Cultural contamination that is directed outward is always seen as ‘enlightenment. - David Brin

What are the most common traits of nearly all forms of mental illness?” The answer? Nearly all sufferers lack — flexibility — to be able to change your opinion or course of action, if shown clear evidence you were wrong. satiability — the ability to feel satisfaction if you actually get what you said you wanted, and to transfer your strivings to other goals. extrapolation — an ability to realistically assess the possible consequences of your actions and to empathize, or guess how another person might think or feel. This answer crosses all boundaries of culture, age, and language. When a person is adaptable and satiable, capable of realistic planning and empathizing with his fellow beings, those problems that remain turn out to be mostly physiochemical or behavioral. What is more, this definition allows a broad range of deviations from the norm — the very sorts of eccentricities suppressed under older worldviews. So far so good. This is, indeed, an improvement. But where, I must ask, does ambition fit under this sweeping categorization? When all is said and done, we remain mammals. Rules can be laid down to keep the game fair. But nothing will ever entirely eliminate that will, within each of us, to win.

That’s not how human psychology works. No, we tend to do lots of things without knowing why. We need excuses, though, so we rationalize! If an obvious reason for our behavior isn’t readily available, we invent one, preferably one that helps us think better of ourselves.

It is said that power corrupts, but actually it's more true that power attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted by other things than power.