But there is a natural tendency to endow that upon which we...

[cannonkuo]

But there is a natural tendency to endow that upon which we focus our attention with somewhat greater potential than it might normally be expected to have.

(Singer, J. David. "The level-of-analysis problem in international relations." World Politics 14, no. 1 (1961): 80-81.)

Could you please paraphrase the sentence in plain English? I don't understand the meaning as it is.

 

[Tarheel]

It seems like diplomatic jargon. Your guess is as good as mine.

It could mean that we tend to ascribe more importance to what we're focusing on because we're focusing on it.

 

[tedmc]

"Endow something with greater potential" is beyond me.

 

[jutfrank]

We tend to think the things we focus on have greater potential than they really have.