Part of the Casswiki article series Ponerology and psychopathy
Ignota nulla curatio morbi is latin for “do not attempt to cure what you do not understand”, and is a sentiment repeatedly expressed by [Andrzej M. Łobaczewski](Andrew M. Lobaczewski) in his book Political Ponerology. It is an important principle of ponerology.
Without reliable knowledge, good intentions can lead to results that are insufficient at best, and possibly even harmful. This is particularly so in the case of macrosocial evil, where the stakes are high and the causes generally poorly understood. To constructively intervene against pathocracy, ponerization, and in general any large-scale processes of ponerogenesis, requires a thorough and scientific understanding such as that which ponerological research offers.
Efforts based on military intervention, or on the invoking of morality, or on counter-propaganda, as have been implemented historically (e.g. against Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union) do not usually work as intended. Such methods do not target the fundamental problem, which is the pathology that has infected the society – and they offer no solution to this problem.
One of the most common mistakes is to confuse the essential nature of a pathological society with its ideology of the day. In a pathocracy, the ideology is no more than a mask under which the pathology of the leadership is hidden. Each pathocracy has its own mask, and targeting a particular mask does not target the causes of the macrosocial disease.
For a solution to be possible, one of the main things to be understood is the role of psychopathy and other psychopathologies in causing inhumanity and suffering – and together with this, the causes of societal vulnerability to “infection” by such pathological agents. A cure must be able to free a society from such influence, to render it immune, and to systematically maintain that immunity.
It should be pointed out that considerable moral, intellectual, and practical advantages can be gleaned from an understanding of the ponerogenic processes thanks to the naturalistic objectivity required. The long-term heritage of ethical questions is thereby not destroyed; quite the contrary, it is reinforced, since modern scientific methods confirm the basic values of moral teachings. However, ponerology forces some corrections upon many details.
Understanding the nature of macrosocial pathological phenomena permits us to find a healthy attitude and perspective toward them, thus assisting us in protecting our minds from being poisoned by their diseased contents and the influence of their propaganda. The unceasing counter-propaganda resorted to by some countries with a normal human system could easily be superseded by straightforward information of a scientific and popular scientific nature on the subject. The bottom line is that we can only conquer this huge, contagious social cancer if we comprehend its essence and its etiological causes. This would eliminate the mystery of this phenomenon as its primary survival asset. Ignota nulla curatio morbi!