Why Are We More Divided Than Ever? - Michael Morris - #874

**Chris Williamson** (0:00)
Hello, friends, welcome back to the show. My guest today is Michael Morris. He's a professor of cultural psychology at Columbia University and an author. Why are humans so tribal? Despite our capacity for empathy and inclusion, why do we always gravitate toward groups of similar individuals? And is there such a thing as good tribalism? Expect to learn why tribalism exists and how it evolved in humans, why we can hate people outside of our group, and why we become hostile so quickly if the modern world has worsened tribal instincts, whether tribalism is actually a good thing for our society, why so many people identify as not the opposition instead of as for their own group, and much more. Given that tribalism and polarization, two of the most used words in all of 2024, feels like a timely opportunity to have this conversation, and there is an awful lot to take away from this one. Sleep isn't just about how long you rest, but how well your body stays in its optimal temperature range throughout the night, and this is where 8Sleep comes in. Just add their brand new Pod 4 Ultra to your mattress, like a fitted sheet, and it will automatically cool down or warm up each side of your bed up to 20 degrees. It's got integrated sensors that track your sleep time, your sleep phases, your HRV, your snoring, and your heart rate with 99% accuracy. It'll even start cooling or heating your bed for you an hour before you get into it. That's why 8Sleep has been clinically proven to increase total sleep by up to one hour every night. Best of all, they have a 30 night sleep trial. So you can buy it and sleep on it for 29 days. If you don't like it, they'll give you your money back. Plus they ship internationally. 8Sleep is offering their biggest discount of the year. Right now you can get up to $600 off the Pod 4 Ultra by going to the link in the description below or heading to 8sleep.com/modernwisdom and using the code Modern Wisdom at checkout. That's E-I-G-H-T sleep.com/modernwisdom and Modern Wisdom at checkout. This episode is brought to you by Manscaped. If you're still using an old face shaver from three Christmases ago, please join us in the modern world. Manscaped brand new Chairman Pro brings a professional shave directly to your home. It comes with two interchangeable skin safe blade heads, whether you want to go completely clean or leave some stubble. Plus both heads are designed to help reduce razor burn and irritation so your skin feels smooth and comfortable after every shave. Best of all, it can run for up to 75 minutes on a single charge and it's waterproof so you can use it in the shower or if you've got a particularly hairy face. Right now you can get 20% off and free shipping worldwide by going to the link in the description below or heading to manscaped.com/modernwisdom and using the code ModernWisdom20 at checkout. That's manscaped.com/modernwisdom and ModernWisdom20 at checkout. This episode is brought to you by AG1. Over the span of about a year, I tried pretty much every green string that I could find, trying to work out which one was best and I came across AG1, which I've stuck with for over three years because it's the best, it's the most comprehensive, it's the most highly tested and rigorously formulated. They genuinely care about holistic health and that is why I've got my mom and my dad to start taking it and my friends as well. And if I found something better, I would switch, but I haven't, which is why I still use it. If you're on the fence, you're not sure how it's going to taste or if it's going to work for you, there is a 90 day money back guarantee so you can buy it and use it every single day for three months and if you do not like it, they will give you your money back. So if you want to replace your multivitamin and more risk-free, start with AG1. Right now, you can get a year's free supply of vitamin D3 and K2, five free AG1 travel packs plus that 90 day money back guarantee by going to drinkag1.com/modernwisdom. That's drinkag1.com/modernwisdom. But now, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Michael Morris.
Why does tribalism exist? Why did it evolve?

**Michael Morris** (4:25)
Well, tribalism is what got us out of the Stone Age. It's what led to our human-specific form of social life, which is different from the social life of other social species, including our cousins, the chimpanzees.
They live in minimally collaborative troops that can never get larger than about 50 individuals, or they turn into a bloodbath. And we evolved some social quirks that enable us to live in culture-sharing groups. And these culture-sharing groups allow for a level of collaboration and common fate and common concern that is not present in any other social species. And so, tribes are large groups united by shared culture. And our tribal instincts were adaptations or mutations that changed our psychology slightly to enable us to live in this kind of group. And it just turned out to be the ultimate killer app of evolution, because once we were in these culture-sharing groups, it snowballed. You know, the cultures started getting more complex and more adapted to the local ecology with each generation. And then humans, without becoming any brainier, were more capable of surviving and thriving because they could tap into these better cultures each generation. And they just left all the other species in their dust. You know, so that's the basic story about tribalism. And we're stuck with it because it's in our wiring. You know, it doesn't always lead us to do the right thing, but I still believe that it's mostly adaptive, that our tribal instincts enable us to do most of the things that we are proud of and that we benefit from. We notice it more when it leads us to do things that are dysfunctional. And certainly there are examples of that in the world today.