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Zusammenfassung von Why Everyone (Else) Is a Hypocrite

Name: Why Everyone (Else) Is a Hypocrite
Rating: 4.5 (56 reviews)
Author: Robert Kurzban

Robert Kurzban

Evolution and the Modular Mind

4.5 (56 Bewertungen)

17 Min.

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Persönlichkeit Neurowissenschaft

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Why Everyone (Else) Is a Hypocrite
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Kernaussage 1 von 8

What’s in it for me? Get to know your hypocrisy-prone brain better.

Who’s a hypocrite? The neighbor who yells at you when you host a party but then plays loud music all night himself? Or the politician who pretends to espouse green values to secure more votes in an election but then completely ignores environmental values during her term?

These blinks examine the latest findings in evolutionary psychology, as groundbreaking studies now demonstrate that perhaps we’re all hard-wired hypocrites in our brains, if not in our hearts.

In these blinks, you’ll also discover

why your brain is like a smartphone overloaded with apps;
why sometimes a butane torch seems a better tool for toast than a toaster; and
why thinking you’re a good driver even after a dumb accident is still a smart idea.

Our brain is essentially an information processor that has been shaped through evolution.

There’s nothing more fascinating or mysterious than the human brain.

How exactly did we end up with such an organ, capable of composing symphonies, planning megacities and speculating about parallel universes?

Some of us believe the brain must have been designed by one deity or another. Evolutionary psychology, however, has an alternative explanation. In this field, the human brain isn’t considered a product of divine inspiration. Instead, it’s simply a biological information processor.

Much like laptops and smartphones, the human brain runs programs to complete certain tasks. The difference is that instead of silicon chips, this machine is made of neurons along which electrical impulses travel at incredible speeds.

Of course, our brains weren’t always as advanced as they are now. Just as computers have evolved from huge machines that filled rooms to astonishingly thin devices that fit in a handbag, the human brain has developed considerably over time.

Familiar with Darwin’s theory of natural selection? Let’s recap it briefly: an organism has genes, and these genes express themselves as physical traits, such as a giraffe’s long neck or a human’s sophisticated brain.

Organisms with traits that allow them to adapt to an environment – such as the ability to find food, create a shelter and live in communities – are more likely to survive than organisms without them. It was this process that shaped the complexities of our brains. The way our brains are structured is a result of the challenges faced by our primitive ancestors.

And just how are our brains structured? Philosophers would have you believe that a human has a rational mind, with the idea of a single, distinct “self” and a more or less coherent set of beliefs.

The truth is that human minds are nothing like this. Evolution has given us a different kind of mind. To understand the brain better, let’s consider what it was at the beginning: a simple tool.

Specialized tools make our lives easier, but sometimes they’re too specific to be helpful.

Do you make toast with a butane torch? Not a civilized way to start your morning, is it?

Chances are you prefer to use a toaster. This, granted, is common sense, but it’s also something particularly human. When you have a specific task to perform, whether cooking breakfast or solving an equation, you often turn to a specialized tool to make the job easier.

The human brain manages complex tasks by flexibly combining specialized tools or modules.

Let’s travel back in time to the earth’s most recent ice age. Saber-toothed tigers prowl around, and as an early human, you’re a survivalist. Right now, you’re hungry—– but not as hungry as the tigers are.

In this situation, would you rather have great vision, allowing you to spot predators from a distance, or perhaps great navigational skills, enabling you to quickly figure out an escape route?

You are neither the manager nor the conscious observer of your brain’s modular system.

People seem to readily believe that the human mind is centered on the concept of a coherent self, where this self is something like a manager or supervisor of your mind.

This concept could make sense if we consider the brain’s modularity, right? Some “thing” has to watch over the brain’s specialized apps (or modules) to ensure everything runs smoothly.

Different modules in the brain create conflict, which you experience as confusion.

Did you ever play with Matchbox cars as a child? Thinking about the action of those small cars will help you understand how the brain’s modules interact.

Cyberneticist Valentino Braitenberg used the concept of small “vehicles” in the 1980s as the basis for an insightful thought experiment that reveals the functional challenges of the modular brain, even with only two modules.

Your brain likes to think that you’re faster, smarter and perhaps more talented than you really are.

Think you’re a good driver? Perhaps better than most other drivers on the road? You’re not the only person with that opinion.

Studies show that most people consider themselves above-average drivers. The thing is, everyone can’t be above average. So why do we think we’re all so special? Blame the brain’s modules!

Overconfidence was an evolutionary advantage, as by displaying value we could stay in the group.

Why on earth have some of the brain’s modules adapted to make people think too highly of themselves?

Doesn’t such misguided behavior potentially put lives at risk, by making people speed down a dark street or even drinking and driving? Yes, but such traits emerged for a reason, and it has to do with how you are perceived by other humans.

Hypocrisy stems from failed connections between modules and evolutionary anxieties over mating.

Aside from overconfidence, there’s another human trait that also has evolutionary origins: hypocrisy.

There are two ways humans are hypocrites. First, we ourselves do something that we’ve told someone else is a “wrong” thing to do. Second, we let others believe we’re condemning an action on moral grounds when in reality, we’re motivated by self-interest alone.

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Why Everyone (Else) Is a Hypocrite (2010) pushes us to challenge our assumptions about the human brain. These blinks explain the modular structure of our mind which, rather than creating a coherent conscious self, can lead to confusion and conflict as evolutionary traits clash with the challenges of the modern world.

Bestes Zitat aus Why Everyone (Else) Is a Hypocrite

Big brains get smart by having a lot of pieces.

—Robert Kurzban

Wer Why Everyone (Else) Is a Hypocrite lesen sollte

Students and teachers of psychology
Readers questioning traditional explanations of how the mind works
People frustrated with friends’ hypocritical actions and poor judgment

Über den Autor

Robert Kurzban is a professor of psychology, a blogger for Psychology Today, the editor-in-chief of the journal Evolution & Human Behavior and the director and founder of Pennsylvania’s Laboratory of Experimental Evolutionary Psychology. In 2008, the Human Behavior and Evolution Society awarded him the Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contribution.

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