Leor Zmigrod's new book, "The Ideological Brain: The Radical Science of Flexible Thinking," explores how political beliefs are rooted in neurobiology. The author challenges traditional perceptions that view ideologies as distant or abstract entities. Instead, Zmigrod argues that ideologies manifest within individuals, shaping their thoughts and behaviors through prescribed mental frameworks. The book examines how various ideologies, regardless of their intentions, can lead to strict behavioral norms and strong group identities. It presents a nuanced understanding of ideology as both a personal and societal phenomenon, deeply intertwined with human cognition.
"Ideologies coexist among us, within us, on earth. There is no transcendent plane on which they live; no altitudes from which attitudes descend fully formed and holy."
"Even when ideologies are guided by the sincerest intentions and noblest ideals, they offer absolute and utopian answers to societal troubles, creating an ingroup mentality."
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