No. 61 (2021): July-December
Articles

The Authoritarian Mind: From Political Metaphors to the Constitution of a Social Identity

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  • Sebastián Alejandro González,
  • María Clara Garativo
Sebastián Alejandro González
Universidad de La Salle
Bio
María Clara Garativo
Universidad de La Salle
Bio
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21555/top.v0i61.1190

Published 2021-06-23

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How to Cite

González, S. A., & Garativo, M. C. (2021). The Authoritarian Mind: From Political Metaphors to the Constitution of a Social Identity. Tópicos, Revista De Filosofía, (61), 351–383. https://doi.org/10.21555/top.v0i61.1190

Copyright (c) 2021 Tópicos, Revista de Filosofía

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Abstract

This paper deals with the mental processes of authoritarians. Firstly, we explore these processes from the perspective of the type of metaphors authoritarians embody; we understand those metaphors as a conceptual framework that configurates human thought. This framework is understood as social constructs which are incorporated in the individual as a social being. We inquire about some frameworks to which the authoritarian thought appeals. One of them is the framework of the family, and the father as the main figure, which explains hierarchical relations. Another one is the friend-enemy dualism: through this, authoritarian identity establishes intersubjective relations that correspond to a Manichean vision of the world: friends are those who agree with the metaphors that the authoritarian embodies, enemies are the others. Thus, the authoritarian conceives him or herself as a hero, and so this figure (as a conceptual framework in and of itself) allows us to understand certain imaginaries and their relationship with a personal objective: such an objective ceases to be individual to be the goal of the collective, and the authoritarian person proclaims him or herself as the guarantor of its achievement. Finally, after studying frameworks as social constructs we proceed to inquire about the character of the authoritarian person as a symptom of a particular constitution of identity. Such a constitution reminds us of the figure of the successful psychopath, whose identity is shaped by inflexible agendas and an outlook on the world that even put his or her own integrity at risk.

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