I. M.📘Book club📖 "The Elephant in the Brain" by K.Simler & R.Hanson.

------About the Book club-----
This will be a relaxed discussion and exchange of ideas about the book. Please read it (or most of it) and if you have questions or did not fully understand the content, you can bring the inquiries and we all can have a friendly chat about them.
Here there are no "I am right", or "You are wrong" answers, just open minds. Agnostics when we don't know enough to have an informed opinion and comprehensive when we don't share them. We try to see the world from different perspectives, even when those are counterintuitive. We gather to try to understand ✅, not to make anyone understand❌.

ー➡️To cover the cost of the venue we will ask for 100 (a hundred) yen to join ⬅️ー

For April we will be discussing: "The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life" by Kevin Simler and Robin Hanson.

Please take a look at the end for an abstract of the book.

------Details of the event-----
- 1:00 PM
The venue opens. Please come directly to the Tsunohazu Civic Center (新宿区立角筈地域センター). Japanese style Room I（和室I）in the 7th　floor　（7階）
-1:10 PM
Depending on the number of people, we will split into small groups to start the discussion. A list with the subtitles of the book and possible questions will be provided, but feel free to start the conversation as you like.
-2:00 PM
We will share our thoughts with other groups
-2:45 PM
Let's discuss altogether the conclusions that we got from each other (or maybe there will be more questions than answers!)
The limit of the number of persons is stipulated by the capacity of the room so we can manage better the discussion and everyone can participate and have a voice, if you are unable to attend, please change your RSVP so others can join instead.

Let's talk about Hidden motives and self deception!

NOTE: If you are interested in attending this bookclub but you are unable to afford it due to a particular financial situation, please send a direct message to the organizer. We will figure things out :)

========================Abstract======================

Human beings are primates, and primates are political animals. Our brains, therefore, are designed not just to hunt and gather, but also to help us get ahead socially, often via deception and self-deception. But while we may be self-interested schemers, we benefit by pretending otherwise. The less we know about our own ugly motives, the better - and thus we don't like to talk or even think about the extent of our selfishness. This is "the elephant in the brain." Such an introspective taboo makes it hard for us to think clearly about our nature and the explanations for our behavior. The aim of this book, then, is to confront our hidden motives directly - to track down the darker, unexamined corners of our psyches and blast them with floodlights. Then, once everything is clearly visible, we can work to better understand ourselves: Why do we laugh? Why are artists sexy? Why do we brag about travel? Why do we prefer to speak rather than listen?

Our unconscious motives drive more than just our private behavior; they also infect our venerated social institutions such as Art, School, Charity, Medicine, Politics, and Religion. In fact, these institutions are in many ways designed to accommodate our hidden motives, to serve covert agendas alongside their "official" ones. The existence of big hidden motives can upend the usual political debates, leading one to question the legitimacy of these social institutions, and of standard policies designed to favor or discourage them. You won't see yourself - or the world - the same after confronting the elephant in the brain.