The Multitude Containing Boys of Comedy™ discuss the idea of our subselves.

This week we consider the idea that who we are is made up of several evolved subselves that (often subconsciously) drive behavior and ultimately the inclusive fitness of your genes.  An idea in the book ‘The Rational Animal’ is that there are seven of these subselves: Self-protection, Affiliation, Status, Disease Avoidance, Mate-Acquisition, Mate-Retention, Kin-Care.

From looking at this list you can probably think of a lot of ways these different drives compete with one another.  Many species risk their survival for mating.  We’ve all become very familiar with ways that affiliation can be at odds with disease avoidance.  Can you think of how different subselves may prime different choices?  Can you guess why watching either a scary movie or romantic comedy can prime a different restaurant choice? 

Can you think of your own examples of some of these subselves competing with one another or working together?