The Elephant in the Brain

Human beings are primates, and primates are political animals. Our brains are therefore designed not just to hunt and gather, but also to help us get ahead socially, often via deception and self-deception. While we may be self-interested schemers, we benefit by pretending otherwise. The less we know about our own ugly motives, the better; 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 is to confront our hidden motives directly—to track down the darker, unexamined corners of our psyches and illuminate them. Once everything is clearly visible, we can work to better understand ourselves: Why do we laugh? Why are artists attractive? 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, serving covert agendas alongside their 'official' ones. The existence of significant hidden motives can upend the usual political debates, leading one to question the legitimacy of these social institutions and 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.