George Lakoff: Moral Politics

Why HN readers recommended it

HN commenters repeatedly say it changed how they hear political speech and recommend it for understanding why opponents are not simply stupid.

This is a summary from the source dataset, not an endorsement by Hacker News or the video creator.

Video & recommendation details

Creator / channel

University of California Television (UCTV)

Topic

political framing and metaphor

Format

lecture

Level

general

HN recommenders in dataset

3

HN mentions in dataset

15

Recommendation years in dataset

2016–2024

These counts and years describe the included Hacker News records; they are not YouTube views or the video’s publication date.

From the original HN conversations

Excerpts from the recorded comments. Follow each source for the full comment and surrounding discussion.

• I highly recommend the Moral Politics talk by Linguistics professor George Lakoff: [VIDEO] In short, the two sides of the debate speak different language representing different world views rooted in upbringing and triggered / exploited by metaphors. This talk changed my view on political speech …

• I think you'll enjoy this lecture by linguistics professor George Lakoff: [VIDEO] Among other things he speaks of the think-tank-driven concerted effort to influence political support by using language invoking specific metaphors to frame important issues. Like "Tax Relief" for dramatically reducing taxes for the …

• George Lakoff did an excellent linguistic analysis of conservative vs. liberal political speech, metaphors and framing in his lecture Moral Politics. I found it extremely valuable in understanding the driving and defining forces behind the two movements. [VIDEO]