Chapter 103: Jonathan Haidt on mirrory misconceptions and morality in the matrix

Episode • May 16, 2022 • 1h 39m

Jonathan Haidt is the Professor of Ethical Leadership at NYU’s Stern School of Business and the author of bestsellers The Righteous Mind, The Happiness Hypothesis and The Coddling of the American Mind. He has been inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, selected as one of the Top 50 Thinkers in the world, and delivered four TED Talks.

I was lucky to be introduced to Jon by our mutual friend Roger Martin, our guest in Chapter 68.

We sit at his kitchen table to discuss his then-in-process 8000-word Atlantic cover story slammer After Babel: How Social Media Dissolved the Social Mortar of Society and Made America Stupid, which doubles as a sneak peak on the book he’s working on now.

I hope your mind is stretched like taffy as mine was when you listen to Jon. There’s a reason Roger Martin warned me “You’ll have to keep up with him. He thinks pretty quickly.” And yet he is incredibly kind, patient, and humble. A consummate teacher.

We discuss: hive culture, the binary divide, the need for constraints, life after Babel, how we make decisions, communication through stories, LSD, the power of explore mode, and, of course, Jon’s 3 most formative books.

Let’s flip the page into Chapter 103 now…

What You'll Learn:

What is a hive culture?
What is group level selection?
What is the difference between social psychology and sociology?
What does it mean to be tightly bound vs loosely bound?
Why is too much freedom bad?
What are the ills of social media?
What is the story of Babel?
Why was the Arab Spring such a pivotal moment in history?
How has Facebook changed the world for the worse?
What separates the right from the left?
Why is constraint essential to freedom?
How do we make decisions?
Why should we appeal to the elephant?
Why should we parent using stories?
How do we better communicate in relationships?
How should people think about doing LSD and should it be legal?
What is the mind?
What are Jon’s favorite podcasts?
What is the fundamental question in life?

You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.3books.co/chapters/103

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3 Books is a completely insane and totally epic 22-year-long quest to uncover and discuss the 1000 most formative books in the world. Each chapter discusses the 3 most formative books of an inspiring person. Sample guests include: Brené Brown, David Sedaris, Malcolm Gladwell, George Saunders, Angie Thomas, Daniels, Cheryl Strayed, Rich Roll, Soyoung the Variety Store Owner, Derek the Hype Man, Kevin the Bookseller, Vishwas the Uber Driver, Roxane Gay, David Mitchell, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Mark Manson, Seth Godin, Judy Blume, and Quentin Tarantino. 3 Books is published on the lunar calendar with each of the 333 chapters dropped on the exact minute of every single full moon all the way up to April 26, 2040. 3 Books is an Apple "Best Of" award-winning show and is 100% non-profit with no ads, no sponsors, no commercials, and no interruptions. 3 Books has 3 clubs including the End of the Podcast Club, the Cover to Cover Club, and the Secret Club, which operates entirely through the mail and is only accessible by calling 1-833-READ-A-LOT. Each chapter is hosted by Neil Pasricha, New York Times bestselling author of 'The Happiness Equation', 'Two-Minute Mornings', and 'The Book of Awesome.' For more info check out: https://www.3books.co

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