... down a hole.

 
Ubermunchies? 06/27/2009
 
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In one of the 'comments' Ben stated,
"if one defines and understands "power" purely in terms of control (when one says x has power over y, one means that x controls y), then is it not the  case that power begins from being able to control one's own self? if one cannot control one's own self, then how can one ever hope to control anything beyond one's self? so it's this "self-control" thing that must precede all else. a king cannot control his empire without first controlling himself."

A further distinction occurred to me.

 Power is no doubt equated with control, but control is often confused with influence.  A king or president may influence change, and may feel powerful doing so, but that does not mean they're in control. 

The same may be said of "self-control."  Influence often results in myriad changes beyond the scope of humanities ability to model or project, an inevitable lack of control. 

Immediate consequences of influence may seem within our grasp, but the ripple effects are usually far beyond it. 

 So when it comes to power, we are again regressing toward subjective definitions and satisfactions. 

As Neitzsche has stated, subjectivity is all we have, things are simply indefinable without the presence of other things, and in the presence of other things, everything is relative.
 


Comments

bb

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 23:29:43

yes i see your distinction between control and influence and it is a crucial one to make, because you're right, the two are not the same. immediately one can recognize that we're influenced by various social and cultural practices too. our behaviors, values, and entire identity--though under the guise of our control--have actually developed and have been influenced within the context of where we are born and raised. sometimes even the best genetic programming cannot fight environmental constraints, and sometimes the most optimal environmental conditions do not activate the genes. there's a more complex interaction, one i'm not competent enough to understand, between nature and nurture, but surely there's no dichotomy between the two. but either way, if both influence our actions, it's left to be explained how we can ever have full control over our thoughts, decisions, values and behavior.

 



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