Chris Mooney (1) (1977–)
Auteur van The Republican War on Science
Voor andere auteurs genaamd Chris Mooney, zie de verduidelijkingspagina.
Over de Auteur
Chris Mooney lives in Boston, where he is at work on his second novel. (Bowker Author Biography)
Fotografie: By sarahfelicity.
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Algemene kennis
- Pseudoniemen en naamsvarianten
- Mooney, Christopher Cole
- Geboortedatum
- 1977-09-20
- Geslacht
- male
- Nationaliteit
- USA
- Geboorteplaats
- Mesa, Arizona, USA
- Opleiding
- Yale University
- Beroepen
- journalist
- Organisaties
- Seed magazine
Washington Post - Korte biografie
- Chris C. Mooney is a journalist who specializes in energy and climate change. In 2020, he won a Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting.
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- Werken
- 6
- Ook door
- 3
- Leden
- 1,207
- Populariteit
- #21,277
- Waardering
- 3.6
- Besprekingen
- 25
- ISBNs
- 147
- Talen
- 10
- Favoriet
- 2
The book offers a different way of looking at people on the right and on the left. Through various studies of how the mind works and psychological studies, Mooney tries to demonstrate that underlying personal traits are often keys to one's political outlook.
Mooney characterizes those more authoritarian as tending to the right, and those being more egalitarian as tending to the left. That alone may not be much of a revelation, but other personality traits also are keys to understanding political leanings. Mooney characterizes those who have a low tolerance of uncertainty, who have more need for closure, for rules, for strong sense of group and belonging, as the type of person who will favor conservative / Republican philosophy. Those individual, he states, are much more resistant to change, desire to manage uncertainty and fear, and can accept or rationalize inequality. The need for something stable, something unchanging to believe in, who like order in their lives (e.g., military and corporate America), will favor conservative ways of thinking. A strong sense of belonging to a group, of order, accounts for a much more unified philosophy by Conservatives. As an example, he contrasts the orderly and consistent dogma of the Tea Party as contrasted to a political opposite movement such as the Occupy Wall Street movement. Other positive characteristics Mooney finds more dominant in conservatives include decisiveness, patriotism, loyalty to friends and allies. On the other hand, they may have more of a tendency toward "group think", and be much quicker to dismiss scientific information which contrasts with their deeply held beliefs. He supports this, of course, with a variety of studies which he shares with the readers.
On the other hand, the more "open" a person is, the more willing to bend or compromise, someone who sees shades of gray in things, who is tolerant of various perspectives and values, will be someone who will drift toward Democratic philosophy. Liberals as a group tend to be more nuanced, more empathetic, open to travel and new ideas, etc. This makes them more likely the agents of change (and accepting and interested in new science), vs. the conservative trait of holding onto existing ideas and ways of life (and more dismissive of new science).
Family members often can have very different make-up, personalities, intuitions and responses, and those traits can often account for differences in political philosophy. But while Mooney states that these two groups exhibit complimentary strengths and weaknesses, and they're simply two different types of people, he clearly does favor the type of person most like himself, i.e., a liberal, open to science type of individual. Interestingly, he concludes by stating that he believes he's correct in his conclusions, but is open to change if further studies demonstrate otherwise.
One good point which he makes is he discussion of confirmation bias in our reading and sources of information, as well as other tendencies which can make us more like our group. If you're unwilling to challenge yourself, and seek contrary information in your beliefs (things he feels the more "open" type of person will do but a more "conservative" may not tend to do), you'll only become more close minded and set in your ways.
At any rate, Mooney offers new ways of looking at differences between those on the right and the left, and has a wealth of data and studies which he offers to make his point(s). It's a little different look at things, and he points out that it's not necessarily the facts of an argument which sways people to one belief system or the other, but more just part of their make-up, and facts can simply just get in the way (for some).
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