Steven Pinker is a cognitive scientist at Harvard, and on Thursday he shared a very hot take via the Washington Post. Republicans are evangelicals, right? And evangelicals believe in an afterlife. And because they believe in an afterlife, they deliberately do things that will shorten their lives, like partially reopening some parts of the country that aren’t COVID-19 hotspots.
Belief in an afterlife is a malignant delusion, since it devalues actual lives and discourages action that would make them longer, safer, and happier. Exhibit A: What’s really behind Republicans wanting a swift reopening? Evangelicals. https://t.co/ppo2bwiVGn
— Steven Pinker (@sapinker) May 21, 2020