Hello everyone, here is a small broadcast reading, today for you to introduce the philosopher Russell's "Theory of Power" book, Russell may be more familiar to many people, he is one of the founders of the famous analytic philosophy, his masterpiece "History of Western Philosophy" is a must-read for many philosophy lovers.
The book of Power to be shared today is also one of Russell's classic works. This book is arguably one of the most in-depth and classic works on the topic of "power" in history. The book also continues Russell's highly critical and subversive intellectual characteristics. For example, Russell begins by refuting the economic theory of traditional economists and Marx on the basis of human self-interest, arguing that people's pursuit of power is the main motivation for economics and social change.
Russell said that the mistakes made by orthodox economists and Marxist economics were not only theoretical, but also of great practical significance, and had caused some major events in modern times to be misunderstood. Only by recognizing that the love of power is the cause of an important activity in social affairs can history be properly understood, whether ancient or recent.
In this book" "The Theory of Power", the philosopher Russell interprets the underlying logic of power from a philosophical point of view, and the important role of power in human society and historical evolution. The book consists of 18 chapters and is roughly divided into three parts.
Part I: Analyzing the basis on which power arises and why people seek it;
Part II: Analyze the manifestations of power, and expound the actual basis and composition of power, such as ecclesiastical power, royal power, and economic power;
Part III: Analyzes the relationship between power and the social environment, ethics, and individuals, and explores possible ways to exercise restraint on power.
Today we will talk about the first part of the content, what is the basis for the emergence of power?
Russell first started with the difference between humans and animals, what is the difference between humans and animals? It's needs and desires. Animals only have needs and no desires, while people are different, and after satisfying their needs, they also have further desires. Pythons sleep when they are full, and will not hunt until their appetite rises again, and lions will share the rest of the food with other companions when they are full after catching large animals, which is not lion friendliness, this is out of animal instinct, their instinct is to meet needs.
Russell said that the various activities of animals are caused by two basic needs for survival and reproduction, which is rarely exceptional. But people are different, after meeting the basic needs, people will not stop the pace of pursuit, people's desires are endless, never satisfied. Regarding the desires of human nature, the philosopher Schopenhauer has a classic quote, he said: Life is a lump of desire, desires will be boring when they are satisfied, desires will be painful if they are not satisfied, and life is like a pendulum, oscillating left and right between pain and boredom.
How did that human desire come about? Why don't other animals develop a thirst for desire? Schopenhauer's answer is will, and free will makes it impossible for us to satisfy it, while Russell's answer is imagination, that animals are satisfied after their basic needs are satisfied, and that only humans like to expand further, because humans have endless imaginations that other animals do not. Imagination is a force that drives us to continue to struggle after our basic needs have been met.
The power of imagination is infinite, we work hard, is that we imagine that one day we can be rich and free, enjoy a carefree life; we let the children study hard, we imagine that one day the children can get ahead and live happily. Endless imagination allows us to fantasize about what we can get someday, even the satisfaction we get after that, even if we don't have it now. Russell said that imagination is the boundary of human desire, and everyone wants to be God if possible.
Endless desire comes from a rich imagination, and among the endless desires, there are two main kinds: the desire for power and the desire for honor. And the acquisition of honor is mainly achieved through power. Therefore, Russell believes that the pursuit of power is one of the most core desires of man.
Since Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations, the social sciences, including economics, have been motivated by "man's self-interest," but Russell denied this assumption. Russell said that when the desire to pursue goods is separated from the two desires of power and honor, this desire is very limited, so the real desire of man does not come from the love of material enjoyment, but from the pursuit of power and honor, and when a moderate material life is guaranteed, the pursuit of power and not wealth by individuals and society. Or rather, many people regard the pursuit of wealth as a means of pursuing power. Because when wealth and power have to choose between each other, people can give up wealth to gain power.
So what role does power play in human society? Influenced by the rapid development of natural sciences, especially physics, in the early 20th century, Russell believed that power is like "energy" in nature, and the physical world is operated by energy conversion, russell proposed social dynamics, believing that human society is the same, and it is the transformation of power that drives the operation of society.
There are many forms of power, such as wealth, armed forces, public opinion forces, etc., in the economic, military and political fields of human society, are full of power games, power is like energy, energy is the underlying driving force that drives the operation of the natural world; and power is the underlying driving force for the operation of human society. Russell believes that the love of power is one of the strongest motivations of human beings, and even the main driving force for the progress of human society, Russell said that people who do not have a strong love of power cannot have much impact on the evolution of human society.
Although power is important, but power in each person is different, some people are born to love comfort, love to enjoy, do not have much interest in power, but according to the division of power possession, there are two main types of more typical: one is the leader, the other is the follower. In these two categories of people, two forms of desire for power are expressed. The first type of leader is easier to understand, they are born with a stronger desire for power, like to give orders; the second is more hidden, Russell believes that some people are naturally more cowardly, their love of power disguised as obedience to the leader, through obedience to the leader, they can extend their desire for power, imagine themselves as a leader with power. For example, in the crazy worship of idols by many fans today, we can also see examples of this power transfer or extension.
Well, today we introduce the first part of the book, the difference between man and other animals is that man has endless desires, and the source of desire is the endless imagination of human beings, desire is mainly divided into two kinds, one is the desire for power, one is the desire for honor, and the main way to obtain honor is power.
Therefore, Russell believes that the pursuit of power is one of the most core desires of man.
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