Our emotional response to safety, food, sex and self-actualisation will always trump rational thinking. Don’t be a dick.

The Chimp Paradox by Consultant Psychiatrist Steve Peters describes the conflict between our chimp brain and our rational brain.

The chimp brain steps forward with an emotional response in any situation where safety, food, sex and self-actualisation are concerned. The rational brain follows up behind the chimp brain and is responsible for reasoned analysis and thinking.

A paradox exists because of the tension between the two. Its impact can be both good and bad. The human species would have become extinct long ago if it were reliant on rational thinking for reproduction.

The book encourages readers to recognise situations where the chimp brain is dominant, leading to an emotional reaction. Learn the triggers that cause you to behave like a dick and moderate your behaviour.

The book uses the metaphor of a planetary system to explain how different areas of the brain function and work together. It is hard going.

I don’t want to demean Steve Peters’ work, but you’ll understand the premise of the book within the first 100 pages. There is then another 250 pages of research and analysis that applies The Chimp Paradox to different areas of your life.

At this point I am afraid that my chimp brain took over and urged me to move on to the next book on my reading list.

The Chimp Paradox
Steve Peters
Vermilion, January 2012