THINKER'S ALMANAC - October 19

How is a rider atop an elephant an excellent metaphor for the workings of the human mind? 

Subject:  The Human Mind - The Rider and the Elephant Metaphor

Event: Birthday of Jonathan David Haidt, 1963

To understand most important ideas in psychology, you need to understand how the mind is divided into parts that sometimes conflict.  We assume that there is one person in each body, but in some ways we are each more like a committee whose members have been thrown together to do a job, but who often find themselves working at cross purposes. -Jonathan Haidt

In his book Thinking Fast and Slow (2011), Daniel Kahneman explains that the human mind consists of two separate processing systems:  System 1 and System 2.  System 1 is the older system, processing automatically.  It is the emotional system and includes our instinctive, subconscious thinking processes.  If we see a stranger in the grocery store who is angry or frustrated because of a long checkout line, we can see the emotion in their facial expression.  It’s not exactly easy to articulate how we know the person is angry, but the System 1 processes allow us to instinctively read emotion via facial expressions. 

Image by Sasin Tipchai from Pixabay

System 2, in contrast, is the newer processing system.  It is the reasoning, logical system and includes our conscious thinking processes.  When we are working on a complex math problem, for example, System 2 provides the processing power to consciously follow a reasoned sequence that leads to a solution.

In his 2006 book The Happiness Hypothesis, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt -- who was born on this day in 1963 -- created a brilliant metaphor that helps us better understand the interaction of System 1 and System 2:  the rider and the elephant.

Haidt asks his reader to picture System 1 as an enormous elephant and System 2 as a lone rider perched atop the elephant.  The Rider - System 2 - is holding the reins and can attempt to guide or direct the elephant; however, because the elephant has a mind of its own - the older and powerful System 1 - the rider is not always able to tame or direct the beast he is attempting to control.  

As Haidt describes the complex relationship between the rider and the elephant as follows:

We are like a rider on top of a gigantic elephant. We can steer the elephant, and if he's not busy, he'll go where we want, but if he has other desires, he'll often go where he wants. How can one control the elephant? In part, this comes with maturity. In part, this comes with the development of your frontal cortex, so the frontal areas of the brain are especially involved in self-control, in suppressing your initial instinct to act.

Haidt’s metaphor is so effective because it helps us visualize the unequal interactions of our two thinking systems.  Often, we mistakenly assume that human reason will rule over emotion.  The rider and the elephant, however, reminds us that the rider is more of an advisor than a boss.  The rider can direct the elephant, providing conscious, reasoned thought and a vision of the future, but the elephant has a will and intelligence of its own that is guided by gut feelings, intuition, and emotions.  Long before Haidt or Kahneman were born, the Scottish philosopher David Hume, summed it all up clearly and concisely in a single sentence:  “Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey them” (1).

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason:  How does the rider and the elephant metaphor sum up and illustrate the mind’s two thinking systems?

Challenge - Metaphorically Thinking:  Metaphors and analogies help us to better understand and to better visualize new ideas by comparing them to what we already know.  Do some research on other metaphors or analogies that have been employed to help understand and illustrate the complex workings of the human mind.  Pick the one you like the best, and explain why you think it is effective.

Sources:

1-Haidt, Jonathan.  The Happiness Hypothesis.  New York:  Basic Books, 2006.

THINKER'S ALMANAC - September 22

How can thinking of an elephant better help us understand the way humans think?

  

Subject: System 1 and 2 - Jonathan Haidt’s Rider and Elephant

Event:  National Elephant Appreciation Day

  

September 22 is National Elephant Appreciation Day. The day was created in 1996 by Wayne Hepburn, owner of Mission Media.  Hepburn’s fascination with our largest land mammal began when his daughter gave him an elephant paperweight (1).

There’s an old story about an elephant, a parable about how we can be bound by our beliefs or our limited imaginations.  One day, a man was walking the grounds of a circus.  Just outside a tent, he saw a huge, fully grown adult male elephant tied to a stake.  All that was holding the great beast from breaking free was a small, thin rope tied to his front leg.  The man spied a trainer nearby and inquired about the elephant, asking why the elephant made no attempt to break free since he could clearly snap the rope with ease.  The trainer responded saying, “It’s all about conditioning.  When this elephant was an infant, the rope was strong enough to hold him in place, so he grew up believing the rope could hold him.  Now that he’s fully grown, he’s conditioned, so he never tries to break free.”

