Do Jewish legal processes prevent group-think? That's the claim of two psychologists, Eliezer Schnall, a psychologist at Yeshiva University, and his student, Michael Greenberg, as summarized in the Times: Thinking Cap: Preventing Groupthink - NYTimes.com.
We think that the case in point is fully ironic. Religion relies on many forms of cultural agreements and mechanisms of authority that resemble and encourage all the elements of groupthink. To assert that religious laws discourage it in some settings sets up a stark contradictory contrast that may be correct, or may just be wishful thinking and creative interpretation.
Hat tip to the Shabbat Shalom newsletter of the Rabbinic Alumni of YU.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I welcome your comments.