The Polarization of Medicine and Its Philosophy

Contrary to many, long-outdated views, humans are by no means rational animals who always act sensibly and with beneficial outcomes in mind. As Daniel Kahneman, winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics, points out in his book "Thinking, Fast and Slow" (2012), it is in fact the case that the human dislike of loss is much greater than our love of rewards. This is why, during penalty kicks, a goalkeeper jumps right 50 percent of the time and left the other 50 percent, even though it is widely known that only one-third of kickers shoot to the right and one-third to the left. Another third of the players aim at the middle, but if a goalkeeper simply stays put, he or she would seem inactive. What impression would that make? Another example of irrational action: People clinging to their shares, even when they are rapidly declining in value, just so they won’t be regarded as inconsistent.

Such errors of thought constantly undermine us because our thinking is not exclusively guided by reason. The impression others might have of us sometimes influences our thinking even more than reason. Whenever we are supposed to make a decision, it is seldom about the problem itself. Instead, it is more about our highly personal observation of the problem. This pattern of thinking shapes small everyday decisions, but – and this is fatal – it also shapes the bigger picture. Namely, the political and economic systems of this world.

In his book, Daniel Kahneman speaks of "competence illusion" when he describes how stockbrokers regard themselves as competent, serious experts, when in reality they are playing a purely random game. A fallacy deeply rooted in the culture of our economy. Politics and economics can be seen as a game, in which individuals try to differentiate themselves but are ultimately guided by chance rather than by reason. Without going into detail of the disaster scenario of the financial crisis, the so-called "anchoring effect" arises every day. In an experiment, for example, Kahneman discovered that experienced judges sentenced a thief to a higher prison sentence, because the thief had committed a number of serious crimes just a few months prior.

The consequence of such a behavioral economy is a rather gloomy one: there is more distrust established than trust.

Why do humans and animals in certain situations behave the way they do and not differently? In my exploration of human consciousness, I invited Dr. Schultz as my interview guest. He was able to tell me a lot about how we can crack the code of complex patterns of behavior.