Analysis of the Self: the Existence and Meaning of Power

I have explored the topic of evil quite a lot. I have looked at what triggers such responses in people, what their goals are, why they form, etc. The root source is selfishness, so the main way to analyze evil is to look at what increases selfish behavior. One aspect of it is ignorance, another is amorality, and the most obvious: the reward gained is great enough to counter or twist the spiritual ideals of the individual. Ignorance is often present from a lack of intelligence, knowledge or experience. Amorality is linked with a lack of experience, but also comes from emotional retardation and a lack of empathy. Finally, there is the issue of rewards, which stimulate certain behaviors that appear to have positive benefits for the individual. 

Regression and damage to the soul is often not understood by the mortal mind until after death, so often the only things that are left are the observed consequences of action. Humans often continue behaviors that have positive reinforcement, and some will even adjust their thinking to ignore the negatives or turn them into positives. Such could be cognitive dissonance, or it could be altering one's own moral principles to validate personal behavior. In any case, if certain behavior leads to reward, that reward coincides with personal goals, and said behavior is perceived as the most efficient root to said reward, then it is likely that the behavior will continue. When a person finds it easy to reach their goals, the given method of goal progression exists as an example of power.

Power has many expressions, and people have a lot of reasons for obtaining it, but what is it ultimately? At its root, power is the ability to create change. More specifically, it is the ability to control a set of circumstances, likely impacting the individual in question. Physical strength, money, social influence – all of these are examples of power, but only when they can fulfill a goal. None of these can control any situation, but it is likely that a person has pursued the form of power that best suits their needs. It is also likely that those with some kind of advantage in life will pursue goals and positions that best work with that advantage.

Power is rarely the only goal of an individual, because the point of power is the ability to reach other goals. Those goals often relate to personal circumstance, so it is no surprise that people will use power to alter those circumstances. Power can be controlled by both the divine and the wicked, but ultimately, power makes it easier to change reality. Power need not corrupt, but it will increase the likelihood of gaining reward from behavior, which means selfish behavior can create better outcomes for the individual than it used to, at least in the short-run. Because more rewards can be gained from immoral action with the use of power, there exists a greater temptation to betray moral codes. It is not so much that power corrupts people, it is that power offers a greater ability to alter one's reality in one way or another, and it is up to the individual to use such an ability correctly.

Power is often associated with dominance, but again, this is only a single manifestation of what power truly is. There are many ways in which dominance can exist, and people can use that to their advantage in a way that benefits them. However, there has been an ongoing theme in life that the strong control the weak. If you are strong, then you have power. The problem is that there is almost never a worthy goal attached to the idea. Control is pursued for its own sake, but that is because it is confused with personal worth. The ability to make something happen alone is meaningless if no potentials are actualized. Obtaining power for the sake of having it serves no purpose when nothing is being done to enrich the inner life or perform some great task. Nearly any personal trait is pointless if it is obtained for the sake of having it. All in all, ability, power, strength, control, and influence are a means to an end. Whether either of those is evil is dependent upon the intention behind the end, and the effects of the means.