Trumpists and Other Total Jerks: A Natural History

The narcissist, Trump cult absolutist impulse in all of us explained from the origins of life --- I’m Jeremy Sherman PhD, a strategic consultant since 1997, specializing in dealing with jerks and doubts. For a free trial session, email me at js@jeremysherman.com 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤: facebook.com/jeremysherm DEALING WITH JERKS jerkology.net BLOG: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/jerkology BOOK: What’s Up With A**holes? How to spot and stop them without becoming one. https://a.co/d/6QDQwrY AUDIOBOOK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLerthdU4Jw&t DEALING WITH DOUBTS adaptivestrategies.net BLOG: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/ambigamy BOOK: Negotiate with Yourself and Win: Doubt Management Skills for People Who Can Hear Themselves Think: https://a.co/d/brJpNli Though I’m informal, I’ll argue that my approach is more scientific than what passes for science but is really abstract engineering—researchers claiming we’ve got this or that add-on feature without explaining how we got it. That makes for great engineering but it’s no more rigorous than supernatural explanations. For 27 years, I’ve worked closely with Harvard/Berkeley biologist/neuroscientist Terrence Deacon on developing fully scientific explanations for phenomena simply assumed by other researchers. Some examples: LIFE’S STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE: DNA and natural selection don’t explain it. We have a fully natural explanation for how self-regenerating beings (like us) could emerge from chemistry and evolve (by natural selection) the capacity to use DNA molecules. MOTIVATION: Psychologists just assume it. When they see effort they assume a motivation which is like assuming a “soul.” We have an explanation for what effort and motivation are physically is: not something added to chemistry but the way chemistry can limit itself by channeling energy into work to regenerate itself. NARCISSISM: Psychologists say that if you’ve got these symptoms you have a thing called Narcissism. I have an explanation for how humans having evolved language can imagine the ideal, see where we fall short, and self-idealize to compensate. It’s something we all do. I study how it gets out of hand and becomes addictive My book on our research: Neither Ghost Nor Machine: The Emergence and Nature of Selves (Columbia University Press, 2017) https://a.co/d/9ZNyT7E My PhD is in decision science. I’m a soulnerd with a deeply connected heart and head. This stuff is my non-spiritual path. I live and breathe my work. It’s not some abstract intellectual exercise. Nor is it art. Science is a campaign to find natural explanations for all natural phenomena – natural, not supernatural about which you can believe anything. Still, I try to make this stuff fun, intuitive, and useful. I’ve written over 1,100 blog articles for Psychology Today on practical decision-making and the stuff we all go through (11 million views). Their editor-in-chief calls it, “Mind candy for people who aren't afraid to think.” 00:00 My diagnosis 00:51 Science philosophy nonsense 04:02 Perfectly unwise 05:41 Abstract sophology 07:04 Biosophology 08:25 Wisdom as the serenity prayer 10:32 Language