Faith Matters

How to Love Your Enemy: Arthur Brooks at Restore 2025

14 snips
Oct 5, 2025
Arthur Brooks, a behavioral scientist and author, delivers a poignant keynote on loving enemies and overcoming division. He tackles the deeper issue of contempt, arguing it fuels national disunity more than political differences. Drawing from personal experiences and science, he challenges listeners to elevate their standards from mere tolerance to truly loving their opponents. With insights on emotional roots of division and practical assignments like 'disagree better,' Brooks inspires a movement towards moral courage and small acts of kindness.
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INSIGHT

Contempt, Not Politics, Is The Real Problem

  • Arthur Brooks says the core problem tearing us apart is contempt, not mere political disagreement.
  • He argues moral courage is standing up to your own side on behalf of those you disagree with.
INSIGHT

Motive Attribution Asymmetry Explains Polarization

  • Motive attribution asymmetry explains intractable conflicts: each side thinks it loves while the other hates.
  • Brooks found polarization between US liberals and conservatives matched conflicts like Palestinians and Israelis.
ANECDOTE

Tea Party Crowd Experiment

  • Brooks recounts stopping a Tea Party speech to urge love instead of insults and got a hostile heckle.
  • That heckle reminded him of his liberal parents and clarified how contempt operates across divides.
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