Image by Pexels from Pixabay

While the above elephant-related story tells us a bit about thinking, there’s an elephant-related metaphor that gives us prodigious insight into the nature of human thinking.  The metaphor was created by psychologist Jonathan Haidt in his book The Happiness Hypothesis where he was trying to illustrate the two independent thinking systems at work in the human brain.  The first system is the emotional, automatic system. Daniel Kahneman, who won the Nobel Prize for his research on behavioral economics, calls this the brain’s System 1.  Haidt, however, gives it a bit more life by calling it the elephant brain.  This is the brain’s autopilot system that developed early in evolution.  The elephant brain works on instinct and intuition, allowing us to think without conscious thinking to make quick decisions.  Haidt calls the second system (Kahneman’s System 2) the rider.  It’s the rational, more evolved, and much newer part of the brain.    The rider controls the intentional systems of the brain, such as the prefrontal cortex where the executive functions are housed.  Perched atop the elephant, but nevertheless, largely outweighed, the rational rider attempts to steer and control the movements of the elephant.  The elephant brain functions with much less effort, while the rider’s conscious, deliberate thinking takes more effort.  

Haidt’s metaphor of the rider and the elephant reminds us that although we like to think that we are evolved, rational beings guided by logic instead of emotion, the reality is that the elephant may really be in charge.  As the Scottish philosopher David Hume said, “Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey them” (2).

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason:  What are the contrasting thinking systems represented by the elephant and the rider?

Challenge - The Elephant in the Room:  Another opportunity for human insight via the elephant comes from John Godfrey Saxe’s classic poem “The Blind Men and the Elephant.”  Read the poem carefully, and then write your interpretation of it.  What insight does the poem give us about perception?

The Blind Men and the Elephant

It was six men of Indostan, to learning much inclined,

who went to see the elephant (Though all of them were blind),

that each by observation, might satisfy his mind.

The first approached the elephant, and, happening to fall,

against his broad and sturdy side, at once began to bawl:

"God bless me! but the elephant, is nothing but a wall!"

The second feeling of the tusk, cried: "Ho! what have we here,

so very round and smooth and sharp? To me tis mighty clear,

this wonder of an elephant, is very like a spear!"

The third approached the animal, and, happening to take,

the squirming trunk within his hands, "I see," quoth he,

the elephant is very like a snake!"

The fourth reached out his eager hand, and felt about the knee:

"What most this wondrous beast is like, is mighty plain," quoth he;

"Tis clear enough the elephant is very like a tree."

The fifth, who chanced to touch the ear, Said; "E'en the blindest man

can tell what this resembles most; Deny the fact who can,

This marvel of an elephant, is very like a fan!"

The sixth no sooner had begun, about the beast to grope,

than, seizing on the swinging tail, that fell within his scope,

"I see," quoth he, "the elephant is very like a rope!"

And so these men of Indostan, disputed loud and long,

each in his own opinion, exceeding stiff and strong,

Though each was partly in the right, and all were in the wrong!

So, oft in theologic wars, the disputants, I ween,

tread on in utter ignorance, of what each other mean,

and prate about the elephant, not one of them has seen!

Also on This Day:

September 22, 1692:  On this day the last eight people were hanged for witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials.  In total, twenty people were executed. 

September 22, 1862:  Abraham Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which warned the Confederate states that if they did not rejoin the Union by January 1, 1863, all slaves in those states would be freed.  The Civil War was still raging, but the Union had just claimed a victory at the Battle of Antietam on September 17th, the single bloodiest single-day battle in American history.  Prior to the Proclamation, Lincoln had not issued any anti-slavery proclamations, maintaining that the war was more about preserving the Union than about ending slavery.  Issuing the Proclamation changed this.  Now support for the Confederacy translated to support for the institution of slavery.  This discouraged anti-slavery countries like England and France from intervening in support of the South. When the Proclamation took effect on January 1, 1863, no slaves were actually freed because it applied only to the Confederate states that were still at war with the Union.  It did, however, change the moral tone of the war, making it not just a struggle to save the Union, but also a battle to support human freedom.  It also set the stage for the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1865, which put a permanent end to slavery in the United States (4).

Sources:

1-Daysoftheyear.com.  Elephant Appreciation Day.

2-Haidt, Jonathan. The Happiness Hypothesis. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2006.

3.  Saxe, John Godfrey.  “The Blind Men and the Elephant.”  1872 Public Domain.

4-http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/emancipation-150/10-facts.html

5-”The Founding Moment.”  peacecorps.gov.

THINKER'S ALMANAC - December 8

Why is a bodhi tree, a type of fig tree, known as the “tree of enlightenment”?

Subject:  Enlightenment - Buddha and the Bodhi Tree

Event: Bodhi Day

 

We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves. -Buddha

Siddhartha Gautama (560-380 BCE) was a prince who lived in northern India.  In line to be the next king, Siddhartha lived a life of wealth and luxury. In his twenties, however, he became discontented and left home to seek enlightenment.  He spent six years living a life of austerity and meditation; however, he still did not find the enlightenment he was looking for.  

