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Scientific' Study Boils Conservatism Down to a Brain Problem

"Notice 'normal' brain structure is always the liberal."

A group of British researchers believe they have found why people are conservative: it's a brain disorder of sorts.

Scientists at the University of London say that conservatives have an enlarged "fear" area in their brains, and smaller areas associated with courage and optimism. The London Telegraph reports:



The researches say there is a direct correlation between the sizes of those areas and one's political views.

"We were very surprised to find that there was an area of the brain that we could predict political attitude," Prof Geraint Rees, who led the research, told the Telegraph.


But there's just one problem: the research only studied a total of 93 brains -- three politicians and 90 students.

The website Gawker gives the study the treatment it's due in a paragraph mocking the scientists' conclusions:


It ends with an appropriate one word sentence: "SCIENCE."

Wesley Smith over at First Things points out a couple more flaws in the study:

Notice “normal” brain structure is always the liberal.

Besides, what is “conservative” in the UK, may be middle of the road in the USA.  Does that mean our conservatives’ brains are even more convoluted?  And again, some people become conservatives after being liberal.  Look at Ronald Reagan and First Things founder, Fr. Richard John Neuhaus.

And while he contends political views are largely shaped by experiences, he wonders what might happen if the study's conclusions actual gain traction:

But, if its all in our hard wiring, we’d better make political views a suspect category for civil rights and hate crime protection. After all, we shouldn’t punish or discriminate against anyone for being who they are.


Tommy Christoper over at Mediaite notices the study was commissioned by actor Collin Firth in a "light-hearted" attempt to discredit conservatives, and it has yet to be peer-reviewed.


It's probably fair to say this is a case of an already-held conclusion (not simply a hypothesis) searching for evidence.

One last thing…
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