讀《认同自己：如何超越与生俱来的弱点》下
Forty Nomads and One Thousand Innocent Villagers: A Theoretical Analysis of Obedience Structures and Moral Numbness in East Asia
Author / 作者: Jules Vela
Date / 日期: October 27, 2025
Copyright © 2025 Jules Vela
All rights reserved. The concepts, thought experiments, and theoretical analysis presented in this paper are the original intellectual property of Jules Vela. Posting on SSRN constitutes date-stamped public disclosure but does not transfer exclusive legal rights; full copyright remains with the author. Unauthorized reproduction, derivative works, or citation without permission is prohibited. This posting is for archival purposes only and is not intended for citation or academic use.
版權 © 2025 Jules Vela
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Abstract / 摘要
This paper introduces the concept of “Forty Nomads and One Thousand Innocent Villagers” to analyze obedience structures, moral numbness, selective empathy, and strategic compliance in East Asian societies. Historical cases, including Mongol conquests and the Yasukuni Shrine enshrinement of war criminals, as well as cultural narratives such as Game of Thrones and Daenerys Targaryen, illustrate how societies glorify efficiency, loyalty, and hierarchical compliance while often disregarding fairness, justice, and human rights. The study examines the East Asian logic of strategic submission, eventual reversal, and decisive action, providing insights for moral education, legal accountability, and By examining historical cases, such as the Mongol conquests and the Yasukuni Shrine war criminal issue, alongside popular culture examples, like Daenerys Targaryen’s conquest in Game of Thrones, this study analyzes how extreme violence is legitimized or celebrated, and how social empathy selectively favors the powerful while marginalizing victims.cross-cultural ethical analysis.
Keywords / 關鍵詞: East Asia, Obedience, Moral Numbness, Strategic Compliance, Cultural Logic, Justice, Human Rights, Mongol Conquests, Yasukuni Shrine, Strategic Violence
東亞，服從，道德麻痺，策略服從，文化邏輯，公平正義，人權，蒙古征服，靖國神社，策略性暴力
Speculative Thought Experiment: Forty Nomads and One Thousand Innocents
Author: Jules Vela
2025年10月28日
Conceptual Background1:Suppose there are forty nomads who discover a village inhabited by one thousand villagers. Eventually, these forty nomads massacre all the villagers.
This extreme scenario is designed to explore the moral logic of power, violence, and civilizational narrative.
Critical Questions
I. Narrative & Perspective
If you belonged to the nomads’ side, how would you tell this story?
If you were one of the villagers, how would you tell it?
Who writes history? When narrative power lies in the hands of the victors, how are the defeated erased?
How many times, while reading world history, have you admired or glorified such “forty nomads”?
II. Power & Morality
Are the forty nomads truly the strong, and the one thousand villagers the weak?
When we start to “understand” or even admire the nomads, do we unconsciously reproduce the cycle of violence?
If history itself is a contest of narratives, is morality nothing more than the language of the winners?
When submission is romanticized as strategy and violence is reframed as justice, has morality already been rewritten by power?
III. Civilization & Justice
How should modern civilization judge and punish the forty nomads—and how does history actually treat them?
Can barbarism or ignorance serve as a mitigating factor?
If the forty nomads and the one thousand villagers represent two nations, how do you define right and wrong?
If the nomads destroy all evidence and witnesses, are they “innocent” under procedural justice?
If these two groups were the only humans left on Earth, would the forty nomads eventually become gods or founders of civilization?
When violence is institutionalized as a survival strategy, should civilization still hold it morally accountable?
History and cultural context shape what is seen as “normal behavior.”
Nomadic societies often institutionalized plunder as a survival strategy, turning extreme violence into social routine.
Should we, as modern civilizations, demand that they bear moral and civilizational responsibility for actions justified by their own ideology?
And if your answer is no, does that not already make you one of the potential perpetrators in the next village?
IV. Structural Reflection
If forty people can kill one thousand, is that a form of “ability”? If you think so, have you already accepted the moral neutrality of power?
If victory and survival are justified as natural selection, are morality and empathy just illusions of civilization?
When Power Empathy and Moral Numbness become social norms, can humanity still rebuild any genuine ethical compass?
Analytical Significance
This experiment reveals the darker structure of civilization:
Violence becomes justified after victory; power becomes romanticized through narrative; submission becomes sanctified through strategy.
The “forty nomads” do not represent a specific people—they symbolize a recurring structure in human history: the transformation of violence into virtue and of domination into destiny.
Conceptual Background 2
Imagine forty nomads, wandering through famine and exile, discovering a prosperous village of one thousand people. The villagers welcome them with kindness and hospitality, offering food and shelter.
Yet, after gaining the villagers’ trust, the nomads begin observing their defenses, resources, and population—and ultimately exterminate all one thousand inhabitants.
The aim of this thought experiment is not to reproduce violence but to expose the deep mechanisms by which humans narrate power, morality, and legitimacy.
When aggressors win, how are they rewritten—as heroes, as survivors, or as gods?
When the victims perish, how is their silence repurposed as part of the victors’ story?
In East Asia, the widespread belief in the doctrine of “survival of the fittest” has fostered hierarchical collectivism characterized by conquest and submission, meritocracy, the glorification of victory, and strategic obedience. Such cultural logic has naturally contributed to the phenomenon of moral numbness observed in numerous historical events.
his phenomenon can be understood through three theoretical dimensions:
1. Social Darwinism – Since the 19th century, the idea of “survival of the fittest” has been integrated into East Asian political and educational systems, binding class competition to national survival and reinforcing moral indifference toward the weak (Hofstadter, 1944).
2. Collectivist and Authoritarian Psychology – In East Asian societies, the value of “group harmony” often becomes morally conflated with “obedience to authority,” creating a structural misrecognition that equates submission with virtue (Triandis, 1995; Altemeyer, 1996).
3. Postwar Moral Numbness – As noted by Lifton (1967) and Bauman (1989), in totalitarian contexts the erosion of moral sensitivity is not an individual pathology but a socially conditioned emotional defense mechanism.
Thus, moral numbness is not merely a historical occurrence but a psychological byproduct of power—a learned calmness that sustains hierarchy and legitimizes obedience.
This thought experiment does not aim to recreate violence but to reveal what I call an East Asian Structural Logic:
“Strategic submission → Careful observation → Power accumulation → Counterattack and seizure → Self-legitimization.”
This logic operates not only in warfare but also in cultural, political, and intimate relations. It transforms submission into a tactic of empowerment and revenge into a symbol of success, forming a cyclical pattern of rationalized violence.
