I’m trying to think of conflicts between subsystems of the brain to see if there’s anything more than a simple gerontocratic system of veto power (i.e. evolutionarily older parts of the brain override younger parts). Help?
I’ve got things like:
Wanting to eat but not wanting to spend money on food but wanting to signal wealth.
Wanting to breathe when underwater but wanting to surface for breath first but wanting to signal willpower to watching friends.
Wanting to survive but wanting to die for one’s country/ideals/beliefs. (This is a counterexample to the gerontocratic hypothesis, no?)
Wanting to appear confident but wanting to appear modest. (Not necessarily opposed, but there is some tradeoff.)
What types of internal conflicts am I missing entirely?
Hmmm… I wish I could help, but I don’t seem to have conflicts in this reference class. I don’t care about signaling wealth, especially not when that actually involves parting with money; I’d only care about how long I could hold my breath if I had a bet going and I’d never make such a bet unless I was sure I could win it comfortably; I have absolutely no desire whatsoever to die for any cause; and I want to be honest more than I want to appear confident or honest to the point where if I have inclinations towards either of the latter, they might as well not exist.
I’m trying to think of conflicts between subsystems of the brain to see if there’s anything more than a simple gerontocratic system of veto power (i.e. evolutionarily older parts of the brain override younger parts). Help?
I’ve got things like:
Wanting to eat but not wanting to spend money on food but wanting to signal wealth.
Wanting to breathe when underwater but wanting to surface for breath first but wanting to signal willpower to watching friends.
Wanting to survive but wanting to die for one’s country/ideals/beliefs. (This is a counterexample to the gerontocratic hypothesis, no?)
Wanting to appear confident but wanting to appear modest. (Not necessarily opposed, but there is some tradeoff.)
What types of internal conflicts am I missing entirely?
I think you should: Eat. Refrain from breathing while underwater. Survive.
Er, right, but what decision making algorithm or heuristics do you think the brain typically uses when solving problems similar to those listed?
Hmmm… I wish I could help, but I don’t seem to have conflicts in this reference class. I don’t care about signaling wealth, especially not when that actually involves parting with money; I’d only care about how long I could hold my breath if I had a bet going and I’d never make such a bet unless I was sure I could win it comfortably; I have absolutely no desire whatsoever to die for any cause; and I want to be honest more than I want to appear confident or honest to the point where if I have inclinations towards either of the latter, they might as well not exist.