Twenty-eighth International Conference on Learning

Abstract

Neurobiologist, Robert Sapolsky, presents his findings that human brain perceives the “Us/Them” dichotomy with an astounding speed. According to brain research, it takes a fifty-millisecond exposure to the face of someone of another race to activate the amygdala, while there is no activation of the amygdala to faces of the same race as the viewer. Similar amygdala activation is observed when subjects are exposed to faces of people of different genders, social status groups, and even different religious affiliations. This automatic response of the brain results in implicit biases, prejudice, and aggression against a “them,” and a greater cooperation and trust towards “us.” This pattern persists within the religious context in spite of the Christian ideal of universal love which includes the love of one’s neighbor and of one’s enemy. What is the remedy for this polarizing mechanism within our brain? Sapolsky recommends distrust of essentialism, and perspective taking. However, he overlooks the mounting research data that mindfulness and compassion meditations decrease implicit bias against a “them.” Studies show that various forms of meditations affect the amygdala region of the brain in a way that can counteract the automatic prejudicial responses. This is particularly important since the meditative strategies of combating bias, prejudice, and aggression are low cost and available both as secular as well as spiritual practices within the major world religions. I argue that tapping in those readily available mind-body practices will offer another important strategy to reducing all forms of polarization, bias and aggression towards a “them.”