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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... politics in the workplace. Of course we acknowledge office politics in the abstract, but how often do we write about it on the company blog? In general, we prefer explanations that make us look good, whether as individuals, families ...
... politics in the workplace. Of course we acknowledge office politics in the abstract, but how often do we write about it on the company blog? In general, we prefer explanations that make us look good, whether as individuals, families ...
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... political scenarios. “The way the brains of human beings have gotten bigger at an accelerating pace,” writes Matt Ridley in his book on evolutionary biology, The Red Queen, “implies that some such within- species arms race is at work.”4 ...
... political scenarios. “The way the brains of human beings have gotten bigger at an accelerating pace,” writes Matt Ridley in his book on evolutionary biology, The Red Queen, “implies that some such within- species arms race is at work.”4 ...
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... POLITICS Aristotle famously called humans “the political animal,” but it turns out, we aren't the only species who merit that title.17 In 1982, primatologist Frans de Waal published his influential book Chimpanzee Politics, which made a ...
... POLITICS Aristotle famously called humans “the political animal,” but it turns out, we aren't the only species who merit that title.17 In 1982, primatologist Frans de Waal published his influential book Chimpanzee Politics, which made a ...
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... politics so political. Without the ability to form teams and work together toward shared goals, a species' “political” life will be stunted at the level of individual competition— every chicken for itself, pecking at every other chicken ...
... politics so political. Without the ability to form teams and work together toward shared goals, a species' “political” life will be stunted at the level of individual competition— every chicken for itself, pecking at every other chicken ...
الصفحة 36
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