In search of the moral-psychological and neuroevolutionary basis of political partisanship

Abstract

In many countries, a radical political divide brings several socially relevant decisions to a standstill. Could cognitive, affective and social (CAS) neuroscience help better understand these questions? The present article reviews the moral-psychological and neuroevolutionary basis of the political partisanship divide. A non-systematic literature review and a conceptual analysis were conducted. Three main points are identified and discussed:1) Political partisan behavior rests upon deep moral emotions. It is automatically processed and impervious to contradiction. The moral motifs characterizing political partisanship are epigenetically set across different cultures;2) partisanship is linked to personality traits, whose neural foundations are associated with moral feelings and judgement;3) Self-deception is a major characteristic of political partisanship that probably evolved as an evolutionary adaptive strategy to deal with the intragroup-extragroup dynamics of human evolution. CAS neuroscience evidence may not resolve the political divide, but can contribute to a better understanding of its biological foundations.

Neuropolitics: Twenty years later

“…A number of researchers have investigated evolutionary roots of political behavior. 77,78 And while no one academic society devoted solely to neuropolitics has emerged, this work can far more easily find outlets in a variety of professional associations, divisions, interest groups, and scholarly journals that cater to work at the intersection of biology and politics more broadly. 79 Thus, while few political scientists would believe that their field is really a subdiscipline within biology, 80 many are far more open to the potential value for understanding biology and the brain in the context of politics than was previously the case.…”