Conceptual Background1：假設有40個遊牧人，他們發現了一個有1000名村民的村莊。最終，這40個遊牧人屠殺了全部村民。這個極端情境用以探索權力、暴力與文明敘事的道德邏輯。
問題設計與批判性提問
為了讓這個思辨實驗發揮哲學與社會學的批判功能，我們需要進入以下多層問題結構。
I. 敘事與立場問題（Narrative & Perspective）
Introduction / 引言
In East Asian historical and cultural contexts, obedience and hierarchical compliance have often been valued over abstract notions of fairness. The “Forty Nomads and One Thousand Innocent Villagers” concept serves as a thought experiment to explore these dynamics. If 40 individuals, acting on the principle of survival or conquest, annihilate 1,000 civilians, how does society assess responsibility, reward, or punishment? This thought experiment extends to understanding selective societal empathy: heroes are celebrated, while victims remain invisible, and strategic efficiency is often valorized over humanistic morality.
In East Asian societies, obedience and hierarchical compliance often shape moral judgments and social behavior. To explore these dynamics, this paper introduces a thought experiment: forty nomads discover and kill one thousand innocent villagers. This scenario is deliberately extreme to probe questions of morality, legality, and cultural cognition: should these forty individuals be punished with death, and if so, what form of justice is appropriate?
The concept of “Forty Nomads and One Thousand Innocent Villagers” is proposed as a theoretical tool to examine the intersection of extreme violence, obedience, and moral numbness in East Asian contexts. When a small, ideologically coherent group destroys a much larger innocent population, traditional legal and moral frameworks struggle to assign responsibility or prevent recurrence. This paper seeks to provide a framework for understanding, analyzing, and ultimately preventing such acts.
This thought experiment allows us to examine several dimensions:
1. The Nature of Evil vs. Environmental Determinism
Are the nomads inherently evil, or are their actions determined by environmental and cultural pressures? This question reflects broader debates in moral philosophy, behavioral psychology, and cultural studies.
1. 邪惡本質與環境決定論
這些游牧人是天生邪惡，還是其行為受環境與文化壓力決定？這個問題涉及道德哲學、行為心理學及文化研究的更廣泛討論。
2. The Calculation of Power and Strategic Obedience
East Asian frameworks often prioritize efficiency, survival, and hierarchy over fairness and human rights. The thought experiment helps illustrate how strategic compliance can operate independently of moral universals.
2. 權力計算與策略性服從
東亞的思維框架常將效率、生存與階層置於公平與人權之上。該思辨實驗有助於揭示策略性服從如何在道德普遍原則之外運作。
3. Cultural Reflections on Heroism and Infamy**
Historical examples—such as the Mongol Empire, war criminals enshrined in Yasukuni Shrine, and figures in popular culture like Daenerys Targaryen—demonstrate that “success defines morality” (成王敗寇). These narratives shape public perception of what is permissible or admirable.
3. 文化對英雄與惡名的反思
歷史案例，如蒙古帝國、靖國神社戰犯崇拜，以及流行文化人物如龍母丹妮莉絲，展示「成王敗寇」的文化邏輯。這些敘事影響了公眾對行為可接受性與可讚賞性的認知。
By framing this extreme case, the paper encourages reflection on moral numbness, strategic obedience, and cultural values that prioritize power and survival over fairness, highlighting East Asian decision-making patterns such as the choice of expediency, alignment, or neutrality in uncertain situations.
通過這個極端案例，本文鼓勵對道德麻痺、策略性服從以及將權力與生存置於公平之上的文化價值進行反思，凸顯東亞人在不確定情境下選擇最短路徑、站隊或中立的決策模式。
Theoretical Framework / 理論框架
1. The “Forty Nomads and One Thousand Innocent Villagers” Thought Experiment
1. 「40個游牧人與1000無辜村民」思辨實驗
This thought experiment serves as a conceptual lens to explore the dynamics of obedience, moral numbness, and strategic compliance in East Asian societies. Forty individuals, driven by environmental norms and a predatory cultural ethos, kill one thousand villagers. While superficially an act of barbarism, the experiment allows us to question whether morality is an intrinsic attribute or socially and environmentally conditioned.
此思辨實驗作為一種概念透鏡，用於探討東亞社會中的服從、道德麻痺與策略性服從動態。40個個體受環境規範及掠奪文化影響，殺死1000名村民。表面上看似野蠻行為，但該實驗促使我們反思道德究竟是內在的屬性，還是社會與環境所塑造。
Key aspects highlighted include:
- Environmental Determinism vs. Individual Evil
- 環境決定論 vs. 個人邪惡
Actions may stem from survival imperatives, cultural expectation, and learned behaviors rather than innate evil. The experiment parallels historical contexts, such as Mongol conquests, where similar acts were normalized within their cultural and environmental matrix.
- Power Calculations and Strategic Obedience
- 權力計算與策略性服從
East Asian societies often prioritize hierarchy, efficiency, and survival. In uncertain situations, individuals adopt strategies such as aligning with power, remaining neutral, or temporary submission. The nomads’ actions demonstrate extreme prioritization of effectiveness over moral universals, a pattern mirrored in historical and contemporary East Asian contexts.
- Cultural Narratives of Success and Failure (成王敗寇)
- 成王敗寇的文化敘事
Historical cases, including war criminals enshrined at Yasukuni Shrine or celebrated military leaders, reveal that “winning defines righteousness.” This principle underlies East Asian tolerance for strategic compliance: individuals often submit first, bide their time, then strike decisively to overturn failure.
- Implications for Modern Justice
- 對現代司法的啟示
By considering environmental and cultural contexts, moral culpability cannot be assessed in isolation. The thought experiment encouabsolute punishment may ignore systemic drivers, while inaction risks normative perpetuation of extreme behaviors.
rages nuanced legal and ethical reflection:
Case Analysis / 案例分析
1. Historical and Military Examples / 歷史與軍事案例
- Mongol Conquests and Genghis Khan / 蒙古征服與成吉思汗
The Mongol Empire exemplifies the extreme of efficiency-driven violence. Forty individuals could, under this logic, kill a thousand villagers with minimal coordination. Historical accounts record that Mongol leaders rewarded loyalty and military effectiveness over moral considerations. Success defined legitimacy, illustrating the principle of “winning validates morality” (成王敗寇).
- Yasukuni Shrine / 靖國神社
Japanese war criminals enshrined in Yasukuni Shrine demonstrate cultural co-optation of formerly condemned actors. Actions once considered crimes are reframed as service to the state or heroism. This historical precedent aligns with the notion that effective, obedient individuals—even if initially “barbaric”—can be valorized if they serve power structures.
