Angel, devil, and third party
On decision-making, Bugs Bunny, and what to do when more than just right and wrong apply
There is a familiar old metaphor about the duality of human nature: An angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other, each whispering into our ears in a battle to influence our decisions. It’s a metaphor so familiar that it even appears in seemingly countless cartoons.
■ To an extent, it’s helpful to see a depiction of that duality so that we can appreciate that all of us struggle with a battle between good and evil. But what if there’s something missing from that metaphor? What if there’s a third character and rather than it being a struggle simply between two, it’s a three-body problem instead?
■ What if we were to depict the same angel and devil battling it out, but with a character for self-interest who tips the balance between the two of them?
■ For some people, the angel will overwhelm almost all bad thoughts. For others, the devil. But for most of us, most decisions end up depending upon not just the balance between our good and bad natures, but also where the preponderance of self-interest lies.
■ Society really is about making sure we align self-interest with the interests of the community as a whole, so that the good angel wins more often than not -- and particularly in the times when it counts most. If evil seems to be winning more often than it should, then, of course, we should have concerns about the viability of the devil in too many lives.
■ But we should also have a more immediate concern with where the preponderance of self-interest lies in tipping the balance. That’s more controllable among people of goodwill and decency. Structuring self-interest so that it provides a framework of rewards and punishments that serve to tilt the balance in favor of the angels is not only an extremely important job, but also highly dispositive about where we end up in the long run.
