What were they thinking?
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is the biggest land war in Europe since WW2. Amidst the wanton destruction and violation of human life in return for territorial acquisition you can justifiably feel sorrow and anger and ask those who started this war, “just what were you thinking?”
The answer, of course is system 1 thinking. This is where we experience the emotions of patriotism and collective destiny. The feeling that ‘might is right’ is a deep survival extinct mostly experienced pre-consciously. This is triggered when we are called together as a group or a community or a nation to protect our identity from a perceived threat. We automatically align ourselves with the in-group and we denigrate or dehumanise the out-group. And so it has been throughout the recorded history of our species. Yet, only presidents and prime ministers are successful at raising system 1 thinking to such a fever pitch that a population would commit to the destruction of the out-group.
But going to war is not solely the province of system 1 thinking. There must be some logical justification for such an emotional response. This is where system 2 thinking comes in. All the planning, the logistics, the rationale, the diplomatic posturing, and the application of lethal force must be carefully thought through. ‘Strategy’, by definition is the engagement of system 2 thinking for “the planning and directing of military operations and movements in a war or battle”.
What’s missing is System 3 Thinking. This is essentially the application of good judgement in the service of a common good and it has 6 dimensions:
Focus – paying attention to what really matters.
Life Experience – discerning what makes common sense.
Decisiveness – trying small actions to find out what works best.
Compassion – demonstrating care for humanity through consistent action.
Emotional Regulation – using your emotions without feeling overwhelmed.
Tolerance for Divergent Values – acknowledging different value systems.
You cannot start a war if System 3 Thinking prevails. It is the antithesis of war. How can presidents and prime ministers provoke their citizenry to take up arms against a perceived foe if everyone is paying attention to what really matters in their lives and the lives of their families. Even the enemy love their children too. And if we remember the lessons of history passed down through generations, how can we repeat the same actions and not learn from the consequences? How can an individual who is not compelled by the emotion of system 1 thinking make the decision to go to war? Every decision we make is the result of many smaller decisions. The decisiveness of System 3 Thinking is the accumulation of many smaller, yet virtuous choices. And how can you wage a compassionate war? It is an oxymoron. The very antidote to war is compassion. System 3 Thinking also demands restraint and awareness of emotions. Emotional regulation is a sign of adult maturity, something lacking in the child-like fury of fear and aggression that beats the drum of war. And finally System 3 Thinking acknowledges and appreciates the differences in lived values and beliefs There is no distinction between an in-group and an out-group when you have tolerance for divergent values.
To stop this senseless war (although all wars are senseless) and to prevent the wars of the future we must cultivate the practice of System 3 Thinking by developing these 6 dimensions. Imagine a world where there is no war. It can be done!
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For more information on System 3 Thinking buy the book here
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