Data Sheet 1_A Gestalt perspective on Manichaean worldviews and individuals’ engagement in violence: the case of the Italian far left.docx

Besides socio-political and economic factors, extant research contends that Manichaean worldviews, characterized by mutually exclusive dichotomies such as ‘good-bad’, are the main driver influencing individuals’ decision to use violence against others. Furthermore, extant scholarship identifies ideologies, populism, and conspiracy theories as the three originators of Manichaean worldviews. However, the findings from my research, carried out between 2018 and 2023, challenge these arguments. Using narrative analysis, this article examines personal stories of a group of Italian former far-left militants, who participated in the violent campaign of the so-called ‘Years of Lead’. Far-left and far-right ideologies strongly influenced Italian socio-political movements of the time. Thus, this paper explores whether Manichaean perspectives informing far-left militants’ decision to resort to violence originated from far-left ideologies or whether they existed independently of these ideologies. I develop this analysis through the lens of Gestalt psychology, which considers human behavior as resulting from how our minds understand the relation between components of our surrounding environment. While confirming relations between Manichaean worldviews and violence, this paper finds that Manichaean perspectives result from human cognitive processes and are then rigidified by ideological narratives. This work provides important insight to better understand radicalization and engagement in violence, and to develop appropriate responses to prevent it.

除社会政治与经济因素外，既有研究主张，以「善-恶」这类互斥二分法为特征的摩尼教世界观（Manichaean worldviews），是影响个体对他人实施暴力的核心驱动因素。此外，既有学术成果指出，意识形态、民粹主义与阴谋论是摩尼教世界观的三大源头。但笔者于2018至2023年间开展的研究，对上述论点提出了质疑。本文采用叙事分析（narrative analysis）方法，对一群曾参与所谓「铅年代」（Years of Lead）暴力运动的意大利前极左翼激进分子的个人叙事展开研究。彼时，极左翼与极右翼意识形态深刻影响了意大利国内的社会政治运动。因此，本文旨在探讨：指导极左翼激进分子诉诸暴力的摩尼教视角，究竟源自极左翼意识形态，还是独立于这些意识形态而存在？本文依托格式塔心理学（Gestalt psychology）视角展开分析——该理论将人类行为视作大脑对周遭环境各要素间关系的认知结果。本文在证实摩尼教世界观与暴力行为存在关联的同时，发现摩尼教视角实则源于人类认知过程，随后被意识形态叙事固化。本研究可为深化理解激进化（radicalization）及暴力参与行为，并制定针对性的预防干预措施提供重要洞见。