Two items from the current issue of Scientific American caught the Czar’s attention this weekend.

The second is Michael Shermer’s discussion of the conservative mind and the liberal mind. The first is here.

UV psychologist Jonathan Haidt identified five universal aspects to developed human morality: (1) the harming of others is wrong, (2) that there should be equality and justice for all, (3) that loyalty to your group is essential to survival, (4) that tradition, faith, and law are good things, and (5) that balanced, temperate living is a good thing.

In a survey of 23,000 people worldwide, Haidt found that self-defined liberals tend to identify only with the first two; self-defined conservatives score highly in all five areas.

Shermer admits he tends to lean a bit left, but since September 11, he has been thinking along more libertarian lines…and finds support in this study in the rightness of his decision.

The Czar also finds this interesting, but wonders: is it that liberals put more emphasis on the first two items, or is that they do not understand the other three? If the first case, there could be an argument that these five factors should be weighted; if the latter, it gives rise to the Czar’s oft-stated opinion that liberals have a childish view of the world.

So the Czar naturally takes the latter opinion, since it supports his own hypothesis in a bad case of confirmation bias. But if anyone has evidence for the first interpretation, we are listening.

The Czar of Muscovy

Божію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, and was cheated out of total control of all Russia upon the death of Boris Mikhailovich, who replaced Alexander Yaroslav Nevsky in 1263. However, in 1283, our Czar was passed over due to a clerical error and the rule of all Russia went to his second cousin Daniil (Даниил Александрович), whom Czar still resents. As a half-hearted apology, the Czar was awarded control over Muscovy, inconveniently located 5,000 miles away just outside Chicago. He now spends his time seething about this and writing about other stuff that bothers him.