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@rmkelly We think Wright is saying that our brain is gifted at making up stories about the motivation behind actions even when the story telling part of brain doesn't actually have access to or knowledge of the actual motivations behind said actions. My extension of this is that to support the stories our brains make up, & to be seen as reliable members of the tribe, & desirable as a mate, we had to evolve an awareness for finding (or fabricating) evidence for the motivation our behavior. (1)
@rmkelly (2) So I think to clarify, what is actual is subconscious in this quote but the brain evolved to tell stories for survival in a species that uses language. Context around the quote implies that to present as not having a story about our motivations (that are subconscious) would be cause for be ostracized.
@rmkelly (3) What Wright is aiming for is that 1. with Buddhism (mindfulness meditation) we can know the "actual" motivations for our actions and thus maybe not respond with stories, and 2. in regards to your question of what is the alternative, it is mindful action and decision making.
@noself Thx for comment, I appreciate it. I think it's good to stick to basics.
When you say that "even when" our brain doesn't have actual knowledge, the story-telling function might kick in, and COULD lead us to tell a story to support X. I agree.
Then you say that the result is that we "had to" support the story that our brain just made up. I disagree. Both the decisions to 1. tell ourselves a story, and, 2. stick with it in the face of contradictions, are matters of free will.
No?
@rmkelly Freewill in our beliefs is a matter of awareness (which we have somewhat discussed, even if not agreed). When we evolved traits of automatic storytelling and the ubiquity of confirmation bias ( @bryankam dependent origination) our freewill was not as deliberate and conscious as we would like to believe, and that continues to today. The more mindful we able to attend to these false stories about actual motivations, then yes, they become more matters of freewill. In our opinion/theory.
@rmkelly In regards to basics it can work if context is agreed on. Discussing evolutionary psychology, it is important to remember evolution doesn't obey or care about freewill. The trait of our mind to make up stories for our actual motivations, to explain our motivations to ourselves, survived because it was more successful genetically, mindlessly, without choice. It is part of our brain to automatically tell ourselves stories about ourselves. (1)
@rmkelly (2) I think what needs vetting is if confirmation bias is such a trait. We argue it is because as a species that evolved to linguistically be interdependent, it would be detrimental to our own developing sense of self, acceptance by the tribe and potential mates to have stories about ourselves that aren't validated in the real world. Our theory is that we instinctually look for proof to support the stories we believe about ourselves manufactured by our minds.
See (3)
@rmkelly I think what is most fascinating is why our minds created a fitness trait that tells stories. I hypothesize that no sentient creature could survive and replicate if it was fully cognizant of existential truth. Non-self-reflective creatures survive and replicate by instinct, ignorant of how bleak it is to survive and replicate against all odds, without ever ever really living (ignorance is bliss). And even for us, we create all sorts of fantasies to make life livable.
@rmkelly If we seek truth, we first have to understand that our brains did not evolve for truth (Harari). They evolved to survive and replicate and truth is not necessary for that. For one as myself, this is fascinating in a culture of story tellers and more recently "fake news." Many of the fictions of our evolutionary success are still useful, and evolving, some need to be let go. So to seek truth, we must know our fictions.