Date: 02/18/2024
Time: 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Each Sunday morning (except during summer break in July and August), adults are invited to join together at 10am in the downstairs common room to discuss a planned topic. Join us!
Topic this Sunday: “Cognitive Science and Politics (Don’t Think of an Elephant). Sociologist and UUFF member Jeff Nash leads our discussion this week. Representative governments and, in particular democracies (one vote, one person), are founded on assumptions that voters are capable of rational thinking and decision making. These assumptions were created and nurtured during the enlightenment. The twin pillars of truth, so the belief goes, are observation and reason. Recent advances in the interdisciplinary field of cognitive science have taught us that the rational model does not fit well with how the human mind functions. Findings from cognitive science help us understand the conflict between assumptions and reality.
George Lakoff has authored books on the political mind, and he offers suggestions for participating in politics. There are many videos of Lakoff giving lectures on YouTube. Please check them out if you are interested in learning more beforehand!
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