation,"
'De Grootste Generatie',
is the purification of the two parties.
is de zuivering van de twee partijen.
en conservatieve Democraten.
and conservative Democrats.
that was really bipartisan.
was Amerika echt verenigd.
that started things moving,
begonnen dingen te veranderen
zuiver liberale en conservatieve partij.
liberal party and conservative party.
van die partijen echt anders
really are different,
met de andere partij trouwt,
our children to marry them,
didn't matter very much.
for post-hoc reasoning and demonization.
tot drogcausaliteit en demonisering.
on the internet now is quite troubling.
is behoorlijk zorgwekkend.
on Twitter about the election
over de verkiezingen
van racistische graffiti:
brought to us by #Trump."
aangeboden door #Trump."
dedication page. Disgusting!"
achterbakse Hillary. Walgelijk!"
is troubling to me.
vind ik zorgwekkend,
or a disagreement about something,
takes things to a much deeper level.
brengt dat naar een heel ander niveau.
you get angry, you're not angry;
boos, niet boos.
als onmenselijk, monsterachtig,
as subhuman, monstrous,
on marital therapy.
inzake huwelijkstherapie.
of the couple shows disgust or contempt,
walging of minachting toont,
to get divorced soon,
snel zullen gaan scheiden,
that doesn't predict anything,
voorspelt dat niets,
is het zelfs goed.
it actually is good.
het woord 'walging' vaak.
uses the word "disgust" a lot.
so disgust does matter a lot --
dus walging is belangrijk --
unique to him --
the Manichaean worldview,
Manicheïsmische wereldbeeld,
is a battle between good and evil
een strijd is tussen goed en kwaad,
they're wrong or I don't like them,
dat ze het mis hebben,
niet deugen en duivels zijn,
met ze te maken hebben.
for example, on campus now.
op de campussen.
to keep people off campus,
om mensen daar weg te houden
generation of young people,
generatie jonge mensen,
met een hoop walging,
involves a lot of disgust,
in politics as they get older.
willen mengen als ze ouder worden.
and I think about emotions a lot.
en denk vaak over emoties,
of disgust is actually love.
van walging liefde is.
powerful means we have.
that they're lovely.
dat ze heel aardig zijn.
or changes your category as well.
je walging voor die groep af.
much more mixed up in the their towns
veel meer door elkaar,
this great moral divide,
bij de mensen in de buurt gaan wonen
that we're moving to be near people
mensen die er anders over denken.
who's on the other side.
of tegen Amerikanen,
or say to Americans,
about each other
thing to keep in mind --
om in gedachten te houden --
scientist Alan Abramowitz,
wetenschapper Alan Abramowitz
is increasingly governed
democratie steeds meer wordt gedreven
OK there's a candidate,
you vote for the candidate.
je wilt op hem stemmen.
and all sorts of other trends,
en allerlei andere trends,
the other side so horrible, so awful,
zo vreselijk, zo walgelijk afschildert,
op mijn kandidaat valt.
against the other side
tegen de andere partij stemmen
that if people are on the left,
dat als mensen links zijn
that Republicans were bad,
dat Republiekeinen slecht waren,
I can paint with all the things
in datzelfde licht zien."
with their candidate.
met hun kandidaat.
election in American history.
in de Amerikaanse geschiedenis.
your feelings about the candidate
je gevoel over de kandidaat
who are given a choice.
die een keuze moeten maken.
eigen morele wereld leven --
in a separate moral world --
is that we're all trapped in "The Matrix,"
dat we vastzitten in 'The Matrix',
a consensual hallucination.
of een consensuele hallucinatie.
that the other side --
dat de andere kant --
they're the worst people in the world,
slechtere mensen zijn er niet,
to back that up.
different set of facts.
different threats to the country.
andere gevaren voor hun land.
zijden probeert te begrijpen, blijkt:
from being in the middle
is: both sides are right.
to this country,
onmachtig om ze allemaal te zien.
incapable of seeing them all.
that we almost need a new type of empathy?
type empathie nodig hebben?
in je situatie verplaatsen."
I can put myself in your shoes."
the needy, the suffering.
behoeftigen, mensen die lijden;
to people who we feel as other,
anders zijn dan wij
to build that type of empathy?
type empathie moeten constueren?
veel gesproken over empathie,
hot topic in psychology,
on the left in particular.
voor onze favoriete slachtoffers.
for the preferred classes of victims.
think are so important.
zo belangrijk vinden.
because you get points for that.
want daar krijg je punten voor.
if you do it when it's hard to do.
wanneer dat moeilijk is.
of dealing with our race problems
met onze raciale problemen geworsteld
for a long time
threat on our hands.
in links en rechts is, denk ik,
divide we face.
in ons midden.
and gender and LGBT,
als ras, geslacht en LGBT,
of the next 50 years,
voor de komende 50 jaar
to get better on their own.
hervormingen moeten plaatsvinden
a lot of institutional reforms,
een heel lang wankel verhaal.
wonky conversation.
realizing that this is a turning point.
beseffen dat dit een keerpunt is.
if you don't want to --
als je niet wil --
to spend the next four years
als je de volgende vier jaar
als de vorige -- steek maar op.
for the last year -- raise your hand.
en Marcus Aurelius.
read Marcus Aurelius.
over hoe je de angst kwijtraakt,
for how to drop the fear,
als je vijand te zien.
wisdom for this kind of empathy.
inzake dit soort empathie.
om bij te dragen aan die heling?
people do to help heal?
to overcome your deepest prejudices.
diepste vooroordelen heen te stappen.
and stronger than race prejudices
en sterker zijn dan ras-vooroordelen
that's the main thing.
dat is wel het belangrijkste.
awful for one of you --
voor een van de twee --
maar probeer dan het gesprek aan te gaan.
reach out and say you want to talk.
