Taming power: Generative historical consciousness.

Abstract

Power is a necessary dimension of all human enterprises. It can inspire and illuminate, but it can also corrupt, oppress, and destroy. Therefore, taming power has been a central moral and political question for most of human history. Writers, theorists, and researchers have suggested many methods and mechanisms for taming power: through affiliation and love, intellect and reason, responsibility, religion and values, democratic political structures, and separation of powers. Historical examples and social science research suggest that each has some success, but also that each is vulnerable to being hijacked by power itself. I therefore introduce generative historical consciousness (GHC) as a concept and measure that might help to secure the benefits of power while protecting against its outrages and excesses. I conclude by discussing the role that GHC may have played in the peaceful resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.

Developing historical consciousness in management learners

“…In other words, historical consciousness encourages management students to embrace and embody critical reflexivity as ‘a process by which competencies are progressively acquired, [and] as a process of changing the structural forms by which we deal with and utilize the experience and knowledge of past actuality’ (Rusen, 2004: 81). The ability to deconstruct historical knowledge enhances learners’ moral and temporal consciousness in an era characterized by non-scholarly uses and abuses of the past (Phillips, 2004), reflecting and answering Winter’s (2016: 169) call for people to develop historic consciousness to escape the present and develop consciousness from a perspective beyond themselves.…”

Developing a Measure of Generative Historical Consciousness From Political Leaders’ Speeches

“…For example, Magee and Langner (2008) discussed the distinction between “socialized power,” exercised on behalf of others, and selfish or “personalized power.” Political philosophers and psychologists have variously suggested that power can be tamed by altruism and love, strong inhibitory tendencies, reason, a sense of responsibility, morality and religion, and political structures and arrangements. Each of these mechanisms can work—sometimes; but power has a diabolical way of “hijacking” them for its own purposes (see Winter, 2016). In a similar fashion, Pinker (2011) concluded that although these characteristics—the “better angels of our nature”—can “steer us away from violence, but .…”

“…This article presents the results of research that analyzes real-world political rhetoric, comparing matched pairs of speeches and other texts that reflect these power contrasts, to develop a series of content analysis categories that distinguish the two kinds of power. Rather than testing a priori hypotheses about how the two sets of texts might differ, it proceeds empirically, guided by the concept of generative historical consciousness or GHC, introduced by Winter (2016) and defined as a cognitive-emotional cluster of “three separate but mutually supporting components: a sense of historical perspective , an acceptance of mortality , and a generative orientation toward the future” that can channel or tame power strivings (pp. 165-166; emphases in original).…”

“…diabolical way of "hijacking" them for its own purposes (see Winter, 2016). In a similar fashion, Pinker (2011) concluded that although these characteristics-the "better angels of our nature"-can "steer us away from violence, but .…”

Critical Dialogue Series: “Why War?” Two Answers to Einstein and Freud’s 1932 Question

“…Freud described such a civilizing process in the concluding part of his reply to Einstein. Exploring how it can be encouraged is the focus of my ongoing research after Roots of War (see Winter, 2016;Winter & Leclerc, 2019).…”