Haidt compares the mind to an elephant and rider. The instinctual part of the mind is the elephant. It is enormous, powerful, and intelligent in its own right. This part of the brain has been hardwired to respond to certain moral triggers. The elephant makes judgments in a flash based on the activation of these triggers. The rational part of the mind is “the rider.” The rider can steer the elephant (the feeling part of the brain) in certain directions, but ultimately, the much more powerful elephant decides where to go and what to do. The rider exists largely to serve the elephant, explaining and rationalizing what it does. The metaphor is therefore central to Haidt’s claims about The Primacy of Intuition and Emotion in Moral Judgment.

Haidt establishes a dichotomy between these two forms of thought. Confirmatory thought—in which the rational mind seeks confirmation of what the emotional mind already believes—is by far the more common of the two. Exploratory thought—in which the rational mind seeks to understand a problem by taking in and assessing evidence—is much less common and requires a conscious effort to override initial, emotional reactions.