The Yasukuni Shrine in Japan enshrines individuals who died in service to the country, including those convicted of war crimes. In 1978, 14 Class-A war criminals, including figures like Hideki Tōjō and Iwane Matsui, were enshrined, leading to significant controversy. The enshrinement of these individuals has been defended on the grounds of honoring those who served the nation. However, this perspective often overlooks the crimes committed during the war and the suffering of the victims. The selective empathy towards the enshrined individuals reflects a broader cultural tendency to prioritize loyalty and service over considerations of justice and morality.
From “Bandit” to “Hero” — The Logic of Co-optation, How a Religious Site Rewrites Judicial Judgement.
In 1978, Yasukuni Shrine internally sanctioned the enshrinement of several Class A war criminals indicted or convicted by the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal. When this was disclosed in 1979, it triggered enduring controversy domestically and internationally. Japanese political figures’ visits and offerings to the shrine have repeatedly provoked protests from China and Korea, making Yasukuni a focal point of Japan’s post-war nationalist memory politics. The significance lies in this: individuals labelled as war criminals or perpetrators of crimes against humanity by an international tribunal are re-cast within a religious-political space as “heroic spirits” or “souls of the nation.” This is not mere commemoration, but a symbolic reversal of prior judicial verdicts—transforming “guilty” into “honoured” via national ritual.
The Process: Language, Ritual and Power
The transformation of war criminals into national heroes can be deconstructed into three technical operations: narrative reframing, ritual legitimation, and political instrumentalization.
1. Narrative Reframing: Media, textbooks, and political speeches recast “war criminals” as “martyrs for the nation” or “honoured spirits,” rewriting the semantic framework of victim and perpetrator so that the public accepts a new moral judgement.
2. Ritual Legitimation: Through enshrinement, memorial ceremonies, visits by political figures, and offerings, Yasukuni turns criminal stigmas into recognised status within the public-religious order—individuals become part of state ritual.
3. Political Instrumentalization: Certain political forces harness these symbols to consolidate conservative or nationalist support, mobilise collective emotions, and leverage the phenomenon for diplomatic leverage or provocation. This strategy packages “national interest” as the moral legitimacy of individual acts.
From a theoretical vantage, these three techniques form a modern state-discourse machine: they splice together judiciary (court verdicts) and religion (ritual sanctification) into a “commemorative engine” capable of rewriting past guilt. We may interpret this via Michel Foucault’s analysis of discipline/knowledge and Giorgio Agamben’s theory of sovereignty and the exception: the state in the exception determines life/death, and in commemoration reconstructs legitimacy.
The Political Consequences of Yasukuni: Domestic Legitimacy vs. International Trust
From the domestic perspective, Yasukuni’s practices can consolidate support among conservative or nationalist constituencies in the short term—but at the cost of reinforcing authoritarian narratives: recognition is delayed for victims of historical trauma, and political pressure constrains public education and the re-writing of history textbooks. From the international vantage, Yasukuni has become a symbol of distrust in Japan’s relations with neighbouring states—particularly China and Korea—repeatedly igniting diplomatic friction and eroding the possibility of post-war reconciliation. In short, co-optation rather than full reckoning may yield short-term symbolic gain, but at the long-term expense of legitimacy and international trust.
Theoretical Anchors: Why Does the State Perform This Re-Naming?
To place the Yasukuni phenomenon within a theoretical system, three complementary perspectives are useful:
· Max Weber: The core of the modern state lies in the monopoly of legitimate violence. Yet when the state faces instability or needs to rebuild loyalty, it absorbs non-state violence and symbols through ritual and religion—the shrine becomes a site of (re)construction of legitimacy.
· Agamben: Sovereignty draws the line of the exception and decides who is bare life. The act of enshrining indicted war criminals at Yasukuni performs a symbolic inversion of the exception: individuals once condemned by courts are re-inserted into the sacred circle of the nation-community.
· Foucault: Power constructs truth via knowledge, memorialisation and discourse. Yasukuni functions as a “memory factory,” where rituals, exhibitions and education produce an official history and shape the moral contours of a generation.
These theories collectively suggest that the elevation of war criminals is not an anomaly of cultural “mistake,” but a deliberate legitimacy‐engineering process.
Comparative Perspective: Germany’s Reckoning vs Japan’s Incomplete Reckoning
Contrasting Japan with Germany reveals divergent post-war memory governance paths.
Germany’s path: The Nuremberg Trials formed the basis of international legal legitimacy. Coupled with post-war denazification policies—legal purges, administrative reform, educational re-writing and public memory reconstruction—Germany gradually removed Nazism from mainstream national narrative. Though imperfect, this path offers greater long-term repair of public trust and international legitimacy.
Japan’s path: The Tokyo Trial established judicial verdicts, but Cold War security priorities and domestic political dynamics compressed the space for a complete break. Yasukuni’s enshrinement and political visits reflect a memory politics of continuity rather than rupture. The result: “incomplete reckoning,” where indicted individuals are symbolically rehabilitated rather than exclusively prosecuted.
The Yasukuni case presents one of the starkest examples of the co-optation thesis: absorbing the capable rather than exclusively punishing them may appear pragmatic, but it comes at the cost of sacrificing historical justice and victim memory.
1. Prioritisation of evidence and memory: Judicial verdicts and victims’ narratives should not be arbitrarily erased by political ritual.
2. Costs of legitimacy: Co-optation may yield short-term national identity gains, but it erodes international trust and the rule of law in the long term.
3. Deconstruction of cultural mechanics: Using Weber, Agamben and Foucault as theoretical tools, we show how the process of re-naming, ritualising and symbolising violent actors turns them into legitimate heirs of power.
從「暴徒」到「英雄」——權力的收編邏輯
The War Crimes of Unit 731 and the Postwar “Selective Forgetting”
1. Formation and Experimental Activities of Unit 731
Unit 731, officially known as the Kwantung Army’s Epidemic Prevention and Water Purification Department, was established by the Imperial Japanese Army between 1936 and 1945 in the Pingfang District of Harbin, in the puppet state of Manchukuo. Led by medical doctor Shiro Ishii and subordinated to the Kwantung Army, the unit primarily conducted biological warfare research and human experimentation. Its subjects were predominantly Chinese, Korean, and Russian civilians and prisoners of war. Estimates suggest that 3,000–5,000 people died directly from experiments conducted within the unit, while at least 200,000 additional deaths resulted from biological weapons developed by the unit.
