Caveman Logic - Book Review

“Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference” Aside from the God part, which was intentionally left out, this Alcoholics Anonymous mantra seems to be the best way to describe what Hank Davis is trying to do in his book “Caveman Logic: The persistence of primitive thinking in a modern world.” Another way to briefly summarize the idea expressed in these 300 pages is given by the author himself: “Stop trying to change or control what isn't under your control!” If this statement seems to disagree with the teaching of so-called self-help gurus, then it's probably true, and a thorough read of the book will tell you why.

I don't think anyone can dispute the fact that we are extremely apt at finding patterns. And I'm not, of course, talking about discovering secret codes in seemingly random rows of symbols, but about seeing faces in the clouds. For over 2,000 years, people have put together various stars in the sky, based solely on their similarity to an animal, or an object, and have termed them accordingly. This ability that we developed in the Pleistocene Age is arguably the reason why we still exist today as a species. Discerning between a mold of leaves and a crouched predator was important then.

But these patterns are not necessarily a good thing today, which is not to say that they are bad. It's just that they have limitations. The instincts and basic neural connections, or shortcuts that our ancestors developed slowly over millennia of evolution served them fairly well in their time. But they appeared to handle certain situations, under very specific conditions. These days, it may be that the same shortcuts, or heuristics, are triggered in the brain when only a smaller number of conditions are met. And this can have disastrous consequences. The worst part is that we don't even realize it.

This is one of the basic arguments that Davis makes in his book. He describes Caveman Logic in terms of the influence that our primitive brain has on our daily thoughts. Even though we like to see ourselves as more enlightened, knowledgeable, free, and civilized than ever before in human history, the basic truth is that we are still very much under the control of our primitive brains. While tendencies such as aggression towards others, and a host of other violent behaviors have been weeded out by society's rules, other, deeper influences still remain.

The best examples to illustrate this are religion, extra-sensory perceptions, belief in heaven, hell, angels and demons, the acceptance of a predetermined destiny or karma, belief in communication with the dead, or the belief in synchronicity. All these predispositions that our brains have, of searching explanations for things, or finding solace from pain, in supernatural things is the worst legacy that Caveman Logic left us.

These types of explanations stood to reason a few hundred thousands years ago, when our ancestors knew squat about the world around, and a lightning seemed the manifestation of a god. But, though we sent people to the Moon, and built undersea tunnels, and designed nanometer-scale transistors, we are still predisposed towards explaining an unfortunate event by referring to a higher power, though no evidence of this exists. Davis gives the example of a rope bridge collapsing with five travelers on it.

The fact that this happened in the 18th century, in a precarious rope bridge that had too much weight on it is not explanation enough for some. Rather, people tried to find if the travelers were sinners, and if the accident was a punishment for their sins. This is precisely the type of Caveman Logic at work today. Naturally, no discernible sins could be found in either of the five victims, of which two were children. The accident spawned a book, called “The Bridge of San Luis Rey,” as well as two movies.

The real problem, Davis masterfully shows in his book, is that these flaws that we have, of reporting everything to more than nature and the laws of physics, are not dangerous inside each individual. They are however extremely perilous when they are institutionalized. When a new such structure is formed, it tends to carry with it the flaws of the individuals that form it. And there you have one of the main reasons why, for instance, the Crusades were carried out. Both sides believes in a supernatural actor (God and Allah), and they both believed that the actor was on their side.

In Chapter 1 of Caveman Logic, Davis accurately and clearly identifies the elements that led to the perpetuations of these errors and mental flaws. They are the same elements that now, in the US, lead to fundamentalist Christian camps, and to children being indoctrinated to believe in Jesus Christ from an early age (see the documentary Jesus Camp for more details). These elements are mental predispositions (it comes naturally to do so), strong social support (family, church, community, etc.), and the potential loss of comfort, that stems from a risk of being excluded from the group, losing acceptance and your role as a member.

The author also identifies one of the most important reasons why God is needed. As we grow up, as children, we are used to asking our parents for things. They hold the power, as it power, and can drastically change our circumstance, if they so please. So we plead, beg, beseech and bargain in order to get what we want. As adults, when a loved one falls ill, there suddenly is no one to hold the power. We don't, our parents don't, our loved ones don't, but the primitive parts of our brains tell us that there must be someone who does.

So we plead, beg, beseech and bargain once more, this time to a higher power, such as God, Allah, Buddha or whatever other deity people happen to believe in. We say “If you heal them, I'll stop smoking, and I'll start going to church more often.” The catch about religion is that, when it works, it becomes proof of God's power. When it doesn't, the person that died was either sinful or unworthy of saving. The same mind-boggling scam is applied successfully and for large profits by so-called faith healers, who claim that Jesus works through them. If their patients don't get better, it's God's will. From this point of view, they are covered, and live to deceive other people the next day as well.

The bottom line is that we need to accept the fact that not all circumstances are under out control. We also need to realize that books written 2,000 years ago do not hold all the answers. While a fundamentalist Christian might disagree, or feel offended by this statement, remember the part about patterns. If we look for coincidences and connection, we can find them in a cook book as well. But to go to war based on such knowledge is simply stupid and useless.

Philosophers accurately identified the root of the problem. They say that, if all religion and superstition were to be eradicated from the world today, humankind would be busy creating it by tomorrow. The engine behind this need is deep within our brains, in our hardwiring to believe in supernatural things, and to believe that there must be other explanations for tragedies and accidents. Granted, it's not easy to accept the cold reality of percentages and probabilities, but that is all there is to it. And if you want to find a sinner that may have caused a plane crash, you will. Then again, one might be living next door.

Of course, many other aspects are covered by Hank Davis in his book. From psychological flaws, to logic errors, to misperceptions on the theory of evolution and anthropological facts about our brain, the book takes us through a whirlwind of facts and clarifications, including the often-quoted statement that “Evolution is just a theory.” People seem to forget that, for something to be a theory, it needs peer-reviewed testing, and extensive scrutiny. Extra-sensory perceptions and the existence of ghosts are not theories, they are unfounded beliefs. The Randi Foundation has $1 million in store for the first scientific proof of anything related to supernatural things, from ghosts to communication with the dead.

And before creationists and ID adepts start screaming pseudo-science at this book, or the present article, think about it first. These theories of ESP and angels and haunted houses are pseudo-science. Documented scientific theories, with plenty of evidences to support them, are now starting to be questioned by fanatics and fundamentalists of all creeds, who disagree with evolution, but use the Internet to post comments. I find this to be a bit hypocritical, to say the least. Books such as Caveman Logic are science, not the other way around.

Book data:

Author: Hank Davis Title: Caveman Logic: The persistence of primitive thinking in a modern world Publisher: Prometheus Books ISBN 978-1-59102-721-8 Binding: Paperback Pages: 298 Shipping Weight: 1lbs

Hank Davis (Guelph, Ontario, Canada) is an award-winning professor of psychology who teaches at the University of Guelph. He is the author of several books on behavioral science and popular culture and more than one hundred scientific papers.

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