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CNN and Fox, Democrats and Republicans, heterosexuals and homosexuals, women and men, North Korea and the rest of the world—these are the polarizations that make the news. Sensational though they are, they are also reminders of how “splitting” is easier than “lumping," and how we seem to lack the mental reserve to unite people because we lack the ability to join ideas and ideologies.
How do we join ideologies? Mapping the similarities between conflicting ideologies requires analogical reasoning. This requires ignoring the differences and looking for commonalities so that even very disparate ideologies can be joined. In some ways, we seem to be biologically compelled to take this stance. Indeed, some studies show that analogical reasoning may be inherited. But many studies also show that it can be learned.
How is this related to creativity? Being able to map similarities taps into the brain's ability to innovate. In fact, the more we map similarities between ideas that are very different, the more key "innovation hubs" like the frontopolar cortex activate. But we are also biased against creativity because of the challenge the change brings.
Why do we avoid creative solutions to ideological differences? When two ideologies are similar, say those of Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, we call this a small “semantic distance.” And when the ideologies are very dissimilar, say those of Donald Trump and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, we call this a large semantic distance. For the most part, the world reports on the differences between ideologies, and we take sides. The result is conflict, disdain, hatred, prejudice and violence. Rarely is there a productive, intelligent conversation, and almost never is there an automatic inclination for people to look for similarities to resolve their conflicts. Why is this?
It's more difficult to map ideas across large semantic distances, so we give up on this too easily. And we are also averse to creativity.
Unconsciously, the words we most associate with creativity are "vomit" and "agony." And any change creates brain chaos called cognitive dissonance. In fact, for most of us, creative flow may even be as frightening as a tidal wave. The philosopher Soren Kierkegaard pointed out that this kind of freedom may even be at the basis of all existential anxiety.
How can we resolve differences across ideologies? If we are to evolve, we need to overcome cognitive dissonance by some method other than choosing one side over the other. And analogical thinking would be a great beginning.
Rather than always seeing only the differences that exist between us, we have an opportunity for more creative living when we see our similarities too. In fact, when we miss our similarities, we miss important possibilities for conflict resolution. This is what the artist Grayson Perry discovered after the Brexit decision, when he found that people on both sides had many more similarities than differences, but even small differences can make us forget this.
How, then, can we resolve conflicts across large divides? I think that we need to overcome our fears of creativity, flow and freedom and take on the challenge of analogical thinking. There are a few ways to do this.
1. Focus on the similarities. Studies show that analogical thinking is difficult when you can't focus on mapping the similarities. So first, we must be disciplined about focusing on these ideas. If the challenge of merging the ideas of Donald Trump and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez seems too large at first, then take a step back and ask yourself: What do they share? I guarantee you will be able to make a list of more than 100 things. As you build this list, you will be able to see how a more innovative solution may occur. Perhaps somebody should guide this process in the government before shutting it down.
2. Resist the temptation of making a choice prematurely. Once you choose, there's no going back. Your brain goes into autopilot rationalizing your choice. A good exercise is to ask yourself, "What if I didn't choose?" Many poetic outcomes have been described with this mental attitude. When you tolerate uncertainty and doubt and simply stand in the midst of chaos and observe, you engage in what the poet Keats called negative capability. This will give you more time to see things you have not seen before.
3. Accept and navigate the experience of flow. When you are in a creative flow, you might feel overwhelmed. Recognize your anxiety about this kind of free thinking. Build breaks into your process. When you do, you will feel less overwhelmed.
Taking a side and making a choice are not the only intelligent solutions to conflict. Sometimes it makes sense to explore creative solutions by more explicitly innovating by making connections. When you do, your brain will work extra hard to come up with solutions that linear thinking would probably not solve.
