[Author’s Name]
[Institution’s Name]
Essay on Nature of Logic and Perception
The perception of reality becomes exclusively a question of the cognitive construction of reality. The interpretive power of a construction of reality is dependent on the fact that it is activated as a means of interpretation and that it provides meaningful, socially acceptable interpretations for the perception of reality. Constructions of reality as such are not sufficient for the perception of reality; they must be activated by elites and they must be plausible for nonelites.
Perceptions of reality during wartime consistently differ from peacetime perceptions. A wartime perception of reality has a "mythic" quality. During wartime, notions of good and evil become black and white—it is us versus them; the future of history hangs in the balance; God is on our side and will ultimately absolve us; there is only one problem needing resolution and other problems are put on the backburner; the enemy acts out of a will-to-power, whereas we act out of self-defense, benevolence and a commitment to the fight; since the enemy is evil and untruthful, communication is impossible--only force will settle the conflict; the same actions are good when we do them, evil when the enemy does them; we are concerned only about outcomes, not causes of the conflict; and citizens who take umbrage with these perceptions of reality are considered traitors. (Rieber, 1991)
Wars are an aspect of human behavior. War--widespread, easy to start, difficult to control, fulfills psychological needs and eases tensions by creating an alternate reality structure, a binary vision of good versus evil. Like a mythic event, war makes the lives of individual participants more intense and more meaningful, at the same time creating the sense of a collective engaged in a noble enterprise.
Wars have become more lethal, yet the affinity for war has not changed...................
