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The Psychology of War: Comprehending Its Mystique and Its Madness
by Lawrence LeShan
Especially timely in view of the war against terrorism, this intriguing study—praised as a “timely and important book” by Lewis H. Lapham, the editor or Harper’s Magazine —provides a new understanding of why humans fight wars so frequently, passionately, and ferociously. Former military psychologist and multiple author Lawrence Le Shan’s piercing analysis reveals why human beings have always been attracted to war, how it changes our perception of reality, why we often choose war over more peaceful conflict solutions, and why it is so easy to get into a war and so hard to get out.
With an unusually constructive approach to the topic, the author asks questions such as: Can peace be planned? How can we devise an “early warning system” for wars? Are some government structures more prone to war than others? With verve and unusual insights, LeShan challenges individuals and government leaders alike to change their outlook on war. First published in 1992, the book is now brought back into print with a new introduction. |
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Reviews
"A timely and important book.”
—Lewis H. Lapham, editor, Harper’s Magazine
“A wise book, thoughtful and imaginative about what inevitably attracts us to war, and how we can avoid it. By enlarging our awareness of the different ways we organize reality, Le Shan shows us how we can concretely answer on other ways the needs that war satisfies, and thus advance our sense of being at home in ourselves and with each other. An especially useful book right now.”
—Ann Belford Ulanov, Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Religion, Union Theological Seminary, Author of The Functioning Transcendent.
“This book strikes to the heart of the crisis of our times. LeShan not only explains the persistence of armed conflict, even when logic and self-interest argue against it, but he also demonstrates why war is not an inevitable component of the human condition. The lessons in this masterful account are original and brilliant.”
—Dr. Stanley Krippner, Professor of Psychology, Saybrook Graduate School, Co-editor, Broken Images, Broken Selves
“LeShan goes beyond popular economic, psychological and social theories to show how the personal perception of reality shifts dramatically in times of war-- from a day-to-day sensory mode to one of dangerously mythical proportion, characterized particularly by the polarities of good and evil. The recognition of that shift in our own thinking is LeShan’s first step toward a more conscious approach to world conflicts in an increasingly perilous 21st century.”
—Michele McCann, Chief Librarian, Kristine Mann Library of the Analytical Psychology Club of New York
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