Experimental practices included:
· Vivisection: Performing dissections on living human subjects without anesthesia to study organ structure and function.
· Bacterial infection experiments: Injecting victims with deadly pathogens such as plague, cholera, and typhoid to observe infection processes and lethality.
· Frostbite experiments: Exposing individuals to extreme cold to study frostbite formation and treatment.
· Chemical weapon experiments: Exposing subjects to chemical agents to evaluate toxic effects.
· High-pressure experiments: Placing subjects in low-pressure environments to study the physiological effects of high-altitude conditions.
· Poison gas experiments: Exposing victims to toxic gases to understand lethal mechanisms and potential defenses.
2. Postwar Handling and “Selective Forgetting”
Following the end of World War II, the atrocities of Unit 731 largely went unpunished. The United States government granted immunity to Shiro Ishii and other key personnel in exchange for experimental data on biological warfare. This “Cold War bargain” meant that Unit 731’s crimes remained largely unknown to the international community for decades.
Although some members were tried in the Soviet Khabarovsk War Crime Trials, many principal figures, including Ishii, faced no prosecution. The Japanese government largely maintained silence regarding the unit’s existence until the 1980s, and even then, official acknowledgment of the crimes was limited, leaving the historical record incomplete.
3. Historical Erasure and the Reproduction of Moral Numbness
The history and postwar treatment of Unit 731 illustrate Japan’s “selective forgetting” regarding war crimes. Such forgetting not only neglects historical truth but also erases the memory of victims, producing a phenomenon of moral numbness. This reflects a broader pattern in East Asian historical narratives, highlighting the complex interplay between power, violence, and the moral logic of civilization narratives. The case of Unit 731 also connects to theoretical concerns regarding obedience, authority, and moral perception in societies affected by hierarchical and collectivist logics.
4. Implications for the Study of Obedience Structures and Moral Numbness
Incorporating the Unit 731 case into analyses of obedience structures underscores how power, institutional authority, and historical narrative can shape moral perception. As discussed in Forty Nomads and One Thousand Innocent Villagers, the dynamics of strategic subordination, calculated accumulation of power, and decisive action are not merely historical curiosities—they reflect patterns of social compliance, moral rationalization, and the normalization of violence in hierarchical contexts. East Asia’s broader historical and cultural structures—emphasizing hierarchy, obedience, and the legitimization of success—can partly explain how systemic atrocities may be socially rationalized and selectively forgotten.
5.Postwar Careers and Government Positions
Despite committing severe crimes against humanity, members of Unit 731 were shielded from prosecution through postwar “Cold War deals,” which also allowed them to continue careers in research and education. After the war, some Unit 731 personnel successfully reintegrated into Japanese society, holding positions in government, scientific research, and education, and continued to exercise professional influence. For example, Shiro Ishii remained active in microbiology and biological warfare research, while other members achieved significant positions in medicine, the military, and academia. Many also consolidated family status and economic resources.
The postwar reintegration of Unit 731 members reflects Japan’s “selective forgetting” of war crimes. This selective memory not only neglects historical truth but also erases the experiences of victims, producing cycles of moral numbness. This phenomenon is broadly representative in East Asian historical narratives, highlighting the complex moral logic between power, violence, and the construction of civilization narratives.
731部隊的歷史罪行與戰後「選擇性遺忘」
一、731部隊的成立與實驗活動
731部隊，正式名稱為關東軍防疫給水部本部，是日本帝國陸軍於1936年至1945年間在偽滿洲國哈爾濱平房區設立的秘密生物化學武器研究單位。該部隊由醫學博士石井四郎領導，隸屬於關東軍，主要進行生物戰研究與人體實驗。實驗對象主要為中國人、朝鮮人及俄羅斯平民與戰俘。據估計，約有3,000至5,000人直接死於部隊內的實驗，另有至少20萬人死於該部隊研發的生物武器。
主要實驗包括：
· 活體解剖：在無麻醉情況下對活人進行解剖，以研究人體器官結構與功能。
· 細菌感染實驗：將鼠疫、霍亂、傷寒等致命病原注入受害者體內，以觀察感染過程與致死率。
· 凍傷實驗：將受害者暴露於極低溫環境中，研究凍傷形成與治療方法。
· 化學武器實驗：將化學毒劑施加於受害者身上，評估毒性反應。
· 高壓實驗：將受害者置於低氣壓環境中，以研究高空減壓對人體的影響。
· 毒氣實驗：使受害者暴露於有毒氣體中，以了解致死機制及防護方法。
二、戰後處理與「選擇性遺忘」
第二次世界大戰結束後，731部隊的罪行未受到應有的審判。美國政府與石井四郎及其他核心人員達成協議，以換取其生物戰實驗資料，免除其戰爭罪責。這種「冷戰交易」導致731部隊的罪行長期未為國際社會廣泛知曉。
儘管部分成員在蘇聯哈巴羅夫斯克戰犯審判中被定罪，但許多主要人物，包括石井四郎，並未受到追究。日本政府對731部隊的存在長期保持沉默，直到1980年代才有限承認，即便如此，官方對其罪行的承認仍然不足，導致歷史真相未能完全揭示。
三、歷史遺忘與道德麻木的再生產
731部隊的歷史罪行及其戰後處理，展現了日本在戰後處理戰爭罪行上的「選擇性遺忘」。這種遺忘不僅忽視歷史真相，更抹殺了受害者記憶，導致道德麻木的再生產。這一現象在東亞歷史敘事中具有代表性，凸顯了權力、暴力與文明敘事之間複雜的道德邏輯。
四、對服從結構與道德麻木研究的啟示
將731部隊案例納入服從結構的分析，可理解權力、制度權威與歷史敘事如何塑造道德判斷。如在《四十個遊牧人與一千名無辜村民》中所討論，策略性順從、計算性權力累積與決定性行動的動態，不僅是歷史事件，也反映了社會遵從、道德合理化與暴力常態化的模式。東亞社會的階層結構、集體主義及對成功的合法化邏輯，可部分解釋系統性暴行如何被社會合理化與選擇性遺忘。
五、戰後職業生涯與政府職務
儘管731部隊成員犯下嚴重的反人類罪行，戰後的“冷戰交易”不僅使石井四郎及其他核心人員免於受審，還為他們提供了繼續從事科研與教育工作的機會。戰後，部分731部隊成員成功回歸日本社會，在政府、科研和教育等領域擔任職務，繼續發揮其專業影響力。例如，石井四郎在微生物學與細菌戰研究方面保持活躍，其他成員也在醫學、軍事與教育領域取得顯著成就。許多成員進一步鞏固了家族地位與經濟資源。
731部隊成員的戰後回歸及其在日本社會中的再融入，反映了戰後日本在處理戰爭罪行上的“選擇性遺忘”。這種遺忘不僅忽視歷史真相，也抹殺受害者記憶，導致道德麻木的再生產。這一現象在東亞歷史敘事中具有廣泛代表性，凸顯了權力、暴力與文明敘事之間複雜的道德邏輯。
2. Literature and Cultural Narratives / 文學與文化敘事
- Murasaki Shikibu, The Tale of Genji / 紫式部《源氏物語》
In The Tale of Genji, courtiers and retainers demonstrate extreme deference and admiration to the aristocracy. The narrative celebrates strategic compliance and aesthetic submission, illustrating how moral judgment is subordinated to hierarchy and social expediency. This mirrors East Asian obedience logic in everyday social life.
