[The power of ideologies]

The ideologies of the xx century have caused millions of casualties. It is important to know the cognitive processes that originate ideological thinking. Ideologies are typically closed visions of the world with a strong dualistic component. Dualistic thinking is likely to be a distinct mental category which implicates the right inferior parietal lobe of the brain. Nevertheless, the connection between a manichean mental-cognitive thought and an emotional component presents great danger, due to the resulting simplification of history, its reification, and the demonization of the opposite, before proceeding to its destruction. Both communism and national socialism are evident examples of this perversion of thought. To know the neurocognitive underpinnings is hence of great relevance if we do not want ro repeat history.