Why debates turn into arguments: Pre-class activities

So, we often respond better to social and tribal dynamics than to intellectual analysis.
It’s safer to agree with your tribe and stay united ideologically, even if you’re wrong about the facts, than to disagree and isolate yourself.
That means that, for survival’s sake, we may instinctively empathize less with other races, other nationalities, and even other sports teams. This instinctive dehumanization of other groups is what makes things like slavery and genocide possible in our society.