在《源氏物語》中，朝臣與隨從對權貴表現出極端的順從與讚美。故事讚美策略性服從與美學上的屈從，展示道德判斷服從於階層與社會便利性。這反映了東亞日常社會中的服從邏輯。
- Takashima Toshio, A History of Thieves / 高島俊雄《盗賊史觀》
High-ranking outlaws, who succeed through cunning or temporary submission to power, are valorized. The work demonstrates the systemic tolerance of strategic disobedience framed as survival or tactical compliance, reinforcing cultural patterns of calculated obedience over moral absolutism.
高級盜賊透過狡詐或暫時服從權力而成功，並受到讚揚。該書揭示了系統性容忍策略性違命，將其框定為生存或戰術服從，加強了「計算服從優於道德絕對化」的文化模式。
- Water Margin / 《水滸傳》
Outlaws who challenge corrupt authority but follow internal codes of loyalty reflect selective moral judgment. Villagers and bandits navigate survival by prioritizing group norms and strategic submission over universal justice.
反抗腐敗權力的好漢，遵守內部忠誠規範，反映選擇性的道德判斷。村民與盜賊通過優先遵循群體規範與策略性服從來生存，而非普世正義。
3. Film and Visual Media / 電影與視覺媒體
- Takeshi Kitano, Kubi / 北野武《首》
The film depicts samurai and political elites navigating loyalty and obedience under lethal pressure. Extreme acts of submission, strategic alignment, and decisive strikes resonate with the thought experiment of the forty nomads. Moral numbness emerges as a survival strategy.
電影展示武士與政治精英在致命壓力下處理忠誠與服從。極端的順從、策略性結盟與決斷性打擊，呼應「40個游牧人思辨實驗」。道德麻痺作為生存策略浮現。
- Squid Game / 韓國《鱿鱼游戏》
Contestants engage in lethal competition under authority structures. Survival, strategic compliance, and alliance formation are prioritized over fairness or moral judgment, exemplifying modern media reflections of East Asian obedience logic.
參賽者在權威結構下進行生死競賽。生存、策略服從與結盟優先於公平或道德判斷，展現東亞服從邏輯的現代媒體映射。
- Game of Thrones / 權力的遊戲
Daenerys Targaryen’s conquest illustrates audience alignment with power, where empathy for the victor obscures the suffering of the vanquished. Similarly, cultural narratives valorize effectiveness and strategic compliance, echoing historical East Asian patterns.
丹妮莉絲的征服展示觀眾與權力對齊，同情勝利者而忽略被征服者的痛苦。類似地，文化敘事讚美效率與策略性服從，呼應東亞歷史模式。
Discussion / 討論
1. Moral Numbness and Cultural Rationality / 道德麻痺與文化理性
The “Forty Nomads and One Thousand Innocent Villagers” thought experiment reveals how extreme acts can be cognitively rationalized within certain cultural frameworks. In East Asia, hierarchical obedience, survival imperatives, and strategic compliance often overshadow fairness and human rights. Individuals may submit to authority or align with power to survive, even when witnessing or participating in morally reprehensible acts.
In modern cultural narratives, Daenerys Targaryen is sympathized with during her conquest, highlighting selective moral focus: leadership and strategic brilliance attract empathy, while structural victims remain invisible.
「40個游牧人與1000無辜村民」思辨實驗揭示，在特定文化框架下，極端行為如何被認知上合理化。在東亞，階層服從、生存需求與策略性服從常常凌駕於公平與人權之上。個體可能為了生存而服從權威或結盟，即使目睹或參與了道德上令人譴責的行為。
在现代文化叙事中，丹妮莉丝征服过程中亦获共情，显示选择性道德焦点：领导力与战略智慧吸引共情，而结构性受害者被忽视。
This moral numbness is reinforced through historical precedent, literary narratives, and media portrayals, creating a cognitive environment where obedience is both culturally rewarded and morally justified internally. Examples such as Yasukuni Shrine’s enshrined war criminals, The Tale of Genji, and Squid Game illustrate this internalized rationalization across centuries.
道德麻痺透過歷史先例、文學敘事與媒體呈現而被強化，形成一種認知環境，使服從在文化上獲得獎勵，並在內心被道德化合理化。靖國神社戰犯、《源氏物語》以及《鱿鱼游戏》等案例展示了跨世紀的內化理性化過程。
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2. The Principle of “Submit First, Strategize Later, Strike Decisively” / 「先服從，後計策，一擊必殺」原則
East Asian cultural logic often emphasizes short-term compliance as a strategic tool rather than a moral endorsement. Individuals learn to endure, observe, and integrate, waiting for the right moment to assert equality, overturn hierarchy, or seize decisive advantage. This principle aligns with the nomads’ conceptualization: the same individuals capable of mass violence can, if co-opted, serve social structures efficiently.
In East Asian societies, individuals are often socialized to accept hierarchical authority and to internalize responsibility for personal failure. However, fairness, justice, or human rights rarely serve as the primary basis for decision-making or moral evaluation. This pattern can be traced to Confucian-inspired social structures, where harmony and hierarchy are prioritized over individualistic notions of justice. Individuals may willingly accept subordination or punishment for personal mistakes, yet struggle to mobilize moral reasoning to resist systemic injustice or unfair treatment.
