Moral Tribes

Oh, it takes a special book to not finish it. This was very special book. All the philosophical blabbering about how utilitarianism is the answer but never even mentioning how the heck can we make people follow one simple moral system. Maybe nice for those who like theory without any practical appliance. Even the science parts were far in between.

As a fresh take on utilitaniarism it's first-rate: new perspectives, new research, insightful questions. But ultimately he's just preaching to the choir because the single most important question of our age is not even mentioned: how to reach those who don't realize they are immoral? That is, people whose brains—through no fault of their own—consider Loyalty To Tribe and Obedience To Authority to be moral, rendering them vulnerable to charismatic psychopaths like Rush Limbaugh or evangelical preachers or anyone on Fox “News”. They're not going to read this. They're not going to question their gut reactions or listen to anyone suggesting that they do (“heresy!”). This is a very real problem, and unfortunately no amount of philosophical arguing is going to address that. And on that depressing note, Happy Newtonmas!