Dear Sir/Madam,

The article, "Stalin to Saddam: So Much for the Madman Theory" in today's NYT made interesting reading, and reminded me of the much neglected need for us to focus on that aspect of human nature which might be called the "pathology of power". The suggestion that under different circumstances Saddam might instead have become a corporate executive, a lawyer, a cult leader, (a newspaper editor?) or a politician, was particularly insightful. We are dangerously blind to the ignorance, irrationality and psychopathy inherent in us all.

Despite the incredible progress made in our understanding of the physical world, we have barely stepped out of the Dark Ages when it comes to understanding ourselves, our psychology and what motivates us, the world's "Greatest Ape". Most of us believe ourselves to me more-or-less, if not perfectly sane, when in fact the majority, certainly en masse, are quite mad. Just look at the suicidal way we are treating (plundering!) our planet . . .

We should be studying human behaviour (societies, economics, politics, history and religion) in the light of our animal origins and nature, which goes a long way to explaining the mess we are in.