Understanding has to do with the abilities to recognize patterns, to describe them and to reason with them. Evolution is about resilience, not truth. Resilience also depends on the ability to interpret concepts in the short and long term — as the art of distinguishing liquidity and equity positions. And distinguish sufficiently clear that choices can be made. Interpretation is based on processing observations and impulses. People have heterodox impulses: to belong, to obey, to compete and to communicate. Impulses demand attention simultaneously. The four related values (connectedness, security, autonomy and freedom) are the foundations of their own schools of thought or orthodoxy. They generate their own impulses. Resilience is based on zest for life and the heuristics of how to handle impulses when combining situations with metabolic, sexual and sense-making goals (or drives).
Impulses play a role in behavioral choices. Behavioral choices are made by individuals, but also by or on behalf of groups of individuals (those are institutions). Institutions also understand their resilience and their truths, those of the present as well as those of the long haul. Institutions also have their values, impulses, goals and quality requirements that determine their resilience depending on the situation. Behavior is chosen in a situation, situations have a history and an environment, an environment is formed by institutions and the behavior of institutions follows from individual behavioral choices. All these elements are best represented as networks.
From the 1980s on, the orthodoxy of the economy and associated morality have dominated much of political decision-making. With the pandemic COVID-19 outbreak, the closure of schools and the banning of meetings (food and beverage outlets, theaters, etc.), this becomes problematic in that security depends more on solidarity (care) than on autonomy (market). What is going to happen? What can we do (individually and collectively)?
I list the technical terms used: evolution, resilience, truth, interpretation, short and long term, observations, heterodox impulses (to belong, obey, compete and communicate), heterodox values (solidarity, security, atonomy and freedom), zest for life, heuristics, metabolic-, sexual- and sense-making goals/drives, behavioral choices, individuals, groups / institutions, situation, history, environment, quality requirements, networks, the orthodoxy of the economy and the associated morality.