ABSTRACT
The traces of a powerful emotional event can persist for centuries, recruiting new examples that seem to fit a familiar pattern. When two groups are in conflict, for example, cultural lore reminds their respective members who their enemies are, what historical grievances they have, and why their cause is just. Thus, every new Palestinian suicide bombing is yet another instance of Arab lawlessness and treachery, every new Israeli military incursion yet another instance of Zionist oppression and expansionism. An experiment needs to be conducted that can distinguish between the aforementioned Cartesian and Spinozan possibilities. The experimenters could then tell the participants which of these assertions were true and which false. A modicum of thought about the matter should at least raise some doubts. It is unlikely that the groups trapped in the elevators would have been sympathetic to one or more couples mating on the floor in their midst.
