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 12
... behaviors, both at the small, personal scale and in the context of our broadest institutions. What we'll find is that things are often not what they seem on the surface. A WORD OF WARNING For those of us who want 12 Introduction.
... behaviors, both at the small, personal scale and in the context of our broadest institutions. What we'll find is that things are often not what they seem on the surface. A WORD OF WARNING For those of us who want 12 Introduction.
الصفحة 13
... things!” It reflects well on both speakers and listeners to be associated with something so inspirational. This is the recipe for ideas that draw large audiences and receive standing ovations, the time- honored premise of sermons, TED ...
... things!” It reflects well on both speakers and listeners to be associated with something so inspirational. This is the recipe for ideas that draw large audiences and receive standing ovations, the time- honored premise of sermons, TED ...
الصفحة 23
... , for example, scientists would often appeal to “the good of the species” in order to explain seemingly altruistic animal behaviors, like the babblers volunteering for guard duty.19 That's certainly the kind of thing ANIMAL BEHAVIOR 23.
... , for example, scientists would often appeal to “the good of the species” in order to explain seemingly altruistic animal behaviors, like the babblers volunteering for guard duty.19 That's certainly the kind of thing ANIMAL BEHAVIOR 23.
الصفحة 24
... thing we might say if we were in the babblers' shoes, but it's not a valid naturalistic explanation— either for their behavior or for our own. To find out why we often misconstrue animal motives, including our own, we have to look more ...
... thing we might say if we were in the babblers' shoes, but it's not a valid naturalistic explanation— either for their behavior or for our own. To find out why we often misconstrue animal motives, including our own, we have to look more ...
الصفحة 29
... things. Why would a tree waste its energy growing so high above an open field? Wouldn't it get outcompeted by a shorter variant that threw more of its energy into reproduction? Yes. And so we can reasonably infer that an open field isn ...
... things. Why would a tree waste its energy growing so high above an open field? Wouldn't it get outcompeted by a shorter variant that threw more of its energy into reproduction? Yes. And so we can reasonably infer that an open field isn ...
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