The study of science leads to left-leaning beliefs

[mainer]

Consistent with the first study, the researchers found that “for those with significant exposure to their discipline (i.e., upperclassmen), studying science is associated with more liberal political attitudes.” Furthermore, they found this was due to a lower level of support for the my-group-deserves-to-dominate positions outlined above.

Additional studies featuring Canadian students and a community sample from the Boston area came to the same conclusions.

“Relative to those studying non-sciences, students in the sciences exhibited greater political liberalism across a variety of domains (including foreign policy, health care, and the economy) and a variety of social issues (gay marriage, affirmative action), as well as in general self-reported liberalism,” Ma-Kellams and her colleagues write.

This, they conclude, is the result of “science’s emphasis on rationality, impartiality, fairness, progress, and the idea that we are to use these rational tools for the mutual benefit of all people in society.”

http://www.psmag.com/navigation/politics-and-law/study-science-promotes-leftward-leanings-93350/

[True Earthling]

1. Of course it does...

Science trumps religion, superstition, prejudice, homophobia, racism, irrational fears, conspiracy theories etc..

[Historic NY]

5. +1

it also means one questions more and wants clear facts something the other side tends to discount.

[Scuba]

34. + another

[littlemissmartypants]

2. I love science. nt

[gcomeau]

3. Tomorrow's breaking news...

"GOP introduces bill to eliminate all science education funding in the United States, citing dangerous side effects..."

[salib]

6. ALready a basic reality in Texas

[zipplewrath]

4. Reality has a liberal bias

I heard that some where.

[salib]

7. My personal experience is that this is NOT true in Physics

[Jackpine Radical]

15. I wonder if that effect persists into grad school.

Physics has such a large base of "established truths" that you just about have to get into graduate studies before you start seeing the cracks in the model.

[salib]

18. One does not even study 20th (let alone 21st) Century physics, at least to any import degree,

Until grad school. Undergraduate physics does not create a physicist.

That said, my experience is that especially in grad school and then later as post docs and beyond, physicists can be a rather conservative (both socially and economically). There is also a large contingent of Libertarians there, who talk a good talk about being socially liberal, but definitely like the Ayn Rand selfishness.

[knightmaar]

8. Sadly, my understanding is that this does not generally apply to engineers

We can come out just as bigoted and fundamentalist as we went in, apparently. Not enough of that "analysis" stuff going on, I suppose.

[Nitram]

10. Engineers are technicians, not scientists.

[mainer]

12. Or so Dr. Sheldon Cooper would say!

Poor Howard Wolowitz will never get the respect of the Sheldons of the world.

[Nitram]

41. Engineers use science, they don't practice science.

It's a huge difference.

[mainer]

11. Yes, I think it's odd how engineers seem to be different

Maybe it's because their work is applied science and not theoretical, so they're not tasked with the job of coming up with all possible explanations for a question?

I suspect that the most liberal scientists would be biologists and those whose work has to do with theoretical science.

[knightmaar]

30. That's always been my take

Someone hands you a solution that already works? You use it as part of a bigger solution. You don't go and analyze it.

Yes, there are engineers who take things apart to see how they work, but that's not all of us.

[Orrex]

36. Terry Pratchett explored this in Reaper Man, as a matter of fact

Swap physicists & engineers for wizards & priests, and you'll see it plain as day.

[Jackpine Radical]

16. One of the most influential bigots in academia was William Shockley,

who got the Nobel Prize for the transistor. His most infamous comment--"People come color-coded for intelligence."

[daleanime]

24. ........

[Dont call me Shirley]

23. Same with chemists, they're too busy trying to figure out how to cheat nature.

[Avalux]

9. Critical thinking. It's a dying skill.

Science requires a mind that's willing to engage in asking questions and exploring possibilities; and being flexible if challenged with something that answers the question better than originally thought.

What's the difference between a scientist and a creationist?

The scientist will be the first to admit error (and be happy about it) if a better solution is presented than the currently accepted solution. The creationist will never admit error, no matter the solution presented.

