Most people would agree that the human species is at the top of the food chain. We live wherever we choose, displacing from their habitats animals that are faster, larger, and more physically powerful. We breed animals for food, train animals for work, and domesticate animals for companionship. We also develop chemicals to control insects, bacteria, and unwanted species of plant life. We build vehicles to transport ourselves anywhere on this planet and outward toward other planets. Our supreme position atop the food chain is attributable solely to this special capacity for abstract thought, problem solving and learning from experience that we call intelligence. Indeed, in the past 100 years, human knowledge has been increasing exponentially, and during the last half of the 20th century, human intelligence (as measured by IQ tests) has increased by one standard deviation. (This so-called Flynn Effect is described in the link: Why our IQ levels are higher than our grandparents’ https://www.ted.com/talks/james_flynn_why_our_iq_levels_are_higher_than_our_grandparents
Yet, in spite of the extraordinary growth in human knowledge and intelligence, we continue to live under the threat of imminent war or total annihilation. While our increasing technological skills are bringing us more sophisticated weaponry, our enhanced intelligence seems to be ineffectual in resolving human conflict. Today we are witnessing extreme polarization in political perspectives across America. Highly intelligent people on the Left and on the Right are engaged in vitriolic discussions of various issues, such as income distribution, border security, and climate change, each believing the other to be either rationally deficient or disingenuous. Why does the highest intelligence in the animal kingdom not spawn some form of consensus on how to resolve our conflicts?
The roots of an answer to this question may reside in some of the work of Ivan Tversky and Daniel Kahneman during the late 20th century. In his 2011 bestseller, Thinking, Fast and Slow, Kahneman outlined the two modes of thinking that he called System 1 and System 2. Roughly speaking, System 1 mode consists of intellectual processes that are “hard-wired” into our psyche and are performed automatically, or with minimal effort. Our startled reaction to an unexpected loud noise or sexual arousal in response to a pheromone are examples of the System 1 mode, as are swinging a bat or catching a ball. System 2 consists of activities that require full attention and often sustained mental effort, such as counting the number of words in a sentence or filling out a government form. Kahneman asserts that System 1 (visceral) thinking is fast and frugal, i.e., it happens almost instantaneously and demands little cognitive energy. System 2 (rational) thinking, on the other hand, is slow, but systematic, requiring full attention and consuming significant mental energy. In this forum, we will discuss how an understanding of how these mechanisms interact, may help us understand this cerebral conundrum in which we find ourselves.
