

Outraged: Why We Fight About Morality and Politics and How to Find Common Ground with Kurt Gray
29 snips Jan 21, 2025
Kurt Gray, a professor at UNC Chapel Hill and director of the Center for the Science of Moral Understanding, explores the psychological roots of moral outrage. He discusses how differing perceptions of harm drive societal divisions and the impact of emotions like fear and disgust on moral judgments. Gray debunks the apex predator myth, revealing our cooperative evolutionary history. Highlighting the role of social media in amplifying outrage, he emphasizes the need for empathy and genuine listening to bridge divides and foster understanding in contentious discussions.
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Studying Morality
- Kurt Gray studies morality by observing behavior and asking about beliefs.
- He uses surveys, implicit measures, and realistic simulations to understand moral convictions.
Harm-Based Morality
- Our morality centers around harm, but we disagree on which threats are real.
- This disagreement fuels moral outrage and political divides, according to Kurt Gray.
Disgust vs. Immorality
- Kurt Gray describes his daughter's sickness as disgusting but not immoral.
- He differentiates disgust from moral condemnation, highlighting the crucial role of perceived harm.