WHY WE DO IT

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Humans have asked this question for as long as we’ve had the capacity to reflect. However, the understanding of decision making that currently dominates society is based on an assumption that people are acting from conscious, willed choices at all times. “Good” and “bad” behavior, “right” and “wrong” decisions; these frameworks assume that agency is continuously present and equally accessible to all.

But what if our actions aren’t as consciously willed as we believe? What if human decision-making is, in fact, far more nuanced?  

Society doesn't currently have an accurately described decision making paradigm. There's a little psychology, a little neuroscience, a little "common sense"- but no over arching structure that really gives clarity as to why humans do what we do.

In this piece, I attempt to approximate the current informal Decision Making Paradigm of common sense, assumed agency, and a "good person/bad person" dichotomy. It all comes together to suggest that people are always in control and always doing what they willfully want to do.

I then highlight that our current paradigm must be updated, even if my MSPAINT graphic doesn't suffice.

Pulling some insights from Das Metaphysics, I explain how consciousness for many can end up more like being stuck behind a command prompt trying to figure out the syntax to influence the Life passing by on the screen.

I also introduce the basics of my shitty little PNG. The Decision Matrix helps provide some more nuance to the process of decision making. It deconflates agency from behavior, suggest that these sit opposed to each other on a spectrum. Behavior is of the body, agency is of consciousness.

On the other axis, I acknowledge that we can have varying levels of awareness of our decisions as they are being made, and generally even less insight into exactly why. 

This post defines and explores each quadrant of the matrix: conscious agency, conscious behavior, subconscious agency, and subconscious behavior. Our mind is constantly considering all, and we're never purely operating in any one of the states, but there is generally a quadrant dominating someone's decision-making.

We'll also explore some of the barriers between quadrants, such as the social desirability bias barrier between conscious behavior and conscious agency.

After getting more acquainted with the Decision Matrix Paradigm, we can discuss how it applies to mastering empathy. 

I argue that true empathy comes to know only feeling what someone is feeling, but truly understanding why they are the way they are.

In lieu of simply assuming everyone is in full agency all of the time, we'll discuss determining someone's default and current dominant quadrant, and how it may be worth considering in determining the best interactions with them.

If any of this shit I'm saying is remotely close to accurate, society's kinda fucked up. 

All judgement, violence, incarceration, economic inequality- pretty much all the stuff people are super stoked on in life- comes from the fundamental assumption that people are in full control at all times.

This post discusses what a different society that genuinely acknowledges that difficulty of sustaining meaningful agency as a human, and seeks to support, not exploit, those that struggle.