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The instinct to hurt those with whom one disagrees

By Robin Koerner - posted Thursday, 18 September 2025

We must learn to notice those instincts so that we can signal appropriate disgust wherever we encounter them.

American hearts are breaking. I am worried that America will break, too. If it does, the consequences will be horrific and for the ages.

My hope is that we begin to look out for the operation of this instinct to harm those with whom one disagrees, wherever it manifests. Preventing the breaking – so it seems to me – requires us to resist the pathological and call it what it is.

What does this mean in practice? Something like the following.

Having a view that I hate does not make you hateful; sharing an opinion I hate does not make your speech hate speech. If I wish you harm for either, then I am the hater.

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This article was first published by Brownstone Institute. It is published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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About the Author

Robin Koerner is a British-born citizen of the USA, who currently serves as Academic Dean of the John Locke Institute. He holds graduate degrees in both Physics and the Philosophy of Science from the University of Cambridge.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.