The Nature of the Concept of Power
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6257461 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Lincoln Allison (University of Warwick, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1974 |
| Volume | 2 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 131-142 |
| Publication date | 1974-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | European Journal of Political Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0304-4130 • E-ISSN: 1475-6765 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1475-6765.1974.tb01234.x |
| OpenAlex | W2047570211 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
The tests of successful conceptual analysis are (1) fidelity to the working of natural language; (2) precise criteria for the application of a concept; and (3) operational applicability to political situations.Power can be shown to be a partially‐quantifiable concept with logical properties similar to those of wealth and intelligence and radically different from those of height and specific gravity. For this reason, comparisons and measurements of power cannot be used except for making rather general and obvious comments about political situations. The prime difficulty is the need to study power in terms of intentions, which involve considerable ambiguity even within a given “scope” and “domain”.The logical properties (and consequent limitations) of the concept of power are often ignored because power is an “obsessive” concept in our culture. That is to say, whatever its logical inadequacies as a concept, we nevertheless want to talk about it
Ambiguity · Domain (mathematical analysis · Epistemology · Logical conjunction · Logical consequence · Logical form · Natural (archaeology · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Prime (order theory · Scope (computer science · Sociology · Computer Science · History · Law · Mathematics · Philosophy · Political Philosophy and Ethics
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,06 |
| Citation span | 1976 - 1981 (6) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |