Our deeper understanding of the inner cosmos also gives us a clearer view of philosophical concepts. Take virtue. For millennia, philosophers have been asking what it is and what we can do to enhance it. The team-of-rivals framework gives new inroads here. We can often interpret the rivalrous elements in the brain as analogous to engine and brakes: some elements are driving you toward a behavior while others are trying to stop you. At first blush, one might think virtue consists of not wanting to do bad things. But in a more nuanced framework, a virtuous person can have strong lascivious
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