metaphorology

an interesting metaphor to understand the human mind

If we want to be able to understand universe, society, religions, relationships and each other...., we need to first understand our minds. Whatever we percieve is the result of our brain. The things around us just happen. According to our perception we just label them, we are the creator of good and bad...

Psychologist Jonathan Haidt uses an interesting metaphor which is derived from the ideas of Buddha, Plato and Freud, to explain how human mind works. According to his metaphor, we see the mind as an elephant and a rider.

The rider represents the controlled process of the brain which can be named conscious and it allows us to think about long term plans. The rider is an advisor or servant; not a king or president. The elephant, in contrast, the automatic process of the brain was shaped by the natural selection. It is related to our genes. The elephant includes feelings, reactions, emotions and intuitions.

The relationship between the rider and the elephant is not always simple and if they don`t work together very well, the internal conflicts appear. When the rider wants to go in a certain direction, the elephant might follow its own direction instead of obeying the rider. Then, either we start to complain about doing stupid things out of control or not expressing our selves because of too much control.