This post should definitely have mentioned Julian Jaynes. ;)
Other related material includes Virginia Satir’s “Parts party” (brief description).
One way I recognize my various parts is that they come out to different extents according to the company I keep. When I’m with people whose thinking is sloppy that bugs the hell out of my inner Spock and he comes out swinging. When I’m hanging out with a bunch of rationalists my inner Mysterian screams at every appearance of a Myth of Pure Reason.
This can lead to some graceful ways to disagree with people, btw. “Part of me wishes you were right, but my inner Tyler Durden finds that wishy-washy and is making rude comments. How do your arguments stand up to what we know of human nature?” This is much more satisfactory than giving Tyler Durden the run of your mouth and accusing your interlocutor of angelism outright.
Plus, it helps to recognize that even if you think your interlocutor is an idiot, they may not be entirely an idiot, just temporarily under the control of an idiotic part.
I don’t do this as explicitly as the post suggests (and never to the extent of writing dialogue) but the turn of phrase “part of me agrees/disagree” is familiar, and I suspect it turns up in my thoughts from time to time.
This post should definitely have mentioned Julian Jaynes. ;)
Other related material includes Virginia Satir’s “Parts party” (brief description).
One way I recognize my various parts is that they come out to different extents according to the company I keep. When I’m with people whose thinking is sloppy that bugs the hell out of my inner Spock and he comes out swinging. When I’m hanging out with a bunch of rationalists my inner Mysterian screams at every appearance of a Myth of Pure Reason.
This can lead to some graceful ways to disagree with people, btw. “Part of me wishes you were right, but my inner Tyler Durden finds that wishy-washy and is making rude comments. How do your arguments stand up to what we know of human nature?” This is much more satisfactory than giving Tyler Durden the run of your mouth and accusing your interlocutor of angelism outright.
Plus, it helps to recognize that even if you think your interlocutor is an idiot, they may not be entirely an idiot, just temporarily under the control of an idiotic part.
I don’t do this as explicitly as the post suggests (and never to the extent of writing dialogue) but the turn of phrase “part of me agrees/disagree” is familiar, and I suspect it turns up in my thoughts from time to time.