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

philosophy of history. Along with W. Goethe and Schiller, he made Weimar

the seat of German neohumanism. His analogy of national cultures as organic

beings had an enormous impact on modern historical consciousness. Nations,

he argued, possessed not only the phases of youth, maturity, and decline but

also singular, incomparable worth. His mixture of anthropology and history

was characteristic of the age. [Editor’s note.]

POLITICAL PONEROLOGY

87

snake-charmers, and even more primitive impostors to act and

merge into the processes of the origination of evil. They are

essential factors in its synthesis. In the next chapter I shall at-

tempt to persuade my readers that the participation of patho-

logical factors, so underrated by the social sciences, is a com-

mon phenomenon in the processes of the origin of evil.

Those times which many people later recall as the “good old

days” thus provide fertile soil for future tragedy because of the

progressive devolution of moral, intellectual, and personality

values which give rise to Rasputin-like eras.

The above is a sketch of the causative understanding of real-

ity which in no way contradicts a teleological25 perception of

the sense of causality. Bad times are not merely the result of

hedonistic regression to the past; they have a historical purpose

to fulfill.

Suffering, effort, and mental activity during times of immi-

nent bitterness lead to a progressive, generally heightened,

regeneration of lost values, which results in human progress.

Unfortunately, we still lack a sufficiently exhaustive philoso-

phical grasp of this interdependence of causality and teleology

regarding occurrences. It seems that prophets were more clear-

sighted, in the light of the laws of creation, than philosophers

such as E. S. Russell26, R. B. Braithwaite27, G. Sommerhoff28,

and others who pondered this question.

25 Teleology is the supposition that there is design, purpose, directive princi-

ple, or finality in the works and processes of nature, and the philosophical

study of that purpose. [Editor’s note.]

26 Russell, E.S. 1916. Form and Function: A Contribution to the History of

Animal Morphology. London: Murray. [Editor’s note.]

27 Braithwaite, R.B. (1900-1990): British philosopher best known for his

theories in the philosophy of science and in moral and religious philosophy.

Braithwaite’s work in the philosophy of the physical sciences was important

for his theories on the nature of scientific inductive reasoning and the use of

models, as well as on the use of probabilistic laws. He also applied his scien-

tific background to his studies of moral and religious philosophy, particularly

in the application of mathematical game theory. In his book Theory of Games

as a Tool for the Moral Philosopher (1955), he demonstrated the ways in

which game theory could be used to arrive at moral choices and ethical deci-

sions. His classic work was Scientific Explanation: A Study of Theory, Prob-

ability and Law in Science (1953), on the methodology of natural science.

[Editor's note.]

28 G. Sommerhoff, Analytical Biology (O.U.P., 1950). [Editor’s note.]

88

THE HYSTEROIDAL CYCLE

When bad times arrive and people are overwhelmed by an

excess of evil, they must gather all their physical and mental

strength to fight for existence and protect human reason. The

search for some way out of the difficulties and dangers rekin-

dles long-buried powers of discretion. Such people have the

initial tendency to rely on force in order to counteract the

threat; they may, for instance, become “trigger-happy” or de-

pendent upon armies.

Slowly and laboriously, however, they discover the advan-

tages conferred by mental effort; improved understanding of

the psychological situation in particular, better differentiation

of human characters and personalities, and, finally, comprehen-

sion of one’s adversaries. During such times, virtues which

former generations relegated to literary motifs regain their real

and useful substance and become prized for their value. A wise

person capable of furnishing sound advice is highly respected.

How astonishingly similar were the philosophies of Socra-

tes and Confucius, those half-legendary thinkers who, albeit

near-contemporaries, resided at opposite ends of the great con-

tinent. Both lived during evil, bloody times and adumbrated a

method for conquering evil, especially regarding perception of

the laws of life and knowledge of human nature. They searched

for criteria of moral values within human nature and considered

knowledge and understanding to be virtues. Both men, how-

ever, heard the same wordless internal Voice warning those