Hitler and abductive logic: the strategy of a tyrant
Ben Novak
- Resource Type:
- E-Book
- Publication:
- Lanham : Lexington Books, [2014]
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- Summary:
- Adolf Hitler is the greatest mystery of the 20th century, and the mystery surrounding him consists of two unanswered questions that have baffled biographers and historians. First, how did he ever rise to power? Second, who was he really? Hitler had the power to mesmerize crowds as the most dynamic orator of the modern age. Yet, his power was not in his ideas, which he collected from the gutter sheets of Vienna, nor was it in his personality; his biographers describe him as an "unperson" and his character as a "void" and a "black hole." What, then, was the source of his power? Was he a medium or a magician with paranormal powers, as many contemporaries thought? Or did he have a secret or method that has not yet been revealed? Ben Novak spent fourteen years searching for the secret of Hitler's political success and his power as a speaker. Hitler's most astute contemporary observer, Konrad Heiden, who wrote the first objective books on Hitler warning that this man was "the greatest massdisturber in world history," suggested that Hitler's secret lay in his use of "eine eigentiimliche art von Logik,"or a "peculiar form of logic." Beginning with this clue, Novak finds that there is a new form of logic in accordance with Heiden's description and examples that can explain Hitler's phenomenal political success. This new form of logic, called "abduction," was discovered by an American philosopher, Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914), who is rapidly becoming America's most well-known philosopher and logician. Abduction is a third form of logic, in addition to deduction and induction. Unlike the other forms of logic, abduction is based on instinct and has a power over emotions. Novak argues that Hitler was the first politician to apply the logic of abduction to politics. This book provides the first coherent account of Hitler's youth that ties together all the known facts, clearly showing the genesis of the strangest and most terrible man of the twentieth century while identifying the power he discovered that allowed him to break out into the world in such a terrifying way.
- Table of Contents:
- Machine generated contents note: 1. Historical Problem of Hitler
- Examining The Question
- Insufficient Facts
- Questions Asked of the Facts
- Opportunist
- Demagogue
- Pawn
- Intellectual Currents
- Economic, Political, and Social Conditions
- Mediumistic Powers
- Psychological Interpretations
- Other Interpretations
- Historical Problem
- Conclusions Drawn from Review of the Literature
- Question So Far Not Investigated
- Method
- Notes
- 2. Third Logic: The Background and Formal Structure of Abduction
- Worm In The Apple Of Science
- Discovery Of A Third Form Of Logic
- Nature Of Abduction
- Formal Structure Of Abduction
- Significance Of The Formal Structure Of Abduction To The Rise Of Adolf Hitler: How He Employed Abductive Logic
- Notes
- 3. Characteristics of Abduction
- Comparable Characteristics
- Certainty and Uncertainty
- Initial Immunity of Abduction to Refutation
- Mendaciousness
- Ampliativity
- Unique Characteristics Of Abduction
- Instinct
- Divinatory Power of Abduction
- Power of Abductive Logic over the Mind
- Conclusion
- Notes
- 4. Abductive Logic in Literature
- Discovery Of Abduction In Literature
- pt. I PRIVATE DETECTIVE STREAM
- Uniqueness of the Detective Story
- Ratiocinative Man
- Character of the First Detective Hero: C. Auguste Dupin
- Character of the Most Popular Hero: Sherlock Holmes
- Power Of Abductive Logic In Detective Stories
- Backward Form Of The Story
- Summary
- pt. II TRACKER STREAM: FROM VOLTAIRE TO KARL MAY
- Voltaire's "The Tale of Zadig"
- Thomas Henry Huxley on "The Method of Zadig"
- Karl May
- Winnetou: A Textbook on Abductive Logic
- Plot of Winnetou
- Logic of the Novel
- Summary
- Notes
- 5. Application of Peirce's Abductive Theory to Unraveling the Mystery of Hitler's Youth
