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Title: The Tribal Mind: Moral Reasoning and Public Discourse Author: Arnold Kling Date Published: April 26, 2012 Why Relevant and Summary: As soon as I saw this article I thought it was great. In a very interesting way it explain what moral reasoning is and how it is developed, influenced upon and used in today's complicated world. It taps on issues that we are faced with daily, especially coming after a presidential election where the "morals" of each side where being discussed and with a fierce public discourse. This essay also discusses some great books written about the topic and the author does a great job at explaining how our own personal moral values and beliefs are used to justify our behavior and manipulate others; and also how these moral decisions are very often based on instinct and rapid judgment rather than rational thought. The author maintains the position that even though we have come along as a society we still behave sometimes in tribal manner, and that goes not only for how we conduct business or personal relationships but also how this great country of ours is run. How This Influenced My Thinking: As a young person, and as a mother of two young boys, I took in all the information that I got from this article; I think I am going to read it again and also read the books that were used to support some of the thinking behind it. I believe that when someone truly understand where someone else is coming from it will be easier to comprehend their thinking and the commitment that they have to their moral compass. Also interesting to find out was how often rushed moral judgment occurs in our society, and how that directly impact all of us. It was a great article with a great deal of food for thought. Credibility of Source: It was published on "The American" an online magazine of the American Enterprise Institute and its author is a member of the Financial Markets Working Group at the Mercatus Center of George Mason University