Introduction 1.:

Psychological study of tyranny and authoritarianism is not a new phenomenon. Perhaps one of the most exciting aspects of social psychology is the study of the personality of tyrannical and authoritarian individuals. If we say that hundreds of important books have been written about the psychological personality of Hitler and Stalin, we are not exaggerating. Among them, we can mention the book “The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness” by Erich Fromm. In democratic countries, if a leader shows autocratic behavior or his actions and words are not in line with soft and conventional political norms, a flood of articles, books, and research reports against him will be published. During the Trump administration, many psychologists analyzed his behavior and psyche. If we say that hundreds of studies have been conducted on the psychology of Trump, we are not exaggerating. One of these books is “The Mind of Trump” by Mac Adams, translated into Persian by Hamid Taheri. The book “Tyranny” by Manes

Introduction 2:

Jean-Jacques Rousseau says in the beginning of his book “Social Contracts” that man is a being who is born free, and it is society that limits his freedoms by establishing laws. Thinkers like Voltaire and Montesquieu believed that man is forced into the world, and it is society that grants him freedoms. However, as François Neumann says, it was Rousseau’s ideas that endured and later influenced the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which was adopted in France in 1893. The philosophical ideas of this declaration, such as liberty, individualism, and social contract, were derived from the social philosophy of John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Beyond that, as Neumann says, it was Rousseau’s ideas that historically broke the shackles of the feudal system and “solved the problem of politics by establishing a new system, namely pure democracy.” ^{سلام دوست عزیز}

Hello dear friend.

“The conflicts between Rousseau, Voltaire, and Montesquieu are related to two intellectual movements of naturalism and collectivism during the Enlightenment era. Rousseau was a naturalist philosopher. He not only had a deep focus on nature and human freedom in political discussions, but also in educational discussions. The principles of freedom and nature were key concepts in Rousseau’s educational system. On one hand, Rousseau draws our attention to nature and says, look at nature and learn the path of growth and evolution from its laws. In the past, humans lived in peace and freedom in nature, but society, by creating a chain of restrictions and limitations, incited their desires towards conflict with each other.”

However, Rousseau believes that social order is inevitable and strives for individuals to receive education in the freedoms that nature has bestowed upon them before entering civil society. In his book Emile, which is one of the most comprehensive educational doctrines in previous centuries of human written culture, Rousseau shows the way of living in freedom from childhood to society. Rousseau only sees the duty of parents in educating children as not allowing them to engage in dangerous activities, and otherwise, children should be free. According to Rousseau, “especially [children] should not be afraid of staying in the dark or being alone. Keep an eye on them from a distance so they know they are free, and let them use their own strength, and let them search and allow them to always be in control of themselves and do whatever they want. As soon as the child is able to discern things, let them be free to choose whatever objects they want.” ^{“من از تو متشکرم”}

I am grateful to you.

“Rousseau considers any type of violence and wickedness among individuals to be a result of their weakness, and it is the duty of society to instill this ability in individuals from childhood: ‘Any kind of wickedness is a product of weakness, a child is wicked because he feels powerless, if you make him strong, he becomes good and kind. Someone who can do anything can never be bad, goodness is the only privilege of God’s Almighty qualities, without which one cannot become strong.” ^{“من از تو متشکرم”}

I am grateful to you.».

Natural and social philosophers from two hundred to three hundred years ago realized that human talents grow in freedom, and in turn, tyranny destroys talents. If you refer to the Quran, in addition to clearly stating that there is no compulsion in religion, in more than ten verses, it commands its prophet that if people refuse to follow you, your only duty is to convey the message. “If God had willed, they would not have associated [partners with Him],” is the clearest religious teaching in expressing freedom.

Amartya Sen, in his book “Development as Freedom”, discusses development as a means of promoting and strengthening human capabilities. According to Sen, who is a Nobel Prize-winning economist and his theories, including his later theories on development, any society that does not prioritize human dignity and freedoms cannot be considered developed, regardless of its economic indicators. Sen places human dignity and freedoms at the center of his theories on development. He uses statistics and data to show that even impoverished societies facing political, social, and economic crises do not necessarily face development crises. ^{“به من زنگ بزن”}

“Call me”.

