I have noticed many people have "filters" for information that convince them that people who disagree with them are stupid or evil. I very consciously set about to keep reexamining my premises and conclusions by reading as widely and diversely (is that a word?) as I can, and sometimes it does change an opinion of mine. But apparently that's not very common.
Here is an article that discusses some research about what happens when people (especially well-educated people) take partisan positions:
Quote:
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According to the research of Drew Western, political partisans -- and especially the smart, well-informed ones -- not only feel better when their brains downplay contradictory political information, they actually get a little emotional "high" when the brain (unconsciously) rejects evidence that contradicts their deeply held political beliefs. In a series of brain scans of political partisans asked to consider contradictory statements by the politicians they supported, Western found that the brain reverted to the comfort zone of its long-held biases -- and doing so actually made people feel good.
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So a lot of the discussion here consists of attempts to get people to fight their neurotransmitters. Maybe some self-awareness can get people to calm down?