THE ROOTS OF EXTREMISM IN YOUR BRAIN

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Nearly every group has its extreme outliers. Where does fundamentalism come from? How does the most powerful organ in the known universe, the human brain, make emotionally driven decisions that ignore reason and fact? In this program, scientists look for answers to why our species may have evolved to accommodate the set of behaviors we associate with zealotry.

PARTICIPANTS: Jonathan Haidt, Jay Van Bavel, Kate Porterfield, Jere Van Dyk

MODERATOR: Maria Konnikova

MORE INFO ABOUT THE PROGRAM AND PARTICIPANTS: https://www.worldsciencefestival.com/programs/roots-extremism-fundamentalist-brain/

This program is part of the BIG IDEAS SERIES, made possible with support from the JOHN TEMPLETON FOUNDATION.

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TOPICS:

- Introduction of Participants 00:20
- What is extremism? 01:30
- The psychology of hate 03:26
- Does the concept of what is "extreme" change over time or across cultures? 07:45
- Who becomes an extremist? 12:50
- Psychology of group identity 15:05
- The loss of self in groups 16:40
- Psychology of tribalism 19:43
- Polarized online echo-chamber 27:10
- Is social media bad for society and lead to extremism? 31:04
- The depersonalization of out-groups 34:24
- Is there any reason for optimism that things will become less extreme? 42:25
- What are the right ingredients for a stable democracy? 45:31
- Do we have a misperception of what the consensus belief is? 49:20
- How can we improve the humanity of social media? 52:46
- Jere Van Dyk recounts his time held hostage by the Taliban 58:00
- Do we train military soldiers to become extremists? 1:13:00
- Group dissenters 01:16:05


PROGRAM CREDITS:

- Produced by Laura Dattaro

This program was recorded live at the 2018 World Science Festival and has been edited and condensed for YouTube.