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push back against the modular view of the mind

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sometimes these frames of mind set in

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I'm not really aware of them happening

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they are sometimes triggered by feelings

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I could see a movie that could affect my subsequent behavior

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but there are sometimes when I, the Chief Executive Self, make a decision

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I may be tempted to eat a powdered doughnut, but I say no, it's not in my long-term interest to do it

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rebuttal to this view

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from a lay standpoint its fine to talk like this

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e.g. if you are talking to your family at the dinner table, it's fine

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eventually psychology as a scientific enterprise is going to have to move on from sentences that have pronouns like that

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those sentences, to be more accurate of what happens in the world, are going to be more along the lines of

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there are certain systems in your brain that are designed to be motivated to eat high calorie foods

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there are other systems in your brain which have motives associated with long-term health

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so the latter modules inhibited the behavior that was being facilitated by the short-term modules

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in that description there's no were "I" in there

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there are no pronouns pointing to non-scientifically identifiable entities in the world, but rather nouns that are more likely to correspond to brain states that can actually be detected

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conscious decision making

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examples

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which car should I buy

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which college should I go to

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which job offers should I accept

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self control

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how many drinks should I have at a party

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should I smoke this cigarette

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should I cheat on my spouse

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can this thing that feels like the reasonable me make decisions

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is there some sense that reason can enter the equation

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creating reasons

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extramarital affair

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one module that wants short-term sexual gratification

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one module is concerned about your reputation

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one module is worried about retaliation

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the overall reason one has to have needs to be more complex than e.g. the reason that the sex-seeking module gives

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so we come up with other reasons

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if you knew how emotionally distant my spouse was you would understand

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we rehearse these reasons consciously

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the conscious mind is doing this since it is this part of the mind that communicates with other people

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like a company with two CEOs that are different

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the PR director does not declare one a winner but wants to hear the reasons so that they are prepared to share these reasons pub

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one CEO might be giving a reason that won't work in public

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use of reason

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the brain pays attention when it is not in one's long-term interest to do something

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if you realize that reasons are not going to be accepted, then the conscious mind will cut this out

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with addictions, reason tends to play less and less a role

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e.g. becoming an alcoholic, you eventually stop producing reasons why you are drinking, you just drink

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modules gain more power with victory

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be careful to succumbing to temptation that first time since it gets harder to resist

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it could have been that they just take turns

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but that's not the way it works

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the way for natural selection selected them

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the modules are stacked from basic to more complex

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one rule is that modules that achieve in gaining gratification

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if the short-term sex module suggest you have quick sex with someone, and another module warns against it, and you partake in the sex, and it is pleasure and no consequences come of it, then is is success and will be encourages in the future

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this can be explained in evolutionary terms such that when you see trees in the distance and a mind module that is responsible for identifying food suggest that the trees do have fruit, and they do, then this module will be given preference in the future

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addiction

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the chemical reward system was not so easy during our evolution

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craving

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the default mode network gets quieter during meditation

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mindfulness meditation to overcome smoking

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get them to view the craving differently

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RAIN acronym

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Recognize what craving feels like

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Allow it to be there

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we often push away unpleasant things but you have to allow it to be in your body in order to investigate it

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Investigate

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get curious, ask what does the craving feel like in my body right now

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when you are really curious about something, it flips the valence from unpleasant to pleasant

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use of a noting process: take note of tension, clenching, burning, and other feelings in the body as the craving comes and goes away

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the RAIN approach enables those dealing with cravings to ride the wave of craving instead of getting sucked into it

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we often think that when a craving comes, we have to either succumb to it or push it away

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RAIN allows you to observe, or ride the wave

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it's important to be with the craving, notice its physical sensations in their body, the mental restlessness, and if they don't act on it, they don't fuel it

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mindfulness as operant conditioning

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when you feel rage

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when you pound your desk and yell at someone

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if nothing bad happens, is that defined as success in natural selection terms

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if you feel hatred

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you go around saying unfavorable things about them

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it feels good

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especially if they hate them too, or if they are persuaded

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modules can be thought of metaphorically as organism which operate on conditional thinking

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each vy for your attention