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
... deceive ourselves in order to deceive others.” —Ramez Naam, author of Nexus “A provocative and compellingly readable account of how and why we lie to our rivals, our friends, and ourselves.” — Steven Landsburg, Professor of Economics ...
... deceive ourselves in order to deceive others.” —Ramez Naam, author of Nexus “A provocative and compellingly readable account of how and why we lie to our rivals, our friends, and ourselves.” — Steven Landsburg, Professor of Economics ...
الصفحة iv
... deception. | Subconsciousness. | Cognitive psychology. | BISAC: PSYCHOLOGY / Cognitive Psychology. Classification: LCC BF697.5.S426 S56 2017 | DDC 153.8—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017004296 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ...
... deception. | Subconsciousness. | Cognitive psychology. | BISAC: PSYCHOLOGY / Cognitive Psychology. Classification: LCC BF697.5.S426 S56 2017 | DDC 153.8—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017004296 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ...
الصفحة vii
... Deception 73 6 Counterfeit Reasons 91 PART II Hidden Motives in Everyday Life 7 Body Language 111 8 Laughter 129 9 Conversation 149 10 Consumption 169 11 Art 187 12 Charity 205 13 Education 225 14 Medicine 241 15 Religion 261 16 ...
... Deception 73 6 Counterfeit Reasons 91 PART II Hidden Motives in Everyday Life 7 Body Language 111 8 Laughter 129 9 Conversation 149 10 Consumption 169 11 Art 187 12 Charity 205 13 Education 225 14 Medicine 241 15 Religion 261 16 ...
الصفحة 5
... deception is therefore strategic, a ploy our brains use to look good while behaving badly. Understandably, few people are eager to confess to this kind of duplicity. But as long as we continue to tiptoe around it, we'll be unable to ...
... deception is therefore strategic, a ploy our brains use to look good while behaving badly. Understandably, few people are eager to confess to this kind of duplicity. But as long as we continue to tiptoe around it, we'll be unable to ...
الصفحة 7
... deception from a Darwinian perspective. The human brain, according to this view, was designed to deceive itself— in Trivers' words, “the better to deceive others.” We start with evolutionary psychology, but we don't end there. We ...
... deception from a Darwinian perspective. The human brain, according to this view, was designed to deceive itself— in Trivers' words, “the better to deceive others.” We start with evolutionary psychology, but we don't end there. We ...
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