Immorality Is Impossible

Immorality Is Impossible

Top of Mind with Julie Rose - Radio Archive, Episode 554 , Segment 5

Episode: Airline Customers, Why We Blame, Reviving Extinct Species

  • May 16, 2017 11:00 pm
  • 17:36 mins

Guest: Jonathan Phillips, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow in Psychology, Harvard Abraham Lincoln famously urged a divided nation to unite and listen to the “better angels of our nature.” There’s evidence out of Harvard that one naturally does listen to those angels. When faced with a split-second decision, the bad choice isn’t even considered as a possibility. It’s only after further consideration that the not-so-angelic side will lean toward stealing the candy bar or running the red light or sneaking onto the bus without paying the fare.

Other Segments

Why We Blame Abuse Victims

18 MINS

Guest: Jason Whiting, PhD, Professor of Marriage and Family Therapy, Texas Tech University It might be uncomfortable to admit, but when we hear a news story about someone who was attacked, we might notice ourselves scanning the details to see how the victim was different from us. If we find that they were in a location where we never go, out alone after dark, drinking or doing drugs, we tend to feel safer, like it’s something that could never happen to us—but what we’re really doing is blaming the victim. Therapist Jason Whiting says that even though we do it as a way of protecting ourselves, that’s not to say we should be doing it. Understanding that it happens is important to changing how we think about abuse and violence.

Guest: Jason Whiting, PhD, Professor of Marriage and Family Therapy, Texas Tech University It might be uncomfortable to admit, but when we hear a news story about someone who was attacked, we might notice ourselves scanning the details to see how the victim was different from us. If we find that they were in a location where we never go, out alone after dark, drinking or doing drugs, we tend to feel safer, like it’s something that could never happen to us—but what we’re really doing is blaming the victim. Therapist Jason Whiting says that even though we do it as a way of protecting ourselves, that’s not to say we should be doing it. Understanding that it happens is important to changing how we think about abuse and violence.