George Lakoff – Engaging Peace

What you can get from George

Posted on July 16, 2018July 25, 2018 by kathiemm

Symbol of anti-communist, anti-authoritarian, anti-totalitarian resistance. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Author: Nguyen1310

by Kathie MM

Authoritarian governments dislike facts and the promoters of facts—particularly independent journalists and scientists, because independent journalists and scientists are often the promoters of facts and scientific findings that do not feed into the self-serving agendas of the autocrats.

Among the scientists whose psychological insights on authoritarianism we have shared on engaging peace are Roy Eidelson , Anthony Marsella , and George Lakoff , all of whom have grave warnings about threats to democracy and human rights.

Today, for the lovers of peace and justice who are appalled by the authoritarian forces ruling our country today, here is some advice adapted from George Lakoff’s formula for flipping negative attacks by authoritarian power mongers into positive progress for Americans:

Don’t help spread negative messages by re-tweeting them or forwarding them with their own abominable negative language and disinformation intact.
Do focus on the correct information, the alternative messages designed to promote peace and justice.
Do talk to people about what’s happening in the country right now.
Frame your arguments, your recommendations about healing our government, in your own words, focusing on the good things you want to see happen rather than the bad things being promoted by the authoritarians. In addition,
Join the #ProtectTheTruth campaign
Support the independent media.
Fund the political candidates who will take on the authoritarians.
Urge people to vote in November.

Your father taught you WHAT? Part 2.

Posted on October 2, 2016 by kathiemm

A recent post introduced an analysis by cognitive psychologist George Lakoff regarding supporters of Donald Trump. Lakoff stresses the arch conservative’s investment in a “strict father” authoritarian, white male supremacy moral code. Today’s post shares Lakoff’s psychological analysis of “How Trump Uses Your Brain to His Advantage.”

Lakoff’s basic argument is that conscious thinking is a tiny portion of what goes on in the brain, and that indeed an estimated 98 percent of all mental activity is unconscious. (Think of times when you started driving to see a friend on Saturday and all of a sudden realized you had passed your exit and were on your way to work—conscious enough to drive safely but led unconsciously onto the route to work.)

Unconscious thought, Lakoff maintains, is influenced by certain basic mechanisms that Donald Trump and his team manipulate with finesse. These mechanisms include:

Repetition. Words have links in the brain to circuits that give them meaning. Think about what you do when you are learning a new word or name—you repeat it and repeat it and perhaps also repeat its definition or its connection with something familiar. Those repetitions strengthen the neural connections associated with the word and make it easier to activate them. So, when Trump says over and over again that “I am the only one who…”, our brains tend to fill in the rest of the message whether we consciously believe it or not (“…can make America great again.”
Framing. One of the mantras of the Trump campaign is “crooked Hillary,” framing Hillary Clinton as a crook who deliberately perpetrates crimes for her own benefit. Framing her this way evokes a common myth in the minds of conservatives—that is, what is illegal is also immoral according to Strict Father Morality (making, for example, a lot of anti-war and pro-environment activism “immoral”). Thus, at Trump rallies, we increasingly hear “Lock her up, lock her up!”
Well-known examples. Trump repeatedly refers to examples of “Muslim terrorists” widely amplified in the popular media to maintain and exacerbate fears, which unconsciously activates desire for a strong no-nonsense father to fix everything. And they are told exactly who can play this role for them.

Lakoff goes on to describe other forms of mind control used by the Trump campaign. Read them for yourself and decide whether you think he makes his case. And, given what you have learned about Lakoff’s analysis, what kinds of connections do you think human minds, particularly conservative minds, will make when they get swamped with photos and stories concerning the infidelities of former President William Clinton? Do you think the promulgators of those photos and stories are conscious of their effects? How about the recipient of those messages?

Your father taught you WHAT? Part 1.

