Timothy Leary: A Biography by Robert Greenfield
Democracy and Dictatorship: Their Psychology and Patters of Life by Zevedei BarbuThere is another aspect of the impact of money upon modern life brilliantly analysed by George Simmel (Philosophie des Geldes). This can be stated briefly as the supremacy of the category of quantity in modern civilization. The tendency characteristic of modern science to look at the quantitative aspect of phenomena is at least partly a result of this trend. The idea of steady progress by adding new small quantities to the old stock is another aspect of the same phenomenon. Most suggestive is Simmel's opinion that democracy, with its central concept of majority, is a financial conception of life. It is number that counts. In this way the author attempts to link democracy with a specific economic system. This perspective is, in our own view, far too narrow.
Niebuhr, in the work mentioned above, points to another problem regarding the connection between tolerance and lack of inner tension. Commenting on the rise of religious tolerance in England he writes: 'It must be admitted that toleration in religion could not possibly have been achieved in any modern democratic society had there not been a considerable decay of traditional religious loyal- ties. Tolerance is the virtue of people who do not believe anything, said Gilbert Chesterton, quite truly.'* Thus Niebuhr associates tolerance with the weakening of religious faith, and with the weakening of certain emotional factors in human behaviour. Historically this is the result of the process of secularization which took place in the post-Renaissance European societies
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Eugene L. and Ruth Hartley, using a test of social distance which they complemented with clinical observation, found that the tolerant individuals are interested in imaginary activities, in theories and ideas; that they work with singleness of purpose towards distant goals, that they are serious about moral questions, etc. Obviously, integration at theoretical level and work in the function of distant goals shows, first of all, the presence of leisure, and the lack of that kind of tension which produces direct- ness and rigidity in behaviour by its urgent character. The intolerant individuals, on the other hand, display a mechanical outlook, unwillingness to accept responsibility, dominance of emotional factors, and compulsive reaction by which they tend to escape inner tensions. All this constitutes sources of rigidity in their reactions, and, therefore, intolerance in their character.*
*Hartley, E. L. and R.: Tolerance and Personality Traits. In Readings in Soc. Psychol., N.Y., 1947
PATTERNS OF INDIVIDUATION UNDER CONDITIONS OF INSECURITY
The main trends of the process of individuation in a psycho- social field of insecurity can be described as follows: 1. The individual grows excessively self-centred. The basic formula I love myself'.
of this personality type is: 'Nobody loves me... The manifestations of this basic formula of individuation are varied. The individual is highly preoccupied with himself, and at the same time has a strong tendency to relate himself to others. His need to be accepted and loved forms a central point in the development of his personality. Social abilities are developed to the maximum in this type of personality. Exactly what these abilities are depends to a great extent on the dominant values of the group. Verbal abilities seem however to rank among the top social abilities in nearly every group. In this sense the individual will show keenness about using the cultural symbols of his own group. But his urgent need for acceptance directs him towards those ideas and that kind of style, written or spoken, which have the highest circulation. The public platform and journalistic writing are among the most adequate means for his ends. He is likely to manifest a marked aversion from heavy and highly elaborated ideologies.
This type of personality possesses a certain degree of psychological insight, but this is limited by the difficulty of making others like and accept him. For, though in contact with others, he is incapable of dialogue. The striving for acceptance by others is seen in a series of other traits of this personality such as amiability, manners, and inclination towards showmanship.
The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales by Edgar Allan Poe
From Both Sides: A Memoir by Ellen WeisbergThe Joy of x: A Guided Tour of Math from One to Infinity by Steven H. Strogatz My rating: 3 of 5 stars ...
