Events

October 16, 2025 Meeting

In the wake of the Charlie Kirk assassination, our September discussion of the Moral Circles Heatmap was preempted in favor of a discussion about political violence, and how those dedicated to depolarization can help counter the escalating rhetoric that has come in its wake. We plan to cover this topic in October now.

This month's topic is "Ideological Differences in the Expanse of the Moral Circle." This is the subject of a study published in 2019 in the journal Nature that has been referenced in many online debates and meme wars. The Department of Homeland Security has even tweeted this image as justification for its immigration policies.

For those who get their news from more traditional sources, this topic is a great opportunity to see the type of political content that is becoming increasingly influential online. These videos come from deep within the annals of meme war meta-analysis on YouTube.

Please take some time to watch some of these videos or read the referenced articles prior to the meeting, so we can have a more informed conversation at the meeting.

This heatmap image has been used extensively on social media to paint liberals as "caring more about rocks and trees" than they care about their family and community. Liberals react by saying conservatives lack empathy for those outside of their communities. A more in-depth look at the study's data shows that both of these one-sided interpretations are incorrect.

First, check out this "Know Your Meme" article on the subject (or this one) to see how various social media posts have taken the survey's results, often out of context, and used them to promote a polarized, us-versus-them view of our differences.

Below are a short videos from the Daily Caller and Conservative Direct that present the conservative take on the subject that is fairly representative of how it has been used in online debates.

This article from Big Think also does a great job of separating what the study actually shows from the way it is used on social media. Here's another one from Patheos. When searching for this topic on YouTube, most of the content is from conservative creators, so these articles probably best represent the liberal perspective.

This next video offers a more nuanced look at what the study actually shows about differences in our moral allocations. Caution: this video is extremely online!

Jonathan Haidt, one of the study's co-authors, is one of the leading experts on the differences between liberals and conservatives when it comes to moral consideration. His book The Righteous Mind is one of the most often cited works on the subject, and a recommended read for anyone that wants to understand the psychology behind our political differences. In this TED talk he gives a brief overview of his Moral Foundations Theory and how liberals and conservatives consider them.

You can also go to YourMorals.org to take a short quiz that will show how you prioritize your moral foundations.

There is also a video from Stand Together, another great organization that shares Braver Angels' values. It focuses on differences in how we perceive moral harm, in terms of whose rights and livelihood we believe is most in need of defending.

While these aren't directly related to the Moral Circles, we can use them to broaden our conversation about the differences in our moral considerations, and how we can see these as complementary perspectives instead of a matter of right or wrong.

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