- Undisputed Facts Of Hitler's Transformation In 1900, At Age Eleven
- Bafflement Of Scholars At The Two Mysteries Arising From Hitler's Transformation
- Need For A New Approach And A New Logic To Unravel The Mystery Of Hitler's Youth
- Critique Of The Established Method Of Historical Investigation
- pt. I PEIRCE's NEW METHOD
- Peirce's Conditions For The Application Of The New Logical Method
- Presentation Of Peirce's Logic
- Peirce's Rules For The Logical Analysis Of Historical Testimony
- First Rule: Explain All the Facts
- Second Rule: Assume the Principal Testimonies Are True
- Third Rule: Be Careful of Probabilities
- Fourth Rule: Trace Out the Logical Consequences of the Hypothesis
- Fifth Rule: Enlarging the Field
- Sixth Rule: Economy
- Testing the Hypothesis Selected
- pt. II GENERATING A HYPOTHESIS
- Examining the First Principal Testimony: Adolf Hitler's Account in "Mein Kampf"
- First Clue: The Unusual Nature of Hitler's Dispute with His Father at That Age
- Second Clue: An Already Formed Attitude toward Work
- Third Clue: The Existence of an Antecedent Idea
- Fourth Clue: The Decision about Which School to Attend
- First Hypothesis
- Second Hypothesis: The Source of the Young Hitler's Identification of His Own Fate with the German People
- Examining the Second Principal Testimony: Hitler's Headmaster, Dr. Eduard Huemer
- Summary of Hypotheses
- Notes
- 6. Genesis Of The Fuehrer: The Birth Of Hitler's Character
- Hitler Was A Born Genius
- Hitler's Anecdote
- Hitler Begins Thinking About A Future Career (1897)
- Hitler Discovers A Book On War (1898)
- Greatness Reprieved: The Boer War Breaks Out (1899)
- Greatness Of War Reflects On Hitler's Father
- School As Reinforcement (1897
- 1900)
- Distinguishing The Nature And Logic Of Hitler's Early Genius
- Hitler's First Ideals
- Great Man Does Not Work
- Hitler's Conflict With His Father (Spring 1900)
- Hitler's Father Misjudges Him
- Hitler's Father Wants His Son To Be A Civil Servant
- Furious Arguments
- Adolf Enters Realschule (September 1900)
- Hitler's Four Dilemmas
- How Hitler Resolves the First Dilemma: What to do about his Classmates?
- Hitler Resolves the Second Dilemma: What to Do about the Argument with His Father
- Hitler Resolves the Third Dilemma: What to Do about School?
- New Factor Enters the Picture: Hitler Discovers Karl May
- Karl May's Lifelong Influence on Hitler
- Karl May's Influence on What to Do about School
- Hitler Resolves the Fourth Dilemma: What to Do about a Career
- Karl May Comes to Linz
- How Hitler's Decision to Become an Artist Fits in with His Previous Ideas
- Son's Rebellion
- Notes
- 7. In That Hour it Began
- Adolf's Idea Of Greatness
- Logic Of Greatness
- Meaning Of History
- Backward Nature Of Hitler's Thought
- Influence Of Karl May
- In That Hour It Began
- Note On The Credibility Of Kubizek's Memoirs
- Notes
- 8. Closing Argument: How Did He Do It?
- First Example: Charging Attendance Fees At Public Rallies
- Background Of Hitler's Decision To Charge Admission
- Consequences Of Charging Admission To Meetings
- Second Example: Hitler's Idea Of The Function Of A Party Program
- Third Example: Hitler Builds A Party Machine
- Background
- Hitler Organizes The Membership
- Fourth Example: Hitler Forbids Any Photographs Of Himself
- Conclusion
- Notes.
- Author/Creator:
- Languages:
- English
- Language Notes:
- Item content: English
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- General Notes:
- Description based on print version record.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 235-241) and index.
Electronic reproduction. Palo Alto, Calif. Available via World Wide Web. - Physical Description:
- 1 online resource.
- Digital Characteristics:
- text file
- Call Numbers:
- DD247.H5 N658 2014eb
- ISBNs:
- 0739192256 (electronic bk.)
9780739192252 (electronic bk.)
9780739192245 (hardcover, alkaline paper) [Invalid]
0739192248 (hardcover, alkaline paper) [Invalid] - OCLC Numbers:
- 1053470508
- Other Control Numbers:
- EBC1686843 (source: MiAaPQ)
[Unknown Type]: ybp11810053