The Ponerology Rabbit-Hole. Wow!! I was finding it complex, rich, dense, fascinating. I was less than a third through the book and already I was posting about it.
Then I was asked: can you make it simple.
So here it is, Political Ponerology made simple, based on my quick exploration of this book I’m still far from finished reading.
Definition of ponerology: a theory of evil.
Definition of political ponerology: a theory of the root of evil as relating to politics.
Core findings:
1 - The root of evil is lack of empathy, which may come from early or later physical brain trauma (lesions, etc), from psychological abuse, and/or genetic factors.
2 - People without empathy - who may do evil and, due to the lack of empathy, do not see this as immoral - make up about 6% of the population.
3 - Common personality traits: ambitious, surface charm, manipulative, unscrupulous, ruthless, opportunistic.
4 - They perceive themselves as the real people, the rest of us as defective (useless feeders, etc). What we see as moral makes no sense to them.
5 - They love power and control. They are brilliant at getting into power. In power, they are experts at doing evil - inflicting harm. This is because, feeling no empathy, they have no inner barriers, do not see it as immoral.
6 - They are great at spotting each other and connecting with each other.
7 - They are brilliant at manipulating the rest of us.
8 - They do not want to be seen. They do not want to be known, individually or as a cohort. They do not want the light of reality shone at them.
9 - This is not because, deep down, they feel guilt or shame. They just don’t want to be found out. They cannot survive in the light of day - because we would see them clearly and act to stop them. They require a “narrative” (a pseudo-reality) that covers reality and sells what is happening to those with empathy: Communism is great, the virus is dangerous.
So what do we do? Shine the light of day. Show the false narratives - the pseudo-realities - for what they are. Fakes - faked in order to ensnare us.
For instance, from much of the human development movement as well as New Age spirituality, we hear intoned: what matters is mindset, positivity, you create reality, everyone has their own truth, all opinions are equal.
Shine the light. There is reality. Your attitude does not protect you from, for instance, the died-suddenly syndrome.
We also hear, from all sides, everyone is basically the same. Deep-down we’re all alike.
Not true. Someone lacking empathy is not basically the same as someone with empathy. They are, deep down, different.
Again, shine the light of truth, of reality.
Also, do more than shine the light. Explain what you see, that this is evidence of THE FOOTPRINT - evil-doers doing their best to make you believe a pseudo-reality that is patently false. And name the people, show their lack of empathy.
And that’s it, for ponerology made simple.
For more, here are 2 earlier posts, complete with references:
Chapter by chapter recording of Political Ponerology:
(Note: Chapter One, just 27 min, is a great intro)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLI9Bt_RPgX3zUlsIYIsdwcpYPt_jYhH7h
Posted February 21, 2023
The most distilled and potent expose touching on political ponerology is an interview of Ronald Bernard (pseudonym) by Dutch journalist Irma Schiffer. It was recorded 6-7 years ago and is subtitled, well worth expending 40 minutes of undivided attention. Entitled "Real Big Money", it can be found on Vimeo. Here is the link: https://vimeo.com/212237317
Elsa,
The biblical definition for evil is quite different than the human viewpoint definition. Human viewpoint uses man as the authority for explaining both good and evil, never mind the doctrine of truth suppression, i.e. the divine viewpoint as presented in Romans 1:18ff. Psychology is man’s definition for everything and is fundamentally flawed, not because it uses rationalism and empiricism as its basis, but because it uses them outside of the context of what God says about Adam’s flawed nature_ that it cannot produce even one thing that meets God’s standard for absolute righteousness. Hence, the distinction between human good and divine good. Psychology makes no such distinction nor does it look for answers beyond man’s very subjective view of reality. So, all manifestations of ponerology cannot be accurately explained by any of the greatest philosophers because their thinking starts with man. Their arguments are a circular and endless exercise in futility. Only the Word of God has the answers to the questions, “why man, why sin, why suffering?”
John