Human Nature in Politics - (English-Chinese Contrast)

Author: Walter L. Wallach
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2006-11-01
Features: This book is a work of political psychology. The author uses his experience and observational skills gained from political practice, combined with research findings in psychology, to explain democratic issues. The author believes that in practical politics, the political behavior of most people is irrational, based on instincts and emotions. Therefore, human nature should be composed of both rationality and irrationality. Man in Politics is a work of political psychology. The change in human nature is long and difficult to notice, while changes in the political environment are like the swift passage of a horse. Symbols in the environment can evoke emotions and trigger the unconscious. Many politicians take advantage of this to manipulate voters to achieve their political goals. In an era where rationalism reigns supreme, the author introduces elements such as the unconscious and emotions into political science, which is refreshing. When conducting political reasoning, the author also attempts to introduce quantitative analysis methods into the study of political science. The book explores the impact of rationalism, irrational emotions, and the unconscious on political morality, representative democracy, appointment of officials, nation-states, and international relations, and proposes the author's own views on democratic politics. This book is highly theoretical with rich practical material, making it suitable for readers interested in political science, psychology, and related fields.
Chapter 4: Materials for Political Reasoning
Although reasoning is only a part of the entire thought process, humans are capable of and do engage in reasoning. The effective reasoning rules established by the Greeks were primarily intended for use in the political realm, but in practice, these rules encounter far more difficulties and lower success rates in political reasoning than when applied to physical sciences. It has been discovered that this is mainly due to the nature of the materials used. We must choose or create entities for explanation, just as we choose or create entities to stimulate our impulses and irrational reasoning. In physical sciences, the entities chosen fall into two categories: highly similar concrete things and abstract qualities that cannot be precisely compared with other things. In political science, it is impossible to create class entities. Political scientists often seek simple entities of the second type—some are facts, some are properties—that can serve as precise "standards" in political planning. So far, such research has not been successful. Some draw an analogy with the biological sciences, suggesting that political scientists should, like doctors, avoid oversimplifying the materials they use, aiming to make useful inferences about human types, individual variations, and environmental factors. In this way, political scientists may well gain the power of effective reasoning. The numerous facts cited by biologists show that if individual differences within any type are arranged like a continuous curve rather than being treated as uniform rules or arbitrary exceptions, they can be remembered. On the other hand, any attempt to view the approximate continuity in environmental facts as something that might appear in human nature facts is likely to fail. The study of history cannot be the same as biological research.
Chapter 5: Methods of Political Reasoning
The method of political reasoning shares similarities with the traditional over-simplification of its subject-matter. In economics, the method and subject-matter have been completely simplified since their inception. Since the time of Jevons, economics has begun to replace qualitative methods with quantitative methods. To what extent can the same kind of revolution in political science achieve? Some political issues are clearly amenable to discussion using quantitative methods, while others are less so. However, even for the most complex political issues, experienced and responsible political scientists actually think in quantitative ways, even though the methods they use to reach their conclusions are often unconscious. Nevertheless, some political scientists have not fully consciously developed the habit of thinking about problems quantitatively, but all political scientists have begun to think based on rationalist assumptions, and many have completely abandoned politics due to disillusionment and aversion. When training political leaders, what is needed is the ability to think consciously and express oneself clearly, as well as to accept the necessary learning methods. In royal investigation committees, international conferences, and other organizations, as well as in individual work, this conscious transformation already exists, as they arrange for the collection of a large amount of specially gathered evidence and draw conclusions from it. Their methods and terminology, though not filled with numbers, are like