Political Ponerology: A Science on the Nature of Evil Adjusted for Political Purposes

pate in the tendency to use paramoralisms. This was the case in

the above-mentioned family. When it occurs with a moralizing

interpretation, this tendency intensifies in egotists and hyster-

ics, and its causes are similar. Like all conversive phenomena,

the tendency to use paramoralisms is psychologically conta-

gious. That explains why we observe it among people raised by

individuals in whom it was developed alongside pathological

factors.

This may be a good place to reflect that true moral law is

born and exists independently of our judgments in this regard,

and even of our ability to recognize it. Thus, the attitude re-

quired for such understanding is scientific, not creative: we

must humbly subordinate our mind to the apprehended reality.

That is when we discover the truth about man, both his weak-

nesses and values, which shows us what is decent and proper

with respect to other people and other societies.

~~~

Reversive blockade: Emphatically insisting upon something

which is the opposite of the truth blocks the average person’s

mind from perceiving the truth. In accordance with the dictates

of healthy common sense, he starts searching for meaning in

the “golden mean” between the truth and its opposite, winding

up with some satisfactory counterfeit. People who think like

this do not realize that this effect is precisely the intent of the

person who subjects them to this method. If the counterfeit of

the truth is the opposite of a moral truth, at the same time, it

simultaneously represents an extreme paramoralism, and bears

its peculiar suggestiveness.

We rarely see this method being used by normal people;

even if raised by the people who abused it; they usually only

indicate its results in their characteristic difficulties in appre-

74 See note p. 46.

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PONEROLOGY

hending reality properly. Use of this method can be included

within the above-mentioned special psychological knowledge

developed by psychopaths concerning the weaknesses of hu-

man nature and the art of leading others into error. Where they

are in rule, this method is used with virtuosity, and to an extent

conterminous with their power.

~~~

Information selection and substitution: The existence of

psychological phenomena known to pre-Freudian philosophical

students of the subconscious bears repeating. Unconscious

psychological processes outstrip conscious reasoning, both in

time and in scope, which makes many psychological phenom-

ena possible: including those generally described as conver-

sive, such as subconscious blocking out of conclusions, the

selection, and, also, substitution of seemingly uncomfortable

premises.

We speak of blocking out conclusions if the inferential

process was proper in principle and has almost arrived at a

conclusion and final comprehension within the act of internal

projection, but becomes stymied by a preceding directive from

the subconscious, which considers it inexpedient or disturbing.

This is primitive prevention of personality disintegration,

which may seem advantageous; however, it also prevents all

the advantages which could be derived from consciously elabo-

rated conclusion and reintegration. A conclusion thus rejected

remains in our subconscious and in a more unconscious way

causes the next blocking and selection of this kind. This can be

extremely harmful, progressively enslaving a person to his own

subconscious, and is often accompanied by a feeling of tension

and bitterness.

We speak of selection of premises whenever the feedback

goes deeper into the resulting reasoning and from its database

thus deletes and represses into the subconscious just that piece

of information which was responsible for arriving at the un-

comfortable conclusion. Our subconscious then permits further

logical reasoning, except that the outcome will be erroneous in

direct proportion to the actual significance of the repressed

data. An ever-greater number of such repressed information is

collected in our subconscious memory. Finally, a kind of habit

POLITICAL PONEROLOGY

153

seems to take over: similar material is treated the same way

even if reasoning would have reached an outcome quite advan-

tageous to the person.

The most complex process of this type is substitution of

premises thus eliminated by other data, ensuring an ostensibly

more comfortable conclusion. Our associative ability rapidly

elaborates a new item to replace the removed one, but it is one

leading to a comfortable conclusion. This operation takes the