There is a continuum between dividing the world into us and them, and making the whole world us. It is my view, which I suspect I could justify neuroanatomically, that some primitive part in us–to be clear, an ineluctable, inherent part of us that we can’t switch off–has a deep seated instinctual need to classify people as Us or Them.
But the mechanism–and I do think speaking of it as a machine is accurate, making us conceptually cyborgs in some respects already–works in funny ways.
Consider this example: it is possible to consider homosexuality wrong, without rejecting homosexuals as people. This would both integrate the Us/them mechanism, and allow for higher level brain parts to use conscious judgment to guide action. You integrate a visceral response, with a socially acceptable solution consistent with the maintenance of peace.
In practice, I think this is the sensible and appropriate course taken by most people who are faithful Christian, Jews, and others. Of course, there are people who hate homosexuals, like Westboro Baptist Church. This is a poor integration of mind and body.
But there is also the approach taken by the Left of judging those who are alleged to have judged, and putting THEM into a culturally Other category, of shutting down of reason and creative, useful discussion, and instead directing animal hate at this other tribe of alleged haters, who cannot possibly justify themselves, because nobody is listening, by and large. I don’t see it, at any rate. Go on the Daily Cause and say you hate the sin but love the person, and see if you last 15 minutes.
It was odd to me to detect in Peter Levine–a brilliant man, extraordinarily well versed in human (and primate) psychology and behavior–more or less invoking Democrat talking points at a certain point in his book, making Republicans out to be cold and heartless.
How does this happen?
Here is the thing: we NEED difference. We crave it. And by difference, I mean putting people in categories and judging them as better or worse.
The egalitarian project, in its essence, works to deprive people of the ability to meet this need. They wind up lost and rudderless. Only in their membership within the community of the egalitarians can they meet this need, by separating out and judging everyone who is outside the group. No, not everyone: they don’t judge Muslims for their misogyny, as one example. No, they judge people within our society, only, who could be in their group but choose not to be.
The path of accurate and appropriate perception is a difficult one. As Levine notes, we really have three “brains”, all of which have needs, all of which make demands much like Dr. Octopuses tentacles in the second Spider Man.
You can only reconcile all three by becoming consciously aware of them, allowing them to speak, and then using your Executive function, your mammalian brain, to decide your actual course of action.
So much of modern life works to blunt our instinctual drives. Levine dwells extensively on this. The urge to drive a mountain bike off the side of a mountain? Instincts.
I am becoming more full of good things, as I let all of this wandering happen, let all this energy speak. It is good.
If there is a point to this post, it is that we cannot build a better society, which everyone claims to want, even if in the form only of not breaking what was working, if we cannot agree to disagree; if we cannot maintain civil and productive dialogue even when our instincts are kicking in. This much is obvious, of course, but I don’t think it can be emphasized enough that Leftism is an anti-tribal tribe, a cult of intolerant Tolerance.
And I of course can say this having spent thousands of hours trying to have productive discussions with them. It’s always the same: redirection, insult (actually they usually lead with insult; I would guess I have been attacked 10,000 times or more), silence. This is unfortunate. Real human beings suffer from our collective inability to solve real problems.