--- title: "4 Divided Quotes By Jonathan Haidt" description: "4 Divided quotes by Jonathan Haidt. Plus more from Jonathan Haidt and more Divided sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c7/jonathan-haidt-1823_animal_almost-everything-we-do-is-automatic-yet_394558.jpg" --- > [Almost everything we do is automatic, yet we're not aware of that. We feel like there's a circle of light. We're like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/almost-everything-we-do-is-automatic-yet-we-re-not-aware-of-that-we/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c7/jonathan-haidt-1823_animal_almost-everything-we-do-is-automatic-yet_394558.jpg) > [To understand most important ideas in psychology, you need to understand how the mind is divided into parts that sometimes conflict. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/to-understand-most-important-ideas-in-psychology-you-need-to/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cf/jonathan-haidt-1823_assuming_to-understand-most-important-ideas-in-ps_787985.jpg) > [The mind is divided, like a rider on an elephant, and the rider’s job is to serve the elephant. The rider is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/the-mind-is-divided-like-a-rider-on-an-elephant-and-the-rider-s-job/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a4/jonathan-haidt-1823_awareness_the-mind-is-divided-like-a-rider-on-an-e_1322948.jpg) > [The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/the-righteous-mind-why-good-people-are-divided-by-politics-and/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9d/jonathan-haidt-1823_divided_the-righteous-mind-why-good-people-are-d_1330978.jpg) ## Other authors on Divided ## More by Jonathan Haidt > [Love and work are to people what water and sunshine are to plants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/love-and-work-are-to-people-what-water-and-sunshine-are-to-plants/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [You can see the rider serving the elephant when people are morally dumbfounded. They have strong gut feelings about what is right and wrong,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/you-can-see-the-rider-serving-the-elephant-when-people-are-morally/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [Congress is full of good, decent, smart people who have devoted their lives to public service.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/congress-is-full-of-good-decent-smart-people-who-have-devoted-their/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [Once you understand the power of stimulus control, you can use it to your advantage by changing the stimuli in your environment and avoiding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/once-you-understand-the-power-of-stimulus-control-you-can-use-it-to/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [“The ethic of autonomy is based on the idea that people are, first and foremost, autonomous individuals with wants, needs, and preferences. People should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/the-ethic-of-autonomy-is-based-on-the-idea-that-people-are-first-and/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [I got interested in the American culture war back in 2004, and it's one of the only growth stocks I've ever invested in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/i-got-interested-in-the-american-culture-war-back-in-2004-and-it-s/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [I think of myself as a social scientist. In order to get hired and to get promoted, we're forced to declare a disciplinary and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/i-think-of-myself-as-a-social-scientist-in-order-to-get-hired-and-to/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [“We should not expect individuals to produce good, open-minded, truth-seeking reasoning, particularly when self-interest or reputational concerns are in play. But if you put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/we-should-not-expect-individuals-to-produce-good-open-minded-truth/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [The most powerful force ever known on this planet is human cooperation - a force for construction and destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/the-most-powerful-force-ever-known-on-this-planet-is-human/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [It only takes twenty generations of selective breeding to create large differences or appearance and behavior in other mammals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/it-only-takes-twenty-generations-of-selective-breeding-to-create/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [If you think half of America votes badly because they are stupid or religious, you are trapped in a matrix ... Take the red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/if-you-think-half-of-america-votes-badly-because-they-are-stupid-or/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [“Our minds have the potential to become righteous about many different concerns, and only a few of these concerns are activated during childhood. Other”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/our-minds-have-the-potential-to-become-righteous-about-many-different/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [People who devote their lives to studying something often come to believe that the object of their fascination is the key to understanding everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/people-who-devote-their-lives-to-studying-something-often-come-to/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [“Nonetheless, if you are trying to change an organization or a society and you do not consider the effects of your changes on moral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/nonetheless-if-you-are-trying-to-change-an-organization-or-a-society/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [If you have a personality predisposed to liberalism, you might gravitate more to the artsy crowd or the anti-establishment crowd. And then those peers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/if-you-have-a-personality-predisposed-to-liberalism-you-might/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divided/jonathan-haidt/#itemlist", "name": "4 Divided Quotes By Jonathan Haidt", "numberOfItems": 4, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Almost everything we do is automatic, yet we're not aware of that. We feel like there's a circle of light. We're like the drunk who lost his keys and is looking under the streetlight, and the cop says, \"Where'd you lose your keys?\" You say, \"Back in the alley, but the light's so much better over here.\" The divided self refers to the fact that we are basically animals with animal brains. These animal brains run our lives. 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