Katherine K.M. Stavropoulos Ph.D.
Neuroscience in Translation
Presidential Election 2020: What Can We Learn From the Past?
An interview with Alex Tamulis about the role of polarization and conspiracy theories in our decision to buy a copy of the new book.
Posted May 27, 2021
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Reviewed by Lybi Ma
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In the book “Facts of the Universe” by Neil DeGrasse Tyson, one of the most influential evolutionary biologists ever, we learn that the way to survive "is to hate the one you are about to attack." For our human tribe, this meant that we had to hate both our neighbors, our coworkers and friends. This, of course, is a huge difference from the tribal way of life adopted by many white Americans at the beginning of the 20th century.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Ph.D.
Source: Alex Tamulishyn/Pixabay
If you have ever wondered what makes up a person’s mind, you need look no further than the mind of a person. All thoughts are essentially different with respect to their own meanings and purposes. The mind of a person, by contrast, is a complex mnemonic mechanism that traces a person’s past, his or her footprints in the world, and the moments they actively engage with a situation or person. Think about, for instance, the situation of car racing: There is a building effort being made to get a car onto the track of a fast car. That effort is being matched by efforts to stop the car in order to give way, or end, the effort of the drivers. If you have ever seen a car being driven recklessly off the road; if you have ever driven in a similar situation, you know what can and cannot be learned from that experience. The only way to learn from a car crash is to learn from that crash.
Homer-Dixon suggests that four main things can be learned from the way that a person navigates the world of myth:
The Way Mindfully See Sells
Homer-Dixon, 2015, p.114-117. On the one hand, we can be hyper-rational in assuming that the way we see a situation, act on it, or anticipate the future is irrelevant and unimportant. On the other hand, we can be less hyper-rational in accepting that the way we view a situation, act on it, or anticipate the future is something that we can change. Homer-Dixon calls this the “ Way of Existence Resilience ” (Degracht, 2016).
If we apply the Way of Existence Resilience to the task of navigating the world of myth, we will notice that the way we approached the task of finding our way in the world—the very thing keeping us safe and healthy—can be as material as sand on a beach. Instead of focusing our attention on how the situation may look to us, what matters is how the situation appears to us to be to others: a collection of stereotypes about people, cultures, seasons, or even genders.
What may be the greatest surprise is that the most effective way to navigate the conditions of instability and fluctuation is not to attempt to flatten or ignore the route laying down flat on its own, but to actively bring the situation to life and challenge ourselves to see how we can creatively confront it.
As a first step, notice how you feel about the situation—do you dare to confront it? Perhaps the greatest challenge of all is how we can creatively acknowledge the difference between what we are told and what actually exists: a pivotal moment in history may be, as a single instance, the last big chance to make the difference between a career changing and ailing relationship.
References
Homer-Dixon, T. (2016). The polyvagal theory of mind. Psychologische Psychologie, 9(7), 280-291. https://skeptic.com/blog/mental-health/201612/the-polyvagal-theory-of-mind
Daniuc, A., Peloton, P., & Wood-Barcalow, N. (2010). Learning to Think Like a Neurons: Reclaiming the Power of Knowledge to Remake the World. Cambridge University Press.
Doran, B., & Boren, D. (2016). The impact of small positive emotions on health and well-being.