Who needs an evil sidekick when our own brains can do our dirty work? Beneath conscious awareness, our brains are programmed to always make us act in our own best interest. In theory, you may want to be selfless and help others. But evolution has its own agenda for your survival and dominance.
Basically, the system works like this: we deceive ourselves as a strategy to disguise bad behavior. We don’t like to think of ourselves as jerks! So our minds are highly motivated to hide any competitive intentions from ourselves and the world, even as we fight our way to the top.
By uncovering the motives that our brains try to hide from us, we can better address social issues and build stronger institutions. Start exploring the depths of your psyche with our Instaread on The Elephant in the Brain.