Friends and Influence People" --
en mensen beinvloedt' --
(Gelach)
als je positief begint,
if you start by acknowledging,
aan jou, oom Bob",
about you, Uncle Bob,"
dan werkt dat wonderbaarlijk.
appreciation, it's like magic.
things I've learned
verontschuldigen,
at apologizing now,
somebody was right about.
en is het ook echt heel leuk.
and it's actually really fun.
speaking with you.
om met jou te praten.
the ground that we're on
waar we het over hebben,
inzake moraliteit en de menselijke aard.
of morality and human nature.
this time with us.
met ons wou delen.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Jonathan Haidt - Social psychologistJonathan Haidt studies how -- and why -- we evolved to be moral and political creatures.
Why you should listen
By understanding more about our moral psychology and its biases, Jonathan Haidt says we can design better institutions (including companies, universities and democracy itself), and we can learn to be more civil and open-minded toward those who are not on our team.
Haidt is a social psychologist whose research on morality across cultures led to his 2008 TED Talk on the psychological roots of the American culture war, and his 2013 TED Talk on how "common threats can make common ground." In both of those talks he asks, "Can't we all disagree more constructively?" Haidt's 2012 TED Talk explored the intersection of his work on morality with his work on happiness to talk about "hive psychology" -- the ability that humans have to lose themselves in groups pursuing larger projects, almost like bees in a hive. This hivish ability is crucial, he argues, for understanding the origins of morality, politics, and religion. These are ideas that Haidt develops at greater length in his book, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion.
Haidt joined New York University Stern School of Business in July 2011. He is the Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership, based in the Business and Society Program. Before coming to Stern, Professor Haidt taught for 16 years at the University of Virginia in the department of psychology.
Haidt's writings appear frequently in the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. He was named one of the top global thinkers by Foreign Policy magazine and by Prospect magazine. Haidt received a B.A. in Philosophy from Yale University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.
Jonathan Haidt | Speaker | TED.com
Chris Anderson - TED Curator
After a long career in journalism and publishing, Chris Anderson became the curator of the TED Conference in 2002 and has developed it as a platform for identifying and disseminating ideas worth spreading.
Why you should listen
Chris Anderson is the Curator of TED, a nonprofit devoted to sharing valuable ideas, primarily through the medium of 'TED Talks' -- short talks that are offered free online to a global audience.
Chris was born in a remote village in Pakistan in 1957. He spent his early years in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, where his parents worked as medical missionaries, and he attended an American school in the Himalayas for his early education. After boarding school in Bath, England, he went on to Oxford University, graduating in 1978 with a degree in philosophy, politics and economics.
Chris then trained as a journalist, working in newspapers and radio, including two years producing a world news service in the Seychelles Islands.
Back in the UK in 1984, Chris was captivated by the personal computer revolution and became an editor at one of the UK's early computer magazines. A year later he founded Future Publishing with a $25,000 bank loan. The new company initially focused on specialist computer publications but eventually expanded into other areas such as cycling, music, video games, technology and design, doubling in size every year for seven years. In 1994, Chris moved to the United States where he built Imagine Media, publisher of Business 2.0 magazine and creator of the popular video game users website IGN. Chris eventually merged Imagine and Future, taking the combined entity public in London in 1999, under the Future name. At its peak, it published 150 magazines and websites and employed 2,000 people.
This success allowed Chris to create a private nonprofit organization, the Sapling Foundation, with the hope of finding new ways to tackle tough global issues through media, technology, entrepreneurship and, most of all, ideas. In 2001, the foundation acquired the TED Conference, then an annual meeting of luminaries in the fields of Technology, Entertainment and Design held in Monterey, California, and Chris left Future to work full time on TED.
He expanded the conference's remit to cover all topics, including science, business and key global issues, while adding a Fellows program, which now has some 300 alumni, and the TED Prize, which grants its recipients "one wish to change the world." The TED stage has become a place for thinkers and doers from all fields to share their ideas and their work, capturing imaginations, sparking conversation and encouraging discovery along the way.
In 2006, TED experimented with posting some of its talks on the Internet. Their viral success encouraged Chris to begin positioning the organization as a global media initiative devoted to 'ideas worth spreading,' part of a new era of information dissemination using the power of online video. In June 2015, the organization posted its 2,000th talk online. The talks are free to view, and they have been translated into more than 100 languages with the help of volunteers from around the world. Viewership has grown to approximately one billion views per year.
Continuing a strategy of 'radical openness,' in 2009 Chris introduced the TEDx initiative, allowing free licenses to local organizers who wished to organize their own TED-like events. More than 8,000 such events have been held, generating an archive of 60,000 TEDx talks. And three years later, the TED-Ed program was launched, offering free educational videos and tools to students and teachers.
Chris Anderson | Speaker | TED.com