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 4
... important motives? Biology teaches us that we're competitive social animals, with all the instincts you'd expect from such creatures. And consciousness is useful— that's why it evolved. So shouldn't it stand to reason that we'd be hyper ...
... important motives? Biology teaches us that we're competitive social animals, with all the instincts you'd expect from such creatures. And consciousness is useful— that's why it evolved. So shouldn't it stand to reason that we'd be hyper ...
الصفحة 11
... important person in the room (and how can I tell)? Why are artists sexy? Why do so many people brag about travel? Does anyone really, truly believe in creationism? If we listen to what people say about themselves, we'll often be led ...
... important person in the room (and how can I tell)? Why are artists sexy? Why do so many people brag about travel? Does anyone really, truly believe in creationism? If we listen to what people say about themselves, we'll often be led ...
الصفحة 13
... important to emphasize where we're coming from. The line between cynicism and misanthropy— between thinking ill of human motives and thinking ill of humans— is often blurry. So we want readers to understand that although we may be ...
... important to emphasize where we're coming from. The line between cynicism and misanthropy— between thinking ill of human motives and thinking ill of humans— is often blurry. So we want readers to understand that although we may be ...
الصفحة 19
... important but also harder to maintain. Note that these primates don't need to be conscious of their political motivations. As far as natural selection is concerned, all that matters is that primates who do more social grooming fare ...
... important but also harder to maintain. Note that these primates don't need to be conscious of their political motivations. As far as natural selection is concerned, all that matters is that primates who do more social grooming fare ...
الصفحة 20
... important to note that there's still some role for hygiene in explaining why primates groom each other. If hygiene were completely irrelevant, primates would simply give each other back massages instead of picking through each other's ...
... important to note that there's still some role for hygiene in explaining why primates groom each other. If hygiene were completely irrelevant, primates would simply give each other back massages instead of picking through each other's ...
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