Yesterday I proposed a frame for discussing Republicans' use of racist comments to energize their base: Racism as GOP Gasoline. I was surprised by the reaction, as I had expected more disagreement on some points. But I wasn't surprised by the argument that we shouldn't tar all Republicans as racists; indeed that's exactly why I chose the Racism as GOP Gasoline frame. As Dr. George Lakoff writes in The Political Mind, progressives must choose better frames if we're to effect better policies.
Oh, and the stars are back. Lucky you....
Framing Our Frames (The Political Mind)
This week Morning Feature is exploring Dr. George Lakoff's book The Political Mind. Dr. Lakoff is a professor of cognitive science and linguistics at U.C. Berkeley and, as you'll see from the link, an active Kossack. If you've not read his book, it's well worth doing.
Yesterday I introduced the topic by offering a frame for discussing race-baiting tactics in politics: Racism as GOP Gasoline. I used the sub-headers Racism as Gasoline as Fuel (Republican spokesmen use it to energize angry whites among their base) and Racism as Gasoline as Explosive (it's a very dangerous political fuel that powered the worst atrocities in human history). I could have chosen other sub-headers, and we'll explore some today. But we'll also explore some cognitive theory: what frames are and why good frames are so important both for individual and collective reasoning.
Bundles of analysis.
I'm not a cognitive scientist, but Dr. Lakoff and others describe frames as biological structures, networks of linked neurons that provide the structures of reasoning. I see them as bundles of analysis, sets of related nuggets of thought. Frames can be very simple, such as Itch:Scratch or Pain:Flinch. They can also be quite complex, including narratives, roles, objects, emotions, goals and risks, strategies, and outcome evaluators. They can be very general (Pastimes), very specific (Red Sox Fan), or somewhere between (Sports). Specific frames seem to link to some of the structures of their more general 'parents' - I'm using that term in the network-linking sense - although a specific frame may replace some of those structures with others unique to its domain. (E.g.: Baseball and Football are both Sports and have Sports-Rules, but most of those rules are different.)
I specified the network-linking sense of the word 'parents' because a frame may have 'parents' from seemingly different domains, and a frame may acquire new 'parents' through practice. That's why and how frames emerge in metaphor. If you discuss Racism as GOP Gasoline, the words "racism," "GOP," and "gasoline" each triggers its own frames, and by using that metaphor you form new links in your brain. (As Dr. Lakoff writes, "neurons that fire together wire together.") By practicing that frame you are, literally, "changing your mind" ... rewiring the networks that shape your thoughts about racism, Republicans, and gasoline.
The Gut and unconscious reasoning.
The "Gut" is not Dr. Lakoff's term; it's from last week's author Charles Pierce and his book Idiot America. Dr. Lakoff uses the term "unconscious reasoning," and notes that an estimated 98% of reasoning is unconscious. We're not aware of most of our thinking, and even when we reason consciously we're not aware of many of the steps. We leap from A to F-G to P-Q and arrive at Z, and the other connections are made without our conscious attention. That's very useful, because it saves time and frees our conscious attention for what (we believe) is most important.
But while all of that happens in the brain, Pierce's metaphor of the Gut isn't entirely wrong. We evaluate unconscious reasoning by our level of anxiety about an end-thought - whether we feel anxious or safe - and one way we experience that anxiety or confidence is by the sensations in our abdomen. When we're anxious, the Fight or Flight Response reduces the blood flow to the digestive tract; when the anxiety passes, the blood flow to the digestive tract returns to normal. We perceive that change as a "sinking feeling" or "tightening" sensation in the belly when we're anxious, or a "settled" sensation when we're safe. If 98% of reasoning is unconscious, then most of the time we evaluate our thinking by how we feel about it ... anxious or confident.
Moreover, choosing a frame is usually an unconscious decision. We can't even be aware of stimuli or experience until it has been framed. By the time we're aware of "thinking about" something, the Gut (our unconscious reasoning) has already done some of the most important work, including picking the frame. That frame-selection happens on a most-used-best-fit basis; the Gut chooses the frame we've applied or seen applied most often (most used) for experiences in that domain (best fit).
But "most used" is far more important than "best fit." Given a choice between a well-fitting frame that we've never used or seen used and an less-fitting frame that we've used or seen used repeatedly, the Gut will choose the less-fitting-but-most-used frame. If it's a close enough fit, we'll get by and indeed may apply it better than we would the less familiar frame. But if not ... we've already made a mistake of analysis before we're aware of thinking about the problem.
And if we're confident in and with that frame, the Gut won't signal us that we're headed for trouble.
To get a "smarter Gut," learn and practice better frames.
Dr. Lakoff suggests we progressives need to learn and practice frames that elicit better reasoning and lead us to better solutions. The better our frames fit the problems, and the more we practice with them, the more likely our unconscious reasoning will guide us to arguments that convince and motivate others, and to solutions that work. For complex problems, our frames must evoke and invite nuance. Yet they must still be grounded in progressive moral reasoning, evoke our ideals, and invite our stories.
Tangible frames are more effective than abstract frames, both in convincing others of what problems need to be solved and in solving those problems, when we choose good metaphors. Our metaphors must evoke sound unconscious reasoning, because most of our reasoning is unconscious. If the frame requires us to consciously proceed step by excruciatingly exact step, most people won't bother. If the frame guides us unconsciously down the wrong path, we'll go blithely down that wrong path. We need frames that guide us unconsciously down correct paths, so when we "go with our Gut" we're going in a good direction.
Does the Racism as GOP Gasoline frame meet those goals? I think so. It's grounded in progressive moral reasoning, evokes our ideals, invites our stories, and it's tangible. It also invites nuance. It doesn't say all Republicans are racist, or that all Republican policies are designed to promote racism, claims that are all too easily denied. Instead, it says many Republicans use racism to energize angry whites among their base, and using that fuel - pouring gasoline on the embers of economic and political discontent - is dangerous and reckless.
It works for me. Does it work for you?
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Speaking of frames, someone needs to reframe the stars....
Virgo - Your future is like your past, except you haven't sorted it yet.
Libra - Don't think about that thing you're trying to quit thinking about.
Scorpio - Your quiet, calm reasoning will.... Oops. Wrong sign.
Sagittarius - Your quiet, calm reasoning will annoy a Scorpio this weekend.
Capricorn - The best metaphor for your weekend involves a windshield and a bird overhead.
Aquarius - You can't be framed, but only because you'll really do it.
Pisces - Of all the ways you're like a rock, swimming isn't among them.
Aries - You remind people of someone else. Someone else is offended.
Taurus - Be strong, but not in that haven't-showered-since-June way.
Gemini - The twins in your sign represent two related symbols of something else.
Cancer - The Crab is the name of a mythical character, not a life goal.
Leo - The trickling streams of events that run together in your ... oops, bathroom break.
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Happy Friday!