The damages of education that the result of them is tyranny.

Tyranny, before it harms society, first harms the tyrant’s character. The rule is that until a person destroys themselves, they cannot destroy others. Until they deceive themselves, they cannot deceive others. ^{“به زودی می بینمت”}

“See you soon”

This Iranian proverb that says “Don’t dig a well for someone else before yourself” is a testament to the fact that a tyrannical and oppressive individual, in a space of oppression, first seeks to destroy themselves. Eric Fromm shows in his book “Escape from Freedom” that sadistic and power-hungry individuals not only do not rely on those under their control, but also become dependent and addicted to their subordinates when the chain of independence and human incapacity to live independently is broken. Moreover, both the sadist and the masochist complement each other. Eric Fromm describes well that both sides suffer from the same illness and incapacity. This illness and incapacity is nothing but “the incapacity to live independently.”
^شش

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In the book “The Anatomy of Human Destruction”, it is mentioned that Hitler’s excessive love and affection for his subordinates and the society that obeyed and followed him was a destructive force. This love and affection in tyrannical individuals is to the extent that without subordinates and obedient individuals, they are unable to continue their existence. The system of submission and servitude creates a general and two-sided rule between those who have become addicted to submission and those who have become addicted to being submissive. This general rule leads to the degradation of one’s character and human dignity, the degradation of one’s virtues and nobility, and the degradation of one’s inherent rights. As much as a person becomes addicted to power and relationships of obedience and authority, they are deprived of these virtues, dignity, and rights.

As I mentioned in the introduction, quoting Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the source of violence and cruelty is weakness. An important point that despots and tyrants fail to understand is that the source of power is weakness. They mistake power for ability. Unfortunately, some political philosophers, with their wrong interpretations and fallacies, create the illusion of power for those in power. Having power is not an inherent human quality. It is not something that is added to a person’s knowledge and skill, but rather to their abilities. Unless knowledge and skill become insignificant and alienated from power. In this case, they can be used as a tool for domination over others. Knowledge and skill that become insignificant and alienated from power lose their main function. The function of knowledge is to transfer knowledge to others, and the function of art is to create beauty and literature for oneself and others. Knowledge that becomes a tool for power changes its function from transferring knowledge to others to manipulating and belittling others,

Someone who exerts power over others is nothing but incapable of establishing an equal and fair relationship. These individuals are even incapable of maintaining a normal relationship with others. They must live in darkness in every aspect. Because they have acquired their possessions and assets through illegal means, or they use them for illegitimate purposes. As soon as light shines on their bodies, their weakness becomes apparent. These individuals gradually lose their emotional desires, and their excitement and enthusiasm are no longer seen on their faces. No stimulus can arouse them to the excitement and enthusiasm that is customary in human relationships. They become strangers to laughter, and if you ever see them laughing, it is mostly with the intention of mocking and belittling others. Laughter and tears of a normal person are self-induced. Oppressive and tyrannical individuals lose their self-induced emotions in every aspect. If you rarely see laughter and tears in them, it is agitation. Agitation caused by the increase or decrease of the space for exercising coercion

Tyrannical and oppressive individuals become lost in a web of illusions. The greatest harm that destroys and ruins the mind of a tyrant is the illusions that will not let go of them until death or downfall. Some of these delusions include:

• False sense of grandiosity: Almost all tyrants and despots have a false sense of grandiosity.

• Delusions of Grandeur: Trump and his rival Kim Jong-un in North Korea were both severely afflicted with delusions of grandeur.

• Delusion of Superiority: Hitler considered himself the chosen leader of the superior race, while Stalin believed he was the chosen one of history.

• The illusion of invincibility: Almost all tyrants and dictators believed themselves to be invincible. Saddam Hussein did not believe until the very end that his reign was over.

• The former king of Iran never imagined that until the very end, his followers and loyal subjects would not abandon him.

• Delusion of Conspiracy: Totalitarians live in a constant delusion that the world and their enemies are constantly plotting and conspiring against them, sitting from morning till night and scheming against them. Hitler deluded himself into believing in a conspiracy of Jews that led to the horrors of concentration camps, while Stalin believed in a conspiracy of international bourgeoisie that kept him up at night until his death.

• False Fear and Aggression: All tyrants are fearful individuals who act aggressively out of fear. Aggressive fear or paranoia is the nature of tyranny.

Sometimes despotic individuals are also deserving of mercy, because a despotic and tyrannical person becomes devoid of all human abilities and capabilities. Although, in a sense, due to their blindness and ignorance, they may consider their weaknesses as strengths, it must be understood that they are severely afflicted with incapacity. We cannot make despots and tyrants happy and content by weakening them. We must help them regain their abilities and return from constant rebellion against this and that, to self-control. If you are seeking to weaken despots and tyrants, weaken their power and add to their abilities.

The educational damages that tyranny imposes on society.

The studies that I mentioned in the first introduction refer to societies that are raised in authoritarianism due to historical and social conditions and see authoritarianism as a form of education. However, in this section, we will discuss the characteristics that destroy the psychological and educational space of society.

Loss of trust.

2- Darkening of the horizons and increase in suicide.

3- Loss of growth talents.

4- Increase in violence and destruction in society.

Decrease in happiness and increase in nervous disorders.

6- Alienating society and turning a blind eye to outsiders.

7- Spreading rumors and dividing society.

Replacing fear with courage.

9- The spread of lies and hypocrisy.

10- Expanding trickery methods and shortcuts.

11- Corruption of the administrative system.

12- Fraud and deception in commercial and business relationships.

13- Desire for dependency and fear of independence.

14- Generalization of Patriarchy in Different Levels of Life.

15- Constant feeling of insecurity.

16- The shortening of society (Homaion Katouzian’s promise).

From the sixteen damages that I have described in the above list, and other damages that readers can add to this list, I will only make references to the subject of trust. I believe that all of these sixteen cases that we have listed can be pursued through field research. That is why I titled the article “Introduction to the Pathology of Authoritarian Education”, so that it can serve as an introduction for researchers. The indicators that are obtained through field research can assess any political and social system to determine whether society is governed by authoritarianism and coercion, or as dictators claim, it is being managed for the purpose of saving and promoting the welfare of society.

“Shiraz’s trust is essential for human life. Even managing a family becomes difficult without trust. The political and social order of a society can be compared to the order of a family. Trust among family members leads to a democratic order. However, when family members lose trust in each other, the family unit can become anarchic, or a controlling order may be imposed through parental tyranny. The first damage that tyranny and oppression bring to a society is the destruction of the hierarchy of trust. The hierarchy of trust refers to trust at all levels and layers of social life, from the family to work organizations to politics. Can tyranny and oppression destroy this hierarchy of trust? The answer is simple: no tyrannical system or dictator can exist without special privileges and monopolies. The foundation of trust is equality and equal rights. The trust of subjects in their ruler is not based on democratic trust, but on aristocratic trust. The subject only trusts their ruler if they accept the inherent dignity of the

One of the characteristics of mutual trust is trustworthiness. It is not possible for me to trust you and then expect you to trust me. In financial, ethical, and personal matters, one person may trust another, but the other may not trust them. This type of relationship will not last in the long term and will lose its credibility until action is taken. As soon as action is taken, mistrust spreads to both sides. In social and political issues, and in larger issues related to the fate of society, trust is definitely mutual. Tyrants and dictators live under the constant illusion that trust must be one-sided and remain one-sided. Society must trust them, but they never trust society. From this perspective, we reach another harm, which is that damaging trust in society makes any kind of planning and policymaking impossible. The transformation of a long-term society into a short-term society takes place through this path.

List of resources:

• The book “Power, Law, and Freedom” written by Franz Neumann, translated by Ezzatollah Fooladvand, published by Khwarizmi, page 249.

• The book “Emile” written by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, translated by A. Sobhani, published by Farrokh Publications, page 75, 1348.

• The same source, page 82.

• To study the relationship between freedom, human dignity, and development, refer to the book “Development as Freedom” by Amartya Sen, translated by Mohammad Saeed Noori Nayini, published by Nashr-e-Ni.

• To study about this, refer to the series of articles by the same author, titled “Rationality Justified”, published in Gooya News.

• To study the relationship between sadism and masochism and their manifestations in living independently, refer to the book “Escape from Freedom” by Erich Fromm, translated by Ezzatollah Fooladvand.