The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday LifeOxford University Press, 01/12/2017 - 288 من الصفحات Human beings are primates, and primates are political animals. Our brains, therefore, are designed not just to hunt and gather, but also to help us get ahead socially, often via deception and self-deception. But while we may be self-interested schemers, we benefit by pretending otherwise. The less we know about our own ugly motives, the better - and thus we don't like to talk or even think about the extent of our selfishness. This is "the elephant in the brain." Such an introspective taboo makes it hard for us to think clearly about our nature and the explanations for our behavior. The aim of this book, then, is to confront our hidden motives directly - to track down the darker, unexamined corners of our psyches and blast them with floodlights. Then, once everything is clearly visible, we can work to better understand ourselves: Why do we laugh? Why are artists sexy? Why do we brag about travel? Why do we prefer to speak rather than listen? Our unconscious motives drive more than just our private behavior; they also infect our venerated social institutions such as Art, School, Charity, Medicine, Politics, and Religion. In fact, these institutions are in many ways designed to accommodate our hidden motives, to serve covert agendas alongside their "official" ones. The existence of big hidden motives can upend the usual political debates, leading one to question the legitimacy of these social institutions, and of standard policies designed to favor or discourage them. You won't see yourself - or the world - the same after confronting the elephant in the brain. |
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الصفحة ix
... central thesis becoming widely accepted among any large population, even of scholars. As better minds than ours have long advanced similar ideas, but to little apparent effect, we suspect that human minds and cultures must Preface.
... central thesis becoming widely accepted among any large population, even of scholars. As better minds than ours have long advanced similar ideas, but to little apparent effect, we suspect that human minds and cultures must Preface.
الصفحة 17
... becomes matted with dirt and debris. It also makes an attractive home for fleas, lice, ticks, and other parasites. As a result, primate fur needs periodic grooming to stay clean. Individual primates can (and do) groom themselves, but ...
... becomes matted with dirt and debris. It also makes an attractive home for fleas, lice, ticks, and other parasites. As a result, primate fur needs periodic grooming to stay clean. Individual primates can (and do) groom themselves, but ...
الصفحة 19
... become the consensus among primatologists. Social grooming, he says, isn't just about hygiene—it's also about politics. By grooming each other, primates help forge alliances that help them in other situations. An act of grooming conveys ...
... become the consensus among primatologists. Social grooming, he says, isn't just about hygiene—it's also about politics. By grooming each other, primates help forge alliances that help them in other situations. An act of grooming conveys ...
الصفحة 27
... to think clearly about competition, only that our job becomes more difficult. All else being equal, we'd prefer to look for the keys to human ests intelligence under the light of cooperation, a light that makes COMPETITION 27.
... to think clearly about competition, only that our job becomes more difficult. All else being equal, we'd prefer to look for the keys to human ests intelligence under the light of cooperation, a light that makes COMPETITION 27.
الصفحة 37
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