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April discusses Jonathan Haidt's "Moral Foundations Theory," that has its roots in evolutionary psychology and attempts to explain how we view politics and social policy. We use the same basic moral foundations to create our beliefs and opinions, but we interpret and layer them differently. When we recognize which of these foundations people are using to build their moral framework we can see how they come to hold certain beliefs. Understanding is the key to opening dialogue and eventually resolving conflict.

Episode 5 Show Notes:

Here's a great article from the website DividedWeFall.com that goes into detail on Haidt's Moral Foundations Theory:
https://dividedwefall.com/2018/07/15/the-righteous-mind-moral-foundations-theory/?gclid=CjwKCAjwn9v7BRBqEiwAbq1Ey5fhnO5F6VgWC7ducjJKd9NrqWR7nbrsBBG4gyVnHRxVB4Ydc_4NlxoCiUkQAvD_BwE

This is the link to the YourMorals.Org website:
https://yourmorals.org/

This article from The Greater Good Magazine discusses the importance of empathy in today's world:
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/in_a_divided_world_we_need_to_choose_empathy

The Civil Politics website has lots of article and links to great resources about this topic. Here's a good article:
http://www.civilpolitics.org/content/two-evidence-based-recommendations-for-civil-disagreement/

This article explains "Intergroup Contact Theory:"
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/what_makes_a_good_interaction_between_divided_groups

Look around and see if there's a topic on LivingRoomConversations.org that interests you on this website, then get involved in a discussion:
https://www.livingroomconversations.org/

This pdf has some provocative questions on divisive issues that can be used to open dialog:
https://whatisessential.org/sites/default/files/resource/file/2020-06/Questions%20for%20Divisive%20Issues.pdf

This conversation guide on the topic of immigration is an example of how LivingRoomConversations guides its participants to help them truly understand each other:
https://209859-635214-1-raikfcquaxqncofqfm.stackpathdns.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/NEW-Immigration.pdf

Here's an eye-opening article on the Village Square's website that will make you think about why it's so difficult to get people from opposing sides to sit down and talk:
https://tlh.villagesquare.us/blog/welcoming-conservatives/

This Psychology Today article gives some great ideas about how to approach problematic discussions:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/how-risky-is-it-really/201007/why-changing-somebody-s-mind-or-yours-is-hard-do

A great article from the Gottman Institute about maintaining relationships while disagreeing: