Ode to a world-saving idea
Robert Wright,
Nonzero Newsletter,
Jul 13, 2021
The 'fundamental attribution error', as psychologist Lee Ross called it, is this: "when we're explaining the behavior of other people, we tend to put too much emphasis on 'disposition'—on their character, their personality, their essential nature. And we tend to put too little emphasis on 'situation'—on the circumstances they find themselves in." We certainly see a lot of evidence of this in discussions about education and development. More, "Every day lots of important players—politicians, social media potentates, think tank experts, journalists—reinforce and even intensify attribution error." But it's not sufficient to simply depict them as malintentioned propagandists - we need to take that additional step and attempt to understand from their perspective why they are doing the things they are doing. Image: APS.
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