Dr. Jonathan Haidt is a distinguished social psychologist whose groundbreaking work has transformed our understanding of morality and its relationship to politics and culture. He currently serves as the Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership at New York University's Stern School of Business, a position he has held since 2011 after sixteen years as a professor at the University of Virginia where he received multiple teaching awards including a statewide honor from the Governor of Virginia. Dr. Haidt earned his BA in philosophy from Yale University in 1985 and his PhD in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992, with postdoctoral training in cultural psychology at the University of Chicago under renowned anthropologist Richard Shweder who he credits as his most influential teacher. His early Fulbright-funded research in India on moral complexity laid the foundation for his innovative approach to understanding how morality varies across cultural contexts.
Dr. Haidt's pioneering research on the intuitive foundations of morality has profoundly reshaped the field of moral psychology, particularly through his development of Moral Foundations Theory which explains how moral judgments differ across political ideologies. His New York Times bestseller The Righteous Mind (2012) has become a seminal work that elucidates why good people are divided by politics and religion, with concepts that have been viewed more than 3 million times in his associated TED talks and online content. His extensive academic output includes over 100 scholarly articles cited nearly 100,000 times, demonstrating the extraordinary reach and influence of his work across multiple disciplines including psychology, political science, and business ethics. Dr. Haidt's ability to bridge theoretical psychology with practical applications has made his research instrumental in understanding contemporary political polarization and cultural conflicts.
Beyond his scholarly contributions, Dr. Haidt has emerged as a leading voice in efforts to improve campus discourse and mental health, co-founding Heterodox Academy to promote viewpoint diversity in academia and co-authoring The Coddling of the American Mind (2018), another New York Times bestseller that examines how overprotection is harming a generation. His work with Ethical Systems, a nonprofit dedicated to making academic research on ethics accessible to businesses, demonstrates his commitment to translating psychological insights into practical organizational improvements. As an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2019) and recipient of Prospect magazine's recognition as one of the world's Top 50 Thinkers, Dr. Haidt continues to expand his research into social media's impact on teen mental health and political dysfunction. His current work aims to develop practical solutions for fostering healthier online discourse and strengthening democratic institutions through a deeper understanding of our moral psychology.