東亞文化邏輯常將短期服從視為策略工具，而非道德認可。個體學會忍耐、觀察、整合，等待最佳時機以實現平等、顛覆階層或獲取決定性優勢。這一原則與「游牧人思辨實驗」的概念一致：同樣具有大規模暴力能力的個體，如果被吸納，可高效服務於社會結構。
在东亚社会，个体通常被社会化以接受等级权威，并将个人失败内化为自身责任。然而，公平、正义或人权很少作为决策或道德评价的主要依据。这一模式可追溯至受儒家影响的社会结构，其强调和谐与等级优先于个体化的正义观。
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3. Success Defines Morality (成王敗寇) / 成功即正義
Historical, literary, and media examples consistently demonstrate that outcomes often justify actions. Whether through obedience, cunning, labor, or sacrifice, success validates strategy and diminishes moral critique. The East Asian ethos, reflected from Water Margin to Daenerys Targaryen’s conquest, emphasizes achievement as the primary measure of legitimacy.
歷史、文學與媒體案例一致表明，結果往往為行為提供正當性。無論是透過服從、狡詐、勞動或犧牲，成功證明策略，削弱道德批判。從《水滸傳》到丹妮莉絲的征服，東亞文化精神強調成就作為合法性的主要衡量標準。
4. Implications for Justice and Ethics / 對司法與倫理的啟示
The thought experiment challenges modern justice systems to consider cultural conditioning in moral assessment. Punishing the forty nomads with death aligns with universalist moral reasoning but may ignore systemic drivers and historical-cultural context. Conversely, failing to address the behavior risks normative perpetuation, as similar actors could emulate extreme compliance-driven violence.
該思辨實驗挑戰現代司法系統在道德評估中考慮文化條件。以死刑懲罰40個游牧人符合普世道德推理，但可能忽略系統性驅動因素與歷史文化脈絡。反之，不處理此行為又可能延續規範，因為類似個體可能模仿極端的服從驅動暴力。
Balancing moral accountability with cultural understanding is crucial. East Asian decision-making emphasizes expediency, strategic alignment, and survival, while moral critique and human rights advocacy must navigate these cognitive frameworks to promote justice without oversimplification.
平衡道德責任與文化理解至關重要。東亞決策強調權宜之計、策略結盟與生存，而道德批判與人權倡導必須在這些認知框架中運作，以推動正義而不簡化問題。
在东亚社会中，个体和集体的决策往往以效率、利益最大化和投机性选择为主导，而公平、正义和人权等价值观则常常被置于次要地位。这种现象不仅在个人层面上表现明显，在国家层面的政策制定和国际关系中也有深刻体现。以下将通过具体案例和理论分析，探讨这一决策模式的形成原因及其影响。
一、国家层面的决策逻辑：国家利益至上
在东亚国家的外交政策中，国家利益被视为最高准则，
二、企业层面的决策逻辑：利益驱动与风险规避
在东亚地区的企业决策中，利益驱动和风险规避是主要考虑因素。例如，在面对市场竞争时，企业往往选择通过降低成本、提高效率等方式来最大化利润，而非考虑公平贸易或社会责任。这种以利益为导向的决策模式，虽然在短期内可能带来经济效益，但从长远来看，可能导致社会不公和资源分配不均。
三、社会层面的决策逻辑：集体主义与权威服从
在东亚社会中，集体主义和权威服从的文化传统深刻影响着个体的决策行为。人们往往优先考虑群体利益和上级指示，而非个人权利或公平正义。这种文化背景下，个体在面对不公时，可能选择沉默或顺从，而非站出来争取自己的权益。
五、理论分析：现实主义与功利主义
从国际关系理论来看，现实主义强调国家在无政府状态下追求自身利益，认为道德和法律在国际政治中作用有限。在东亚国家的外交政策中，这一理论得到了充分体现。此外，功利主义认为行为的正确性取决于其结果的最大幸福，在东亚的社会和企业决策中，这一思想也有广泛应用。
道德麻痹的根源与影响
东亚地区普遍存在的“为失败低头，但无法为公平正义发声”的现象，反映了在决策过程中，效率、利益和投机性选择往往被置于道德和法律之上。这种现象的根源在于深厚的文化传统、国家利益至上的思维模式以及功利主义的价值观。长期以来，这种决策逻辑可能导致社会不公、资源分配不均以及国际关系中的不道德行为。要改变这一现象，需要从教育、文化和制度等多方面入手，培养公民的道德意识和法治观念，推动社会向更加公正和道德的方向发展。
暴力、环境与道德困境：40个游牧人与丹妮莉丝
Violence, Environment, and Moral Dilemma: 40 Nomads and Daenerys
在一个极端的假设情境下，40个骑在马上的游牧民族，烧杀抢掠了他们发现的一个村子里的1000个村民。表面上，这是40个人的残暴行为，但如果我们把视角拓宽，他们的行为也可以理解为环境和理念的产物。在他们的社会中，遇到陌生族群就必须进行掠夺——这是他们的生存逻辑，也是他们的文化规范。
In an extreme hypothetical scenario, 40 mounted nomads slaughtered 1,000 villagers in a discovered settlement. On the surface, this is an act of sheer brutality. Yet, if we broaden our perspective, their actions can also be seen as products of environment and ideology. In their society, encountering a foreign tribe requires raiding—it is both a survival logic and a cultural norm.
一、邪恶还是环境的产物？
这40个人的行为，可以从两个维度理解：
道德维度：在现代价值体系下，杀害无辜被定义为邪恶，是必须受到惩罚的行为。
环境维度：如果这种掠夺是社会结构、文化规范和生存压力共同作用的结果，那么它也可以被理解为环境产物，而非单纯的个人邪恶。
The actions of these 40 individuals can be understood from two dimensions:
Moral Dimension: In a modern value system, killing innocents is evil and warrants punishment.
Environmental Dimension: If the raids are the result of social structure, cultural norms, and survival pressures, they can be seen as products of environment rather than sheer personal evil.
理论上，这涉及行为主义社会学与情境伦理学。心理学家Stanley Milgram的实验表明，人类在权威和环境压力下，会执行常理判断下无法接受的行为。同样，这40个人在其社会逻辑中，可能视掠夺为常态，而非犯罪。
Theoretically, this involves behaviorist sociology and situational ethics. Stanley Milgram's experiments showed that humans will perform acts considered unacceptable under ordinary circumstances when under authority and environmental pressure. Similarly, these 40 individuals may view raiding as normal, not criminal, within their societal logic.
二、代价与防御机制
如果我们承认环境因素的重要性，那么在现代价值观下，这40个人仍应付出相应的社会代价。
法律惩罚：现代法治社会中，他们的行为属于大规模谋杀，应被判刑甚至终身监禁。
道德示范：惩罚行为不仅是惩罚个体，也是阻止类似理念传播的社会信号。
If we acknowledge the role of environment, under modern values, these 40 individuals should still bear appropriate social consequences.
Legal punishment: In a modern rule-of-law society, such actions constitute mass murder and warrant severe sentences, potentially life imprisonment.