Posted on September 24, 2016 by kathiemm

By Kathie Malley-Morrison

In its inaugural issues, Engaging Peace introduced the work of cognitive political psychologist, George Lakoff—particularly his work on political conservatism and liberalism. Our presentation of his theory included posts on Why We Fight, Countering the Ubiquitous Argument, A New Way of Thinking, and Values and Rhetoric. Today we begin sharing highlights from Lakoff’s psychological analysis of today’s conservative Republicans, such as the supporters of Presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Bottom line, according to Lakoff, is that conservatives generally grow up in a strict father family system. In his view, “In the strict father family, father knows best. He knows right from wrong and has the ultimate authority to make sure his children and his spouse do what he says, which is taken to be what is right.”

Lakoff goes on to say, “The basic idea is that authority is justified by morality (the strict father version), and that, in a well-ordered world, there should be (and traditionally has been) a moral hierarchy in which those who have traditionally dominated should dominate. The hierarchy is: God above Man, Man above Nature, The Disciplined (Strong) above the Undisciplined (Weak), The Rich above the Poor, Employers above Employees, Adults above Children, Western culture above other cultures, America above other countries. The hierarchy extends to: Men above women, Whites above Nonwhites, Christians above nonChristians, Straights above Gays.”

In regards to renditions of those values in this election year, Lakoff says, “We see these tendencies in most of the Republican presidential candidates, as well as in Trump, and on the whole, conservative policies flow from the strict father worldview and this hierarchy.”

Lakoff also notes that, “Family-based moral worldviews run deep. Since people want to see themselves as doing right not wrong, moral worldviews tend to be part of self-definition — who you most deeply are. And thus your moral worldview defines for you what the world should be like. When it isn’t that way, one can become frustrated and angry.”

What do you think of Lakoff’s views? Do you know any conservative Republicans, personally? If so, do you know anything about their families, their personal histories? To what extent do they seem to support a strict father morality, a father (authority) knows best morality, a WASP-centered morality? Are they frustrated and angry? Are they going to vote this year?

Countering the ubiquitous arguments

Posted on March 20, 2014March 11, 2021 by kathiemm

STOP AND READ THIS IMPORTANT MESSAGE: DO NOT THINK OF AN ELEPHANT. NOT NOW, NOT LATER.

By Sarah Bleicher and Kathie Malley-Morrison

In Don’t Think of An Elephant!,* George Lakoff, a cognitive linguist and professor at U.C. Berkeley, provides an accessible guide to how conservatives think and how progressives can counter those seemingly ubiquitous conservative arguments.

This book is ideal for anybody who wants to promote his or her values effectively. Lakoff is clear, persuasive, and logical, with good suggestions to help progressives communicate in terms anyone can understand—something conservatives are very good at.

One key idea from the field of cognitive linguistics that Lakoff emphasizes is “frames” and their role in politics. Frames are the whole array of knowledge in which any one word is embedded. When you think of an elephant, you are likely to think of large floppy ears, trunks, circuses, etc.

Whenever you use a word, you evoke a frame. One problem for progressives is that even when they try to reject a conservative viewpoint—i.e., negate a frame—they in fact evoke that frame.

How many of you, despite our warnings, thought of an elephant as you began reading this post? One of Lakoff’s basic rules is don’t use the language of the other side. If you want to argue with a war hawk, don’t say, “War protestors are NOT wimps and cowards!” Think of the frames you set in motion. What other words might you use to evoke frames that weaken the opposition’s arguments?

Lakoff argues that “America must become a moral leader using fundamental human values: caring and responsibility carried out with strength to respond to the world’s problems.” In this book, George Lakoff provides guidance for showing respect, responding to arguments by reframing, talking about progressive values, and saying what you believe.

*Review of: Don’t Think Of An Elephant!/ How Democrats And Progressives Can Win: Know Your Values And Frame The Debate: The Essential Guide For Progressives

Sarah Bleicher, an alumna of Boston College, took Psychology of War and Peace with Kathie Malley-Morrison at Boston University