Back to Basics: The Power of Groups, From Families to Nations

As we start the new year, it seems like a good time to get back to the basics of our group – particularly since many new members have joined us recently. So on February 5 we’re going to do a (revised and updated) review of our first meetup.

We’ll begin by stepping back to get a wider perspective on human beings – How did we develop through evolution? How did we – Homo sapiens – survive while other species of humans (e.g., Neanderthals) disappeared? How did we come to live in groups? What are some of the consequences of humans living in groups?

Then we’ll consider the differences between WEIRD (Western, educated, industrialized, rich, democratic) people and the rest of humanity, and consider what it would be like to live in a society other than the WEIRD world that I imagine most of us in this group inhabit. In other words, we’ll consider how most of the people in the world have lived throughout history and continue to live today – including people in many other countries and people in America who don’t share our worldview. How do they look at the world? What moral values are important to them? What do they think about our WEIRD values?

We’ll also consider how groups are formed, and what conditions lead to competition or coordination between groups.

You don’t have to read or review anything before the Meetup, but it would be great if you could read Jonathan Haidt’s The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided By Politics and Religion, the inspiration for our group. If you can only read one chapter, read chapter five, which discusses WEIRD people and describes Haidt’s visit to India, where he studied a very non-WEIRD culture and “for the first time in my life, I was able to step outside of my home morality, the ethic of autonomy” . . . and learn to appreciate the ethic of community and the ethic of divinity.

And finally, to get in the mood for our group, you should watch this enlightening and entertaining TED Talk: Kathryn Schulz, “On being wrong”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QleRgTBMX88

Looking forward to seeing you soon!

Bill