Moral signaling: Punishment serves not only to penalize individuals but also as a social signal to prevent the spread of similar ideologies.
如果没有任何代价，未来更多持有相同理念的游牧民族，会继续效仿。这就是历史上“成吉思汗上帝之鞭”被赞美的危险：社会赋予暴力以传奇光环，而忽视受害者的血泪。
Without any consequence, more nomads holding the same ideology would continue to emulate such behavior. This explains the danger of glorifying Genghis Khan as the “Scourge of God”: society glorifies violence while ignoring the blood and tears of victims.
三、丹妮莉丝与游牧人的比较
在流行文化中，丹妮莉丝·坦格利安征服者的故事被观众广泛共情。我们同情她追求铁王座的奋斗，但往往忽略了征途中普通人的牺牲：屠城、掠夺、被迫投降的人们。
本质上，她的行为逻辑与40个游牧民族相似：
目标明确：权力至上，效率优先。
策略功利：选择暴力或联盟来达成目的。
道德麻痹：受众共情集中在领导者身上，而忽略被支配群体的苦痛。
In popular culture, Daenerys Targaryen’s conquest is widely empathized with. We sympathize with her pursuit of the Iron Throne but often overlook the ordinary people sacrificed along the way: slaughtered cities, raids, and forced submission.
Essentially, her logic mirrors that of the 40 nomads:
Clear Goal: Power first, efficiency prioritized.
Utilitarian Strategy: Use of violence or alliances to achieve objectives.
Moral Numbness: Audience empathy focuses on the leader while ignoring the suffering of subjugated populations.
四、分析与启示
这揭示了权力叙事的选择性共情：社会容易赞美成就者，而忽略底层受害者。
同时，暴力行为是否被认定为“邪恶”，取决于社会价值观与文化环境。
教训在于，无论环境多么影响个体，现代社会仍需制度化约束：法律、道德、教育必须成为防止暴力理念复制的机制。
This reveals selective empathy in power narratives: society tends to praise achievers while ignoring the suffering of subjugated people.
Moreover, whether violent acts are deemed “evil” depends on societal values and cultural context.
The lesson is that no matter how environment shapes behavior, modern society still requires institutional constraints: laws, ethics, and education must prevent the replication of violent ideologies.
暴力、环境与道德困境：40个游牧人与丹妮莉丝的比较
一、邪恶还是环境的产物？
在一个极端的假设情境下，40个骑在马上的游牧民族，烧杀抢掠了他们发现的一个村子里的1000个村民。表面上，这是40个人的残暴行为，但如果我们把视角拓宽，他们的行为也可以理解为环境和理念的产物。在他们的社会中，遇到陌生族群就必须进行掠夺——这是他们的生存逻辑，也是他们的文化规范。
这种现象在历史上并不罕见。例如，蒙古帝国在13世纪的征服中，广泛使用屠杀作为军事策略。史料记载，在1221年围攻梅尔夫时，蒙古军队屠杀了几乎所有投降的市民，造成约70万人死亡。阿拉伯历史学家伊本·阿尔-阿提尔描述了当时的惨状：“他们点燃了城市，焚烧了圣人墓地，挖掘他的坟墓寻找财富。”
二、代价与防御机制
如果我们承认环境因素的重要性，那么在现代价值观下，这40个人仍应付出相应的社会代价。
法律惩罚：现代法治社会中，他们的行为属于大规模谋杀，应被判刑甚至终身监禁。
道德示范：惩罚行为不仅是惩罚个体，也是阻止类似理念传播的社会信号。
如果没有任何代价，未来更多持有相同理念的游牧民族，会继续效仿。这就是历史上“成吉思汗上帝之鞭”被赞美的危险：社会赋予暴力以传奇光环，而忽视受害者的血泪。
三、丹妮莉丝与游牧人的比较
在流行文化中，丹妮莉丝·坦格利安征服者的故事被观众广泛共情。我们同情她追求铁王座的奋斗，但往往忽略了征途中普通人的牺牲：屠城、掠夺、被迫投降的人们。
本质上，她的行为逻辑与40个游牧民族相似：
目标明确：权力至上，效率优先。
策略功利：选择暴力或联盟来达成目的。
道德麻痹：受众共情集中在领导者身上，而忽略被支配群体的苦痛。
四、分析与启示
这揭示了权力叙事的选择性共情：社会容易赞美成就者，而忽略底层受害者。
同时，暴力行为是否被认定为“邪恶”，取决于社会价值观与文化环境。
教训在于，无论环境多么影响个体，现代社会仍需制度化约束：法律、道德、教育必须成为防止暴力理念复制的机制。
Conclusion / 結論
「40個游牧人與1000無辜村民」思辨實驗凸顯了東亞服從、道德麻痺與文化理性之間的複雜交互作用。歷史與文化證據顯示，效率、忠誠、階層及「成王敗寇」原則常凌駕抽象倫理考量。認識這些動態對道德教育、法律問責與跨文化倫理分析至關重要。歷史、文學與媒體案例——從蒙古征服到《源氏物語》、《水滸傳》、《首》、《鱿鱼游戏》及《權力的遊戲》——均展示了效率、階層與策略性服從常常凌駕於普遍道德標準之上。
East Asian ethical cognition often prioritizes survival, expediency, and power alignment, with moral judgment becoming conditional and context-dependent. The principle of “submit first, strategize later, strike decisively” encapsulates a culturally ingrained logic that reconciles obedience and ambition, illustrating why historical and contemporary societies valorize successful actors regardless of their initial acts of violence or subordination.
Readers familiar with the extreme crimes against humanity committed by Japan during World War II—such as the Nanjing Massacre and the actions of Unit 731—may find it perplexing that postwar Japan rapidly cultivated a “cute” or “reserved” public image. Within the analytical framework proposed here, East Asian structural logic interprets this transformation as a cyclical pattern: strategic compliance and ingratiation, combined with observation, accumulation of capability, and careful planning, ultimately culminating in decisive action to achieve retaliation or objectives. Within this cycle, both violence and submission are understood either as means to success or as temporary failure. Similar patterns are observed in intimate relationships, where East Asian male behaviors toward partners reflect comparable dynamics. Several documented cases of intimate conflict and harm in China, Japan, and Korea align with this structural logic, shedding light on the differences in pre- and post-marital behaviors.