[LiberalLovinLug]

27. Good post

"The scientist will be the first to admit error (and be happy about it) if a better solution is presented than the currently accepted solution. The creationist will never admit error, no matter the solution presented."

Right on!

[ZombieHorde]

13. Are left-leaning folks more likely to study science,

or does the study of science make people lean to the left, or is there something else going on here?

[Dont call me Shirley]

29. Perhaps it is a result of people who were born with a naturally flexible and curious mind.

[The2ndWheel]

14. Do the results of the study matter then?

Or perhaps once you have been trained to step back and look at things objectively, it’s hard to hold onto the notion that your group is intrinsically special and better than the rest.

If this is a possible conclusion, then people who study science and become/are liberals shouldn't feel that they're better than anti-science conservatives, or that being a pro-science liberal is good in and of itself.

Or, in the bigger picture, that human beings should be the self appointed stewards of the planet. Unless our brains make us special, and therefore better than just simply the animal that we are.

[daleanime]

26. Better, no.....

But willing to improve, yes.

[ncjustice80]

35. So you are saying liberals are no better tjan conservatives???

That makes no sense. Liberalism is the morally superior state.

Every conserbative i know is either a complete asshole or well meaning bit terribly misguided.

[ZombieHorde]

37. Objectively speaking, liberals aren't any better than conservatives.

There is no objective reason to hold one atom, or any group of atoms, in higher esteem than any other.

[ncjustice80]

38. Welp I guess there is no point in voting since they re all the same.

[rexcat]

40. That is not really what ZombieHord...

was saying. You totally missed his point! It would appear you need to improve your ability to digest more complex ideas and respond more reasonably.

[ZombieHorde]

48. Different people have different values, but everyone has the same value.

I am not saying we all think alike. I am saying we all have the same worth.

[rexcat]

39. I think you are confusing...

opinion vs. fact. Your statements are your opinion for which I would think most here would agree but what you said is not fact. Conservatives think the same of us. Who is correct is a matter of opinion, not fact.

[ncjustice80]

42. Moral relativism at its finest.

You know what people say when they know they are wrong but cant win an argument? "Well, thats your opinion."

We cant allow this type of uncertainty to fester. We are better- morally, enviromentally, and economically, than conservatives. We need to stay on that message. We need to rekind people its a scientific FACT that we re smarter, less racist, less jingoistic, than conservatives. We need to pound conservatives and call them out for what they are- 21st xentury nazis. American taliban.

Softball doesnt win elections.

[rexcat]

47. The likelyhood of you changing anyone's opinion...

is near zero. From your second paragraph you come across as an arrogant person. Your attitude will not win you over to those who are on the opposite side of the fence or who are straddling the fence. The problem with political discourse in this country is people like you. The "get in their face" attitude does nothing but alienate people. I live in a very conservative area of Ohio and have been on the end of much verbal abuse from the "other" side. When someone gets nasty with me I in turn will dish it out but if someone has a reasonable demeanor I will follow suit for I take a tit-for-tat philosophy towards others.

Morality is relative, there are no absolutes. In the sciences absolutes, for the most part, are not looked upon with favor. I still hold my opinion that you don't know the difference between facts and opinions. It has to do with semantics and it appears you lack the intellectual acuity to tell the difference.

By the way, if you were the one who alerted on ZombieHord's post the jury voted 6-1 not to hide. That says a lot.

[The2ndWheel]

43. I'm just going by what was written in that article

Or perhaps once you have been trained to step back and look at things objectively, it’s hard to hold onto the notion that your group is intrinsically special and better than the rest.

That's the last sentence of it. If it's hard to hold onto the notion that your group is intrinsically special or better than the rest after studying science, then liberalism can't be superior to conservatism.

The last sentence of that article is morally relative. Maybe it is hard to hold onto that notion after being trained, or maybe it's not. Depends on the person. Depends on the environment the person finds themselves in. Depends on the person's particular perspective. You think liberalism is morally superior, and I'm guessing that you would think regardless of any study, because it's dealing with morality, which is personal.

If there was a like a book, or set of rules that were undeniably objective, that everyone had to follow, that would make things much easier. No such guide exists though.

