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TheTwoDrivesinMan
Manis, atoneandthesametime,
asolitarybeingandasocialbeing.
Asasolitarybeing,
heattemptstoprotecthisownexistence
andthatofthosewhoareclosesttohim,
tosatisfyhispersonaldesires,
andtodevelophisinnateabilities.
Asasocialbeing,
heseekstogaintherecognitionandaffection
ofhisfellowhumanbeings,
toshareintheirpleasures,
tocomfortthemintheirsorrows,
andtoimprovetheirconditionsoflife.
Onlytheexistenceofthesevaried,
frequentlyconflicting, strivingsaccounts
forthespecialcharacterofaman,
andtheirspecificcombinationdeterminestheextent
towhichanindividualcanachieve
andinaninnerbalance
andcancontributetothewell-beingofsociety.
Itisquitepossiblethattherelativestrengthofthesetwodrivesis,
inthemain, fixedbyinheritance.
Butthepersonalitythatfinallyemerges
islargelyformedbytheenvironment
inwhichamanhappenstofindhimselfduringhisdevelopment,
bythestructureofthesocietyinwhichhegrowsup,
bythetraditionofthatsociety,
andbyitsevaluationofparticulartypesofbehavior.
Theabstractconcept “society” meanstotheindividualhumanbeing
thesumtotalofhisdirect
andindirectrelationstohiscontemporaries
andtoallthepeopleofearliergenerations.
Theindividualisabletothink, feel, strive, andworkbyhimself;
buthedependssomuchuponsociety —
inhisphysical, intellectual,
andemotionalexistence —
thatitisimpossibletothinkofhim,
ortounderstandhim,
outsidetheframeworkofsociety.
Itis “society” whichprovidesmanwithfood, clothing,
ahome, thetoolsofwork, language, theformsofthought,
andmostofthecontentofthought;
hislifeismadepossiblethroughthelabor
andaccomplishmentsofthemanymillionspastandpresent
whoareallhiddenbehindthesmallword “society”.