Zvíře politické - Eseje o lidské nátuře – Koukolík František (2012)

The phrase "Man is a political animal" is Aristotle's. He could not have imagined that twenty-three centuries later, people would look into the minds of other people to see what happens there during political decision-making, nor why it happens. Why are people political animals? What is national character, does it even exist? Is man an economically rational being or rather a social being? What distinguishes leftists from rightists? What happens in our heads when we make decisions during the electoral circus? Why do some people crave power so much while others consistently make decisions against their own best interests, to the point of seeming like dark humor? Why is it necessary to always have a stick in hand during the deliberations and decisions of human groups? What goes on in the minds of people who envy, hate, are friendly, or make economic decisions? What does poverty do to people and what about human happiness? This book summarizes the last fifteen years of cutting-edge research on questions that psychologists, political scientists, economists, and philosophers have addressed until now. Their reflections are beginning to transform into scientifically verifiable facts thanks to advances in brain activity investigation.