Mechanism of Politics

by Lee, Chang Hoo

Chapter 0. Contents of this book

(2) Scientific Approach

In political phenomenology, a scientific approach to politics is adopted. Let's examine why such a perspective is necessary and what are the characteristics of the scientific approach.

A 50-ton dump truck with its brakes released is slowly moving, and a young child is about to be hit. If someone tries to stop the truck with their body, what will happen? His bravery may be praised, but it cannot be considered a good act. Both he and the child will be hurt. So, what should we do? The better option is to get into the slowly moving truck and fix the brakes.

Now the dump truck is moving very slowly, but what should we do if we don't know anything about the structure of the dump truck? With just 10 minutes, we could hear a simple explanation of the structure and control of the truck and take action.

There is a huge machine called politics in front of us. We know that sometimes many people can save their lives and live a fruitful life by the operation of this machine, but sometimes many people also die or get hurt. Then we must understand and explore the way this machine of politics operates and find a way to effectively manipulate it. Political phenomenology aims to do this. This is a scientific approach. It means viewing politics as a huge machine and exploring its operating principles.

The scientific approach referred to as the "realistic viewpoint" of politics is not exactly new. Many political scientists have sought to study from this perspective and it has also been referred to as the "behavioral approach." We will briefly discuss the behavioral approach in the final chapter of this book.

In political science, the traditional approach (Historical Approach) is contrasted with a scientific approach. The traditional approach involves a detailed explanation of historical events that result in a particular outcome, relying on individual cases or stories. On the other hand, the scientific approach provides useful general principles and offers a theoretical explanation based on theoretical models. In the scientific approach, it is important to clearly state basic assumptions, maintain logical consistency, and systematically verify theories through controlled case comparisons.

Can politics be viewed as a machine? This question can be raised. Of course, not all of politics can be perfectly likened to a machine. However, it can be assumed that some aspects of politics change (like a machine) based on their own operating method, and in that case, it is necessary to understand that aspect well. If politics consists of both mechanical and human aspects, it can be thought of as a dump truck being driven by a driver, just like in this case, knowledge of the truck's structure is still required. There is a driver, so first you shout to stop in order to save the child, but if the driver ignores such words, then someone who knows the structure of the truck should get on board and fight with the driver, if necessary, to step on the brake. In summary, regardless of whether the mechanical aspect is large or small, if one wants to understand that part, they must understand it as much as possible.