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Explaining Republicans [Greg Laden's Blog]
There’s been a lot of talk lately about what the Republican party and its members were up to this election year. Racial slurs and lynching chairs, being mean to recent immigrants, and voter suppression directed at minorities could hot have helped to get the non-white vote in line for last Tuesday’s elections. A ramped up attack on women in general and their health care in particular could not have helped to get the none-male vote in line for last Tuesday’s election. And, importantly, white males in large numbers are annoyed at attacks on women and minority, so the Republican approach could not have helped get the white male vote in line for last Tuesday’s election. Then, we had Romney making everyone wait 2 hours for his concession while Karl Rove bloviating on Fox about how you can never tell who wins, and the apparent fact that the Republicans really thought they were doing well enough to win the White House and the Senate … all this together makes me wonder if there might be something wrong with their brains.
And then, when I was thinking that, I remembered that I forgot to add a particular book to my recent post on resources on Science Denialsm. So, I added it (go have a look) and also, I’m mentioning it here.
Chis Mooney’s The Republican Brain: The Science of Why They Deny Science- and Reality
…uses cutting-edge research to explain the psychology behind why today’s Republicans reject reality—it’s just part of who they are.
From climate change to evolution, the rejection of mainstream science among Republicans is growing, as is the denial of expert consensus on the economy, American history, foreign policy and much more. Why won’t Republicans accept things that most experts agree on? Why are they constantly fighting against the facts?Science writer Chris Mooney explores brain scans, polls, and psychology experiments to explain why conservatives today believe more wrong things; appear more likely than Democrats to oppose new ideas and less likely to change their beliefs in the face of new facts; and sometimes respond to compelling evidence by doubling down on their current beliefs.
Goes beyond the standard claims about ignorance or corporate malfeasance to discover the real, scientific reasons why Republicans reject the widely accepted findings of mainstream science, economics, and history—as well as many undeniable policy facts (e.g., there were no “death panels” in the health care bill). Explains that the political parties reflect personality traits and psychological needs—with Republicans more wedded to certainty, Democrats to novelty—and this is the root of our divide over reality. Written by the author of The Republican War on Science, which was the first and still the most influential book to look at conservative rejection of scientific evidence. But the rejection of science is just the beginning… Certain to spark discussion and debate, The Republican Brain also promises to add to the lengthy list of persuasive scientific findings that Republicans reject and deny.
2012-11-12 18:25:54
Source: http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2012/11/12/explaining-republicans/
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