Cognitive Scaffold

Preparing your thinking workspace

arrow_back_ios_new
MENTAL MODEL · M5855

Raison d'état

Raison d'état
BehaviorHigh supportOrganizational Behavior
Included
account_tree

Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

The interests of the state (survival and expansion) override all moral, legal, or religious norms. For the sake of state interests, rulers may employ any necessary means (including deception, betrayal, and violence).

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

The absolute law of organizational survival. When an organization faces existential threats, personal morality (such as honesty and benevolence) often takes a back seat to the "reason of the organization." Although cruel, this is the underlying logic for understanding organizational behaviors (such as layoffs and breach of contract).

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

"Reason of state" (raison d'État) refers to the supremacy of the state's survival and fundamental interests over usual moral or legal constraints, and is a core concept of realist politics. It reveals that at the level of survival, means are often redefined by ends.

MINIMUM ACTION

In progress 0/4

Practice this model in one real situation:

Check to track your progress (stored locally)
Learning progress0%
account_treeGenealogyexpand_more
menu_bookReferencesexpand_more

Source support: Explicit

  • link
    en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Reason_of_StateZH · Explicit
    verified

RELATED MODELS

Related model

Deontology

Deontological ethics (deontology) is one of the theories of normative ethics. It holds that the highest moral ethics is based on the action itself and is not influenced by external factors. Unlike utilitarianism, which is also a branch of normative ethics, deontology does not consider consequences. It is sometimes called 'duty-based' or 'rule-based' ethics, emphasizing that the objective basis of moral judgment is the 'good will', valuing the motive of action, and holding that one should do good unconditionally out of duty. A representative figure is Kant, whose theory has had a great influence on later deontological ethics.

arrow_forwardRelated model

Principle of Double Effect

The principle of double effect is a set of ethical criteria which Christian philosophers have advocated for evaluating the permissibility of acting when one's otherwise legitimate act may also cause an effect one would otherwise be obliged to avoid.

arrow_forwardRelated model

Two-Factor Theory

The two-factor theory (also known as motivation–hygiene theory, motivator–hygiene theory, and dual-factor theory) states that there are certain factors in the workplace that cause job satisfaction while a separate set of factors cause dissatisfaction, all of which act independently of each other. It…

arrow_forward