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Psychoanalysis and Civilization [1962]

To
RONALD B. ANDERSON

PREFACE

The development of a science of human nature is primarily a semantic problem. Man dwells in a self-made world of meanings, established through the use of words, and an equally self-made world of values, brought into being by the creation of procedures and techniques. Important psychological abstractions like love, mercy, and honesty must be understood in depth, which means that they take on a permanent core of meaning which can be readily communicated. If these words change in meaning with changing circumstances they become mere words, phantoms from which life has departed, and no matter how much intensity of feeling the user brings to the words in an attempt to endow them with life, they remain mere echoes of the insight they are supposed to embody.

When the fundamental abstractions on which human communication rests cannot find a permanent identity, each man is burdened with the necessity of finding the meanings of human ideas in his own life. There is no established body of universal truth in human matters on which he can rely, and the consequent insecurity for the seeker of human truth becomes very great. Since everyone who thinks creatively must have a unified and permanent view of life many men are forced to accept that view of life which wards off discontent and anxiety, rather than maintaining that open search which only ends in the presence of the truth.

If abstractions which describe human nature are to be understood in depth they must be seen in relationship to the experiences which give them depth. Everything of importance in human nature has a paired quality, because it is part of the reciprocal relationship between the submissive and the dominant in the life process. Depth is intensified in the presence of vigor; vigor is enlivened in the presence of depth. Love takes on its real meaning only in relationship to power; power finds its true value in relationship to love. In this book, love and power are considered together, and all important concepts concerned in human nature are placed in similar pairs. Out of this viewpoint a greater unification of human nature as a subject matter becomes possible. Men do not have to fear being abstract in viewing human nature; what they have to fear is the production of abstractions which have no relationship to the concrete world of the life of action.

1

Civilization took its origin in the social ideas arising from the priest's view of life, and the institutions which developed out of the soldier's way of life. There is nothing biologically inevitable about civilization. Civilization is the end product of interaction between knowledge and ability, arising from depth and vigor in the human character. Man has learned through searching thought and long experience that he must live in a specialized way if his human capacities are to come to fruit.

Man's creative capacities are not a simple consequence of his highly developed cerebral cortex. When he uses his great brain without an accompanying character specialization, his capacities for abstract thought and concrete action fall far below the civilized level. Civilization rests on the specialization of men into thinkers and men of action, mutually interacting. In this world of specialized character, creative thought and creative action make a tremendous and sudden rise which bestows on man those unique psychological characteristics recognized as human.

The creativity of the priest's life rests on his special capacity for sensitive awareness, not on any readiness for constructive action. The creativity of the soldier's life is a matter of special access to a tough self-confidence, not on any receptivity to conceptualization. Priestly security rests on the acceptance of a fixed location in life; experience is limited to that location. It is a place that gives an unlimited view of the world. Soldierly freedom arises from a fixed mode of living; feeling is limited to his soldier's function. Within his domain he has an unlimited scope of activity.

Civilization takes its origin at that point where men begin to accumulate understanding and skill as ends in themselves. There is a characteristic way of living which makes it possible for knowledge and ability to accumulate. The priest's life is a prototype of the life of the thinker; the soldier's life establishes the pattern of a life of constructive action. The form of society is established by the soldier's function, and the elaborations built up in economics and politics. The organization or substance of interpersonal social relationships is established by the priest's function, embodied in social ideas, and the elaborations to be found in education and the professions.

The priest's function has developed through that of the philosopher into the scientist. The soldier's function has grown through that of the statesman into the industrialist and engineer. In the original function of the priest and soldier human matters were of primary concern; modern science and engineering have gained their greatest successes in non-human fields.

Expanding and unlimited feeling is the basis of all creative thinking; the pleasure inherent in it is the motive behind the submissive or feminine relationship to others. The sense of peace of mind, harmony, and security thus derived orients the self, specializing it as a feeling organism with a high sense of self-awareness. Extending action which accepts no boundaries is the basis of all creative action; the pleasurable quality of the mood which this attitude creates is the motive for the dominant or masculine relationship to others. The spontaneity, aliveness, and freedom which arises from masculinity organizes the self, specializing it as an action organism, with a high willfulness and pride.

Love and power are specialized ways of establishing a relationship with the outside world. They are mutually exclusive; a man cannot mingle submission through love and domination through power in the same character. The love feelings of the man of action lie outside his character; the power attitudes of the thinker do not influence his inner identity.

Love is the eternal feeling; power is the total attitude. There is much in the world which cannot be loved, but the individual character is not altered by this fact. A part of the view of life established by love is the hatred for that which cannot be loved or ignored. There is much in the world that cannot be possessed by power, but this fact does not alter the individual character. A part of the way of life established by power is the anger against that which cannot be controlled or avoided.

Hatred creates the tension on which selective withdrawal from experience is based. Anger brings into being the energy by which selective lack of sympathetic feeling is maintained. Social progress in civilization hinges on the expansion of understanding and morality in interpersonal relationships, reducing the necessity of hate and anger. When withdrawal includes too much of life the love of humanity becomes theoretical, and when emotional indifference covers the bulk of human relationships power becomes a matter of empty posturing.

2

Family life is the training ground of the specialized character which civilization requires. The successful family has a clearcut psychological identity either of the love or power type. Each member of the family has an interest in nurturing and protecting the character of the others. The family holds character in trust for ultimate utilization in the forming of creative social relationships. Deep character development of the love type which remains trapped in family feeling results in neurosis. Vigorous character development of the power type which cannot free itself from family attitudes leads to delinquency.

The family circle lighted by love is filled with warmth that each member helps to create. Outside this circle there is no assured warmth; the individual must find warmth in an autonomous way through the understanding that creative love brings. The family enlivened by the multiplicity of interests which power brings is filled with pride that each member shares. Outside this center of activity there is no assured pride; the individual must find pride in an autonomous way through the responsibility that creative power brings.

Creative love is based on a high feeling capacity of the self; love is self-aware, which is the source of a pleasurable feeling of contentment. Creative power is based on a high action potential; power is willful, which brings a pleasurable happy mood. Contentment is a reward for depth of character which serves society, avoiding selfishness. Happiness is a prize which comes to vigor in the character for the development of the resources of society, avoiding vanity.

The development of a deep capacity for the holding of tension requires the surrender of independent experience. Love submits to the nature of society in the area of action; the actions of love are confined to the service of its ideal. Love serves truth, and truth is knowledge of an external ideal which is beyond the reach of the individual's will. The development of a vigorous potential for the expending of energy requires the surrender of independent access to feeling. Power dominates society in the area of feