Cynosure对《Are Leaders Born or Are They Made?》的笔记(1)

第1页

领导力----对亚历山大大帝的心理动力学研究
。

Alexander the Great was psychologically of the same type as the lunatic, though he possessed the talent to achieve the lunatic’s dream. [Bertrand Russell, The Conquest of Happiness]
。
If Philip had not had such a remarkable son, he probably would have been known as the most brilliant general of antiquity. 
。
Philip死后的政治斗争太凶残了。亚历山大平定内忧外患和赢政有的一拼----那时候他才20岁啊！  
Alexander：“尔等20岁的时候是不是还在大学里吃shi呢啊！”
。
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
私以为，幼年的教育是基础，亚历山大平上台后的平定内忧外是极为重要的一段时期----所谓的历史选择了他----日后的征服世界只不过是自然而然的延续。
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
。
Alexander laid the foundation for what has been called “Hellenization”.
。
Alexander, though rich in talents and strengths, had one notable weakness: he was unable to consolidate his empire.
。
 
his main driving forces were valour and glory.
Alexander was thirsty for knowledge, eager to learn, highly intelligent, and a great adventurer.
。
The role models that occupied Alexander’s internal world—lofty ones indeed—explain the “stretch goals” he set for himself. These role models included one ruler (Cyrus the Great), two gods (Zeus and Dionysus), one demi-god (Heracles), one epic chronicler (Homer), one hero (Achilles), and one philosopher (Aristotle). With these models as his guidelines, heroic emulation became Alexander’s stimulus for action (Bosworth, 1988). Living up to these figures, and matching their exploits, would have been literally a Herculean task. Alexander must have felt enormous tension between where he perceived he was in his accomplishments and where he wanted to be. This tension between ego-ideal and ego would not have given him any peace, driving him forward at a relentless pace.原本没有的事物，我依然相信它的存在，这便是信仰。亚历山大的坚定的信心来自于宗教信仰，比如相信自己是神的儿子，以及出征前对巫师预言的解读。那么，在科学胜于宗教的当今社会，如何用理性的方式给小孩子增加信心呢？
。
“I would rather live a short life of glory than a long one of obscurity”
。
As many historians have testified, it was a compelling desire to succeed that made Alexander unstoppable.
。

In Alexander’s adolescence, when the quarrels between his parents increased, he became Olympias’s proxy and was often sent on missions to act out the wishes (be they explicit or implicit) of his mother. As proxy, he wanted to surpass his “unreliable” father and find favour in his mother’s eyes. She had created an “unholy alliance” between herself and Alexander against King Philip (Willi, 1982, 1984). Given Alexander’s position as only son and heir, he internalized the external struggle between his parents—a struggle that was eventually externalized again and acted out on a world stage (Lasswell, 1960). Throughout the struggle at home and the battles in the larger world, Alexander’s need to succeed, to be better than everybody else, followed him like a shadow.
。

With King Philip always ruthless and successful in his own undertakings, Alexander felt a need to do even greater things just to prove his self-worth.
。

It was a complex relationship that Alexander had with his father—a relationship that mixed intense competitiveness with genuine admiration.
。
As successful as Alexander was, in both youth and adulthood, we have to wonder whether his need to win, to excel, was the manifestation of a solid sense of  elf-esteem or the outcome of more complex feelings.  
Was his drivenness the result of healthy self-love—or was it a cover for feelings of low self-worth?
Was Alexander troubled by the nagging doubt that he would never be good enough?
。
Alexander’s constant craving for reassurance suggests that his extreme self-assuredness could have been indeed a “reactive” response, an attemptt o overcome underlying feelings of inner doubt and insecurity.
。
His brief but extraordinary life shows us that a compensatory striving for superiority can lead to brilliant achievement, if that striving is backed by uncommon abilities.
。
Another factor that suggests that Alexander’s internal life was troubled was his tendency towards “repetition compulsion”—that is, the compulsion to repeat certain activities over and over again, behaviour that is often based on painful, repressed memories. To be more successful than his father was not enough for Alexander; he could not believe in a single instance of success—or two, or three. To convince himself of his superiority, he had to repeat the pattern over and over again (though the need for repetition would not necessarily have been conscious). Repetition compulsion accounts, in part, for Alexander’s endless quest for new victories, his inability to slow down and consolidate his conquests.
。

He sought new challenges to avoid the depressive anxiety that threatened to get the
better of him.Like activity generally, combat worked for Alexander as “counterphobic” therapy, holding his inner demons at bay.
。
Alexander’s behaviour also possesses a cyclothymic quality—that is, a tendency towards radical mood swings。cyclothymia是可遗传的。推测，Alexander的这个症状可能遗传自母亲。
。
Rage that is centred around problems of self-esteem, as Alexander’s was, is called “narcissistic rage”.

性取向：
Predictably, when the rupture occurred between Olympias and Philip, Alexander returned the favour and took her side. So intricate and lasting a bond was formed with his mother that it could have prevented other women from playing a significant role his life.
。

Some historians have suggested that it was after his visit to the Oasis of Siwa—where he consulted the oracle of Zeus-Ammon— that Alexander began to lose touch with reality.

。
Narcissistic
Paranoia
A comforting, constant mother image is the best preventive for paranoia,
。
While it is unlikely that a paranoid disposition was Alexander’s predominant style, the exposed position he was in, especially as an adult, would have aggravated whatever paranoid disposition he possessed
。

As a leadership style, action driven by need poses problems, whoever the leader is.
。
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
本书的结论是亚历山大大帝的心理是不健康的，但这与后人对亚历山大的称颂似乎又是矛盾的。怎么解释这个矛盾？
私以为，心理学是为了治疗心理疾病，最终是消除人内心的痛苦、使之能够快乐。心理学是以人为中心的，个人快乐与否可能是判断标准。相比之下，自然科学是以客观的自然世界为中心的。（但这里似乎又有一个问题，心理学的规律不止适用于某一个人，还适用于其他人，你能说这不是客观的吗？）
书里说亚历山大心理不健康，是从心理学/个人的角度;后人称颂亚历山大的伟大，是从历史发展的(客观)角度。

------------------------------脑洞分割线--------------------------------
大帝养成计划：
首先要自己NB，然后子女才能NB。（当然父母平庸而子女NB的基因突变案例也有，因为几率小而且不可控，所以我就不考虑了）
一定要选最好的老师，给他/她最好的教育。
和睦的家庭关系会让小孩心理健康; 但破碎的家庭也许并非一无是处。
一定不要有校园凌霸。一直被凌霸的孩子，长大直接去给大帝当垫脚石就好。
。
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
世界是复杂的，相比之，(现阶段)人类的思维方式是简单的。遵循普通人的喜怒哀乐，可能一辈子也没有惊天动地的事迹。上帝安排某些人成就了伟业，代价是牺牲了他们的(普通人具有的)快乐(心智?)----这被人类发明的心理学称之为心理不健康。
人类有一天也感悟了，美其名曰“天将降大任与斯人也，必先苦其心志，劳其筋骨。”
。
所以，做普通人有普通人的快乐。你雄心壮志地实施你的大帝养成计划，殊不知当事人是否愿意。毕竟，你有何权利剥夺他人的快乐。
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
所谓乱世，就是历史在寻找枭雄。你不平定战乱，自然会有他人来平定----和平终将到来。
所谓以残暴的方式平定内忧外患，只是一种手段而已----虽然当时血流成河，但换来的和平与稳定会让历史铭记你、后人称赞你[1][2]。

职场上，有人敢扰乱我和我的团队，绝不罢休。至于哥是选择晓之以理还是撕破脸，只是不同的手段而已。别看哥平时温文尔雅，必要时分分钟干翻对方[2]。

[1] 但，既然乱世时的残暴手段值得称赞，那么我们社会主流所推崇的和平理念又是为什么？两者岂不是冲突？斯以为，和平的理念是不会错的，毕竟平定内忧外患也是为了获得和平。所以，如果时局允许，用温和的手腕获得摆平各方势力集团当然是上策; 如果时局无可挽回地走向混乱和战争，用残暴的方式也是不得已之选。
[2] 但，如果我不惜一切代价维护稳定，那么我和不惜一切代价（限制freedom of speech等）维护稳定的某朝gov有什么区别？
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<