This episode delves into the psychological reasons why intelligent people so often fail to agree, attributing the phenomenon to the cognitive model of the rider and the elephant. The elephant represents our powerful, automatic intuitions and gut feelings, while the rider symbolizes our conscious, analytical reasoning. Because our intuitions guide the vast majority of our thinking, the rider often acts less like a noble guide and more like a press secretary, constantly working to justify the elephant's pre-existing leanings. This dynamic explains the prevalence of confirmation bias, our tendency to seek out and favor information that confirms what we already believe. The discussion then introduces Moral Foundations Theory, which posits that our moral judgments are based on several innate foundations, including care, fairness, loyalty, authority, and sanctity. Political and cultural disagreements often stem from the fact that different groups, such as liberals and conservatives, place varying levels of importance on these different moral foundations. For instance, liberals tend to heavily prioritize care and fairness, whereas conservatives generally give more equal weight to all five foundations. Understanding these differing moral frameworks is presented as a crucial step toward fostering more empathetic and productive dialogue between opposing viewpoints. The episode concludes by framing our universal tendency toward self-righteousness not as a simple character flaw, but as a "bug" in our psychological hardware that makes us believe our own group's perspective is morally superior. To truly connect with others, we must first acknowledge our own intuitive biases and make a genuine effort to understand their moral world.