[ncjustice80]

49. If you think the party of racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, and fascism is no diffent than our

Party, I dont know what else to tell you.

[Ykcutnek]

17. Facts have a liberal bias. nt

[ProfessorGAC]

19. That Certainly Did It For Me

I was never a conservative because i grew up during Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon (by the time he resigned i was 18). It was easy to see, even at 12 or 13 who was the better deal.

But, the longer i was in college, especially grad school, the more anti-conservative i became.

I suppose anti-conservative and liberal aren't technical synonyms, but i think you know what i mean. The more unattractive that position became, the more attractive alternative did the opposite.

[jtuck004]

20. With any luck. n/t

[ErikJ]

21. No talking snakes for us!

I noticed this too. I became somewhat more liberal after my bio degree compared to before. And much less superstitious or belief in "voodoo" science or whatever its called.

[Dont call me Shirley]

22. Common sense is, once again, validated by science!

[onecaliberal]

25. STEM... We need more, and we need it now.

Science Rocks!!

[hifiguy]

28. Not a surprise but a good thing to see reinforced

by legitimate scientific inquiry. Liberals are generally - but not always, see the anti-vaxxer nuts - evidence/fact based sorts.

[rock]

31. As reported in the journal "Duh!"

[colsohlibgal]

32. No Surprise

I look at people like Sarah Palin and Gohmert and think that tons of people actually vote for dummies like that. I do not believe he really won either time but over 40 million people voted for Poppy Bush's most dense airhead son. There is no question his dad pulled strings to get him out of Vietnam and into a cushy National Guard gig and yet somehow that got lost in the Rather brouhaha.

All the Chickenhawks who got so many killed and maimed in Iraq did all they could to avoid themselves going to war, deferment city. And yet people got manipulated to see them as patriotic.

Actually thinking things through seems to be in short supply on the right and sadly in too much of the middle. Trying to reason with them is futile. I tried like crazy with my ex hairdresser but you just can't bring most of them back to reality.

[maced666]

33. Tom Jacobs has other similar theme stuff - like liberals use less electricity

Liberal Bloggers Are More Likely to Acknowledge Other Points of View
http://www.psmag.com/navigation/politics-and-law/liberal-bloggers-likely-acknowledge-points-view-81982/

Liberal Homeowners Use Less Electricity
http://www.psmag.com/blogs/news-blog/liberal-homeowners-use-less-electricity-53703/

Tea Party driven by racial resentment
http://www.psmag.com/navigation/politics-and-law/racial-resentment-drives-tea-party-membership-93419/

[One_Life_To_Give]

44. The more you learn the less certain things become

IMO as you learn more about the world around us. All the simple rules turn out to be assumptions/approximations only true under special circumstances etc. Learning how much more complex everything is than what appears on the surface. That causes a fundamental change in how the world is viewed. Dropping an object goes from it falls to a fluid dynamics problem. It opens the mind to all the subtle changes that can then grossly change the perceived outcome.

IMO Learning to function in a world that is not a simple Yes/No, Black/White but infinitely variable and interdependent leads one to a place that conservative values seem rooted in overly simplistic illusions.

[The2ndWheel]

45. Is that a little black/white thinking there?

IMO Learning to function in a world that is not a simple Yes/No, Black/White but infinitely variable and interdependent leads one to a place that conservative values seem rooted in overly simplistic illusions.

Is thinking that conservative values are overly simplistic illusions an overly simplistic illusion? Can the answer to that question be a simple yes or a no?

If we all got caught up in the vagueness of reality, we'd never get anything done. Or maybe we would.

[One_Life_To_Give]

46. Perhaps

I was thinking about gender as I typed that. The conservative argument that there are males/females and nothing else. As opposed to a complex process where timing and intensity of hormones ad infinitem gives a more Liberal perspective of a gender spectrum.

I would argue that in the general case simplicity is an illusion. Is that illusion principally liberal or conservative? There are certainly some idea's on both sides that fit.

[mainer]

50. And GOP candidates keep saying "I'm not a scientist"

As if they're proud of that.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/31/us/why-republicans-keep-telling-everyone-theyre-not-scientists.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=second-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news