Open AccessThe obsession with greatness leads to power abuse: Is spiritual intelligence an appropriate response?
Author(s) -
Elma Cornelius
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
in die skriflig/in die skriflig
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2305-0853
pISSN - 1018-6441
DOI - 10.4102/ids.v53i2.2463
Subject(s) - greatness , power (physics) , psychology , criminology , order (exchange) , abuse of power , psychoanalysis , social psychology , sociology , law , political science , physics , finance , quantum mechanics , politics , economics
Power abuse is the reason for corruption, violence, murder, rape and many other crimes. This article focuses on the reasons for power abuse – the reasons why people morph into beasts. Some say it is a result of an aspiration for superiority. Others say it is an act of a typical personality type, namely the ruling type. I ask the following question in this regard: Is it an obsession with greatness? What is present or absent in a person’s life that makes them obsessed with greatness? Herod the Great is studied as an example of a power abuser in order to determine what brought out the beast in him. The research is done with the help of various disciplines, including history, sociology and psychology in order to answer different questions. It is concluded that an obsession with greatness can be a result of the absence of spiritual intelligence – an absence of religion.