A Communitarian Subsconsious

Our species’ advanced level of consciousness, i.e. being self-aware, often interferes with our ability to utilize collective wisdom—the kind of subconscious wisdom that turns a school of fish away from predators. Humans, however, prioritize individual desires over those of the community; we choose competition over cooperation. And in doing so we create a host of psychological maladies that pit the individual against society. A greater trust in our subconscious motivations and a critical examination of our conscious ones would go a long way toward making social bonds more satisfying and fulfilling our biological, which is to say social, destiny.