https://youtubetranscript.com/?v=jrOi2U_tZO4
It’s our shared apprehensions about the implications of situations for behaviors that constitute our cultures. And it’s those shared maps that bring predictability to our interpersonal relationships. You can only understand that if you understand what the world is like when it’s not predictable. And it’s difficult to understand that for modern people who live in peaceful times, because our culture is so successful at regulating our interpersonal behavior, and even the environment for that matter, that we hardly ever encounter a situation where anything remotely unpredictable happens. So you can’t tell what it’s like to be faced with something that’s unpredictable. So you don’t know what it’s like when you’re in an environment where culture doesn’t reign, because you’re part of a successful community, and you’re extraordinarily well protected. You’re like a boy that lives inside a castle. You can’t see over the walls, doesn’t even know that they’re there. There’s all sorts of terrible things outside the castle, but everything inside is peaceful. And that’s the world. And the boy has no idea what he would be like if he went outside into the real world where things were actually unpredictable, because he’s only had a chance to observe his behavior under stable conditions, where everything’s predictable and acceptable. It’s even worse now, in a sense. It’s better in a way, too. I mean, it is peaceful now, in many ways. I mean, even compared to 15 years ago, there’s much less ideological dispute in the world about how to conduct affairs than there was, say, in the mid-70s. And people have more or less accepted, I mean, I know there’s exceptions to this, but people all over the world have more or less accepted the necessity, for example, for a market economy. There aren’t very many ideologies that appear attractive, even in the imagination, in contrast to Western-style democracies. I mean, that’s a pretty recent occurrence, and it’s unlikely to last for any great length of time, I think. But it is peaceful now. And the fact that that piece makes it even more difficult for us to either understand ourselves or to be sufficiently motivated to understand ourselves. Because when things are going really well, and everything’s predictable, then you presume that you know what you’re doing. In fact, that’s the basis on which you base your judgments about whether you know what you’re doing. If you perform a procedure, and what you predict occurs, you’re right. That doesn’t mean you know everything, but as far as you’re concerned, that’s sufficient. .