The Happiness Hypothesis

"The Divided Self:" Small Rider, Large Elephant

Before Freud, both Plato and Buddha described the divided self. To Plato, the psyche was a charioteer, our reason, guiding the wild horses of our passions. Freud’s update depicted ego as a carriage driver, id as the wild beasts pulling the carriage and the superego as the driver’s father who tells him what he’s doing wrong. Perhaps Buddha’s simple metaphor of the split mind - as a rational rider atop an irrational elephant - is the most useful.

The brain has two hemispheres with different strengths. Split-brain research says the left brain will conceive a likely story to explain behavior, though it isn’t privy to accurate data. It does this in a matter-of-fact way, with no idea that it is concocting a tale. This brain module maintains a running, convincing dialogue as part of the "makes sense" function of thought. We rarely feel a need to go beyond a plausible explanation.

The human brain evolved slowly from a merely reactive organ into a useful tool for reasoning and planning. With the brain’s expansion to house the intellect, we gained a greater range and deeper capacity for emotions, located, scientists say, ...