The thought experiment presented here—40 nomads discovering and annihilating a village of 1,000 innocent villagers—can also be interpreted through the same East Asian logic. The nomads initially adopt the posture of victims or submissives to gain the village’s acceptance; after assessing the village’s armed strength and numbers, they plan and execute decisive action. According to the logic of “victor writes history,” these 40 nomads are considered heroes by their original group. Similar logic can be observed in historical events, such as the massacres of Indigenous peoples by American colonists and the subsequent social legitimation and justification of these actions, demonstrating a “success—legitimization—heroization” cycle.
Further, as a cultural phenomenon, the military victories and civilian casualties caused by Drogo and Daenerys in Game of Thrones exhibit a similar cycle: audience empathy often overlooks the harm inflicted on non-combatants, reflecting the narrative mode whereby success legitimizes power, obedience is rewarded, and victors are heroized. Likewise, classical and contemporary narratives such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Water Margin, Squid Game, and 首 follow a similar pattern: the defeated engage in stage-wise submission and ingratiation to buy time and resources until the opportunity for reversal arises. Victors acquire narrative authority, shaping not only the present but also rewriting the past and future.
The thought experiment in this study aims to question whether we inherently accept the “success defines heroism” logic. The central issue it raises is whether heroization and historical legitimacy are natural outcomes of power or constructs shaped by social structures and narrative operations. Taking Drogo and Daenerys in Game of Thrones as an example, audience empathy toward their military victories and hero status largely depends on the assumed alignment of the audience—as supporters of their side. If the perspective is shifted, for instance, to the 1,000 villagers, the audience’s perception of Drogo and Daenerys may be entirely reversed, reframing their “heroic” actions as acts of violence and destruction.
This comparison highlights the relativity of history and narrative: victors write history and control the narrative, while the perspectives of the defeated or oppressed are often ignored. By shifting the perspective of the thought experiment, this study demonstrates that “heroization” and “legitimization” are not inevitable outcomes of power, but results deeply shaped by power structures, societal viewpoints, and narrative choices.
This framework challenges universalist legal and ethical reasoning, suggesting that justice must consider both individual actions and systemic-cultural determinants. The thought experiment offers a lens for analyzing moral agency, cultural obedience, and the strategic rationality that underpins historical and contemporary East Asian social behavior.
Most importantly, as seen in the highly influential contemporary pop culture figures—such as Black Widow, The Winter Soldier, Daenerys Targaryen, Drogo, and Loki—one can observe a recurring psychological pattern: when the victors control the narrative, audiences tend to develop Power Empathy, an emotional identification with power itself, which often leads to the neglect of violence and oppression. This Moral Numbness, born out of power empathy, is not unique to East Asian societies but a universal human tendency—when power is packaged through charisma, trauma, or sacrifice, moral judgment is easily replaced by emotional resonance.
東亞倫理認知往往優先考量生存、權宜及權力對齊，道德判斷因此呈現條件性與情境依賴性。「先服從，後計策，一擊必殺」原則概括了深植文化的邏輯，調和服從與野心，並說明為何歷史與當代社會讚揚成功者，而不論其初始行為是暴力還是屈從。
熟悉二戰期間日本極端反人類罪行的讀者，例如南京大屠殺與731部隊，可能會對戰後日本迅速塑造出“可愛”或“內斂”的公共形象反差感到困惑。依據本文提出的分析框架，東亞結構性邏輯將這種轉變理解為一個循環模式：先策略性順從與討好，通過觀察、積累實力與策劃計謀，最終實施決定性行動以達成反擊或目標。在此循環中，暴力與屈從既是成功的手段，也可能是階段性失敗的結果。部分親密關係中，東亞男性對伴侶的行為亦呈現類似模式。中國、日本與韓國的若干親密關係衝突與傷害案例，可以用此結構性邏輯解釋婚前與婚後行為的差異。 本文的思辨實驗——40名游牧人發現並消滅村莊中全部1000名無辜村民——亦可通過上述東亞邏輯理解。這些游牧人先以受害者或屈從者的姿態獲得村莊接納，在掌握對方武裝力量與人數後，制定計畫並最終實施決定性行動。按照成王敗寇的邏輯，這40名游牧人對其原始集團而言成為英雄。類似邏輯亦可在歷史事件中觀察，例如美國殖民者對原住民的屠殺，以及其後獲得社會合法性與正當性的案例，呈現“成功—合法化—英雄化”循環。 進一步，作為文化現象的分析，《權力的遊戲》中Drogo與Daenerys的軍事勝利與民眾傷亡，也呈現類似循環：觀眾對主角的高度共情往往忽視其行為造成的平民傷害，反映了成功合法化權力、階層順從與英雄化的敘事模式。正如《三國演義》《水滸傳》《首》《鱿魚遊戲》等作品所示，均遵循類似模式：成王敗寇，失敗者透過階段性順從與討好勝利者換取時間與資源，等待反敗為勝的機會。而勝利者則獲得歷史敘事權，不僅塑造當下，也重新書寫過去與未來。
本文的思辨實驗旨在探討：我們是否自然而然地認同“成敗論英雄”？它提出的核心問題是，英雄化與歷史合法性究竟是力量的自然結果，還是社會結構與敘事操作塑造的幻象。以《權力的遊戲》中Drogo與Daenerys為例，觀眾對其軍事勝利與英雄形象的共情，很大程度上依賴於預設陣營——將觀眾視為支持者的一方。如果將陣營置換，例如將觀眾的立場設定為1000名村民，對Drogo與Daenerys的感受可能完全相反，英雄化的敘事將被重新評價為暴力與破壞。
這一對比強調了歷史與敘事的相對性：成功者書寫歷史、掌握敘事權，而失敗者或被壓迫者的觀點往往被忽略。本文的思辨實驗通過改變陣營視角，揭示了“英雄化”與“合法化”並非自然必然，而是深受權力結構、社會觀點與敘事選擇塑造的結果。
此框架挑戰了普世法律與倫理推理，提示正義評估需同時考慮個人行為與系統性文化因素。該思辨實驗提供了一個分析道德能動性、文化服從與策略理性，並解讀其對歷史及當代東亞社會行為影響的視角。最重要的是，結合當下影響力極大的流行文化角色（如《黑寡婦》《冬兵》《丹妮莉絲》《卓戈》《洛基》等），可以觀察到一種普遍現象：當勝利者掌握了敘事權，觀眾往往會對權力本身產生共情（Power Empathy），並在情感上忽略暴力與壓迫的後果。這種由權力共情所催生的「道德麻木」（Moral Numbness），不僅是東亞社會的現象，而是人類普遍的心理傾向——當權力以魅力、創傷或犧牲的形式被包裝時，道德判斷便容易被情感認同所取代。
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Copyright © 2025 Jules Vela
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