5 Posts found for Source: Instrument of Mercy

Americans now bear such animosity toward one another that it’s almost as if many are holding up signs saying, “Please tell me something horrible about the other side, I’ll believe anything!” Americans are now easily exploitable, and a large network of profit-driven media sites, political entrepreneurs, and foreign intelligence agencies are taking advantage of this vulnerability.

Authors: Greg Lukianoff, Jon Haidt | Source: Instrument of Mercy | Subject: Politics & Public Policy

As long as you tell us something that reinforces our preexisting beliefs and biases, we’ll enthusiastically hand over our consent to be manipulated and exploited for corporate profit and political gain.

Author: Joe Forrest | Source: Instrument of Mercy | Subject: Psychology | Behavior

Most human behavior is driven by our innate desire to avoid pain, rejection, and fear. If you can handily manipulate one (or a combination) of those three factors, you can get someone to do just about anything.

Author: Joe Forrest | Source: Instrument of Mercy | Subjects: Fear, Psychology | Behavior

If the bond we share with others is simply that we hate the same people, the intimacy that we experience is often intense, immediately gratifying, and an easy way to discharge outrage and pain. It is not, however, fuel for real connection.

Author: Brene Brown | Source: Instrument of Mercy | Subjects: Life & Society, Politics & Public Policy, Psychology | Behavior, Relationships

Three primary reasons people are attracted to conspiracy theories:

1. Conspiracy theories make us feel special. According to Tom Nichols, “[Conspiracy] theories also appeal to a strong streak of narcissism: there are people who would choose to believe in complicated nonsense rather than accept that their own circumstances are incomprehensible, the result of issues beyond their intellectual capacity to understand, or even their own fault.” In other

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Author: Joe Forrest | Source: Instrument of Mercy (May 7, 2020) | Subjects: Education | Scholarship, Excerpts, Intelligence | Knowledge, Life & Society, Psychology | Behavior, Thought | Inquiry