Tribal: How the Cultural Instincts That Divide Us Can Help Bring Us Together
Michael Morris
Thesis Penguin/An Imprint of Penguin Random House (October 2024)
They’re not one of us and thus a potential threat, if not an enemy
Long ago, Athenians, Spartans, Corinthians and others agreed that they needed a name when referring to all the strangers who arrived in their country to do business and even establish a new home. They agreed on one word — “barbarian” — which literally means “non-Greek.” That is, “not one of us.” Ever since, for many centuries, people all over the world have differentiated themselves from others: non-Jew, non-Republican, non-Parisian, non-Hindu,”summer people,” etc.
I was again reminded of all that when I began to read Michael Morris’s examination of how “cultural instincts that divide us can help bring us together.” In his superb introduction to Tribal, he observes that, “through the luck of good timing, I’ve conducted some of the pathbreaking studies that shaped the field of ‘cultural psychology’s trajectory. A major lesson from the hundreds of studies that I have conduct field I’ve conducted is that cultural patterns are mutable and malleable, and that with the right tools, we can harness them.”
He adds, “Contrary to existential views of cultural character as set in stone, people’s cultural conditioning and convictions change over time. We internalize new cultural identities and codes with every new community we join…In addition, to learning new cultures, people switch between their multiple mindsets situationally. Walt Whitman said it best: ‘I am large. I contain multitudes.'”
These are among the passages of greatest interest and value to me, also listed to indicate the nature and scope of Morris’s coverage:
o Peer instinct/codes (Pages 3-32)
o Homo erectus (3-4, 31-32, and 33-35)
o Evolution of brain (5-6 and 9-15)
o Peer instinct codes: triggering cultural cues (15-28)
o Cultural influences on biases (20-22 and 193-200)
o Conformity and certainty-seeking (28-32)
o Civil Rights Movement (39-42 and 54-55)
o Ancestor Instinct/codes (56-80)
o Early humans: the emergence of Homo sapiens (59-62)
o Ancestor Instinct/codes and rituals/traditions (63-67 and 70-72)
o Prestige signals (103-125)
o Influence of business leaders (109-113)
o Precedent signals: Traditions and traditionalism (126-148)
o Conformity: consistent precedents (137-144)
o Selective recall (139-143)
o Institutional change and grassroots movements (156-163, 169-170, and 175-176)
o Political culture (178-187 and 188-192)
o Democratic Party (179-181, 186-187, and 189-191)
o Remediation strategies (188-192)
o Sectarian conflict (207-208 and 213-214)
These are among Morris’s concluding thoughts: “I don’t have blind faith that tribal intuition will inevitably heal the earth and all of our divisions. But I see lots of evidence that they can help. Our long pasts are resources for future flexibility. Our capacity to evolve new cultural codes in response to new environments is endlessly surprising and should be a source of hope even in the most difficult times. One thing is certain: we will not overcome the present challenges as individuals. As even our earliest ancestors knew, we can thrive only together — in tribes.”
We would do well to keep in mind this proverb from Africa: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
Michael Morris would be an excellent travel agent.
Tribal is a brilliant achievement. Bravo!
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Here are two suggestions while you are reading Tribal: First, highlight key passages. Also, perhaps in a notebook kept near-at-hand (e.g. Apica Premium C.D. Notebook A5), record your comments, questions, and action steps (preferably with deadlines).
These two simple tactics — highlighting and documenting — will expedite frequent reviews of key material later.