 

Finally, one day he resolved to sit under a bodhi tree and not get up or leave until he had achieved enlightenment. At dawn, on what traditionally is celebrated on December 8, Siddhartha experienced the Great Awakening and became Buddha (which means “the enlightened one”).

                                                                Image by Amazon_Green from Pixabay 

For the next forty-five years, Buddha taught his disciples what he had discovered while meditating under the bodhi tree, his Four Noble Truths:  first, that suffering is an innate and unavoidable part of life; second, that desire and craving are the cause of suffering; third, that letting go of desire and craving is the key to overcoming suffering; fourth, that following the Middle Way -- a path that is neither overly indulgent nor overly ascetic -- is the prescription necessary for overcoming suffering.  The Middle Way is also known as the Eightfold Path:  right understanding, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration (1).

 

In his book The Happiness Hypothesis, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt points out Buddha’s brilliant metaphor for understanding our divided self, the tension within our mind between our chaotic desires, our emotions, and our conscious, rational self.  To illustrate this, Buddha asks us to imagine our mind as a wild elephant:

In days gone by this mind used to stray wherever selfish desire or lust or pleasure would lead it.  Today this mind does not stray and is under the harmony of control, even as a wild elephant is controlled by a trainer. (2)

 

Later in his book, Haidt explains this metaphor into his well known elephant and the rider metaphor (See THINKER’S ALMANAC - September 22 ).

 

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason:  What is the significance of the bodhi tree in Buddhism, and what are the Four Noble Truths?

Challenge - Buddha’s Words of Wisdom:  Do some research on quotations by Buddha.  When you find one you like, write it out.  Then, explain why you think it provides wisdom and insight.

ALSO ON THIS DAY:

December 8, 65 BC: Today is the birthday in 65 BC of Roman lyrical poet and satirist Horace.  On this day we express our gratitude to Horace for a single word -- sesquipedalian, which means “a long word” or “a person known for using long words.”  Horace penned his verse in Latin.  In his Ars Poetica (The Art of Poetry) he wrote the following:  Proicit ampullas et sesquipedalia verba, which translates, “He throws aside his paint pots and his words that are a foot and a half long.”  Combining the Latin roots sesqu- (one and a half) and ped (a foot), this adjective provides the perfect slightly exaggerated image for words that are wide.  Like many English words derived from Latin, especially many of the longer ones, sesquipedalian was borrowed in the seventeenth century (1).

Sources:

1-Bassham, Gregory. The Philosophy Book. New York:  Sterling, 2016: 24.

2-Haidt, Jonathan. The Happiness Hypothesis. Basic Books, 2006: 2. 

3-http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-ses1.htm

THINKER'S ALMANAC - December 8

Subject:  Enlightenment - Buddha and the Bodhi Tree

Event: Bodhi Day

 

We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves. -Buddha

Siddhartha Gautama (560-380 BCE) was a prince who lived in northern India.  In line to be the next king, Siddhartha lived a life of wealth and luxury. In his twenties, however, he became discontented and left home to seek enlightenment.  He spent six years living a life of austerity and meditation; however, he still did not find the enlightenment he was looking for.  

 

Finally, one day he resolved to sit under a bodhi tree and not get up or leave until he had achieved enlightenment. At dawn, on what traditionally is celebrated on December 8, Siddhartha experienced the Great Awakening and became Buddha (which means “the enlightened one”).

 

For the next forty-five years, Buddha taught his disciples what he had discovered while meditating under the bodhi tree, his Four Noble Truths:  first, that suffering is an innate and unavoidable part of life; second, that desire and craving are the cause of suffering; third, that letting go of desire and craving is the key to overcoming suffering; fourth, that following the Middle Way -- a path that is neither overly indulgent nor overly ascetic -- is the prescription necessary for overcoming suffering.  The Middle Way is also known as the Eightfold Path:  right understanding, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration (1).

 

In his book The Happiness Hypothesis, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt points out Buddha’s brilliant metaphor for understanding our divided self, the tension within our mind between our chaotic desires, our emotions, and our conscious, rational self.  To illustrate this, Buddha asks us to imagine our mind as a wild elephant:

In days gone by this mind used to stray wherever selfish desire or lust or pleasure would lead it.  Today this mind does not stray and is under the harmony of control, even as a wild elephant is controlled by a trainer. (2)

 

Later in his book, Haidt explains this metaphor into his well-known elephant and the rider metaphor (See THINKER’S ALMANAC - September 22 ).

Challenge - Buddha’s Words of Wisdom:  Do some research on quotations by Buddha.  When you find one you like, write it out.  Then, explain why you think it provides wisdom and insight.

Sources:

1-Bassham, Gregory. The Philosophy Book. New York:  Sterling, 2016: 24.

2-Haidt, Jonathan. The Happiness Hypothesis. Basic Books, 2006: 2.