The Psychology of War: Comprehending Its Mystique and Its Madness - Softcover

Leshan, Lawrence

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1581152388 ISBN 13: 9781581152388

Publisher: Helios Press, 2002

Synopsis

Our wars have become more lethal, yet the affinity for war hasn't changed. Why? As the entire world anticipates a lengthy war against terrorism, this intriguing study provides a new understanding of why people fight wars so frequently and ferociously. Former military psychologist Lawrence LeShan's piercing analysis reveals why war is often chosen over more peaceful solutions, and why it is so easy to get into a war and so hard to get out. Can peace be planned? How can we devise an "early warning system" for war? Are some government structures more prone to war than others?

About this title

From the Publisher:

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF WAR is a stunning anatomy of a problem that the greatest thinkers have failed to solve, the question why humans so universally and frequently fight wars. Our wars have become more lethal, yet our affinity for war hasn’t changed.

Unlike preceding attempts to explain the phenomenon psychologically, LeShan doesn’t examine the motives that might lead to war, but the way in which our minds process information: “When we go to war, our perception of reality—of what we are and what is happening in the world around us—is quite different from that which we commonly use in peacetime.”

This “mythic” mode of thinking, as the author calls it, leads us to assumptions that we would not make during peacetime, such as: We are good, the other side is evil; we will “triumph over evil” if we win; our future will be safe and prosperous, etc. In the mythic mode, we develop a readiness to engage in war at all cost—even if the outcome is highly doubtful or a non-aggressive solution possible.

About the Author:

Lawrence LeShan is a psychologist, educator, and author or co-author of eleven books, including The Psychology of War; The Medium, The Mystic, and The Physicist (both with Helios Press); and the popular How to Meditate. He has worked as clinical psychologist, psychotherapist and researcher for more than 50 years, including six years of psychological service in the U.S. Army. He holds a M. S. in Psychology from the University of Nebraska and a Ph.D. in Human Development from the University of Chicago and has taught at Roosevelt University, Pace College, and the New School for Social Research, among other. He has lectured extensively in Europe, the United States, and Israel, and his books have been translated into eleven languages. He lives in New York City.

About this edition

• Publisher: Helios Press
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 1581152388
• ISBN 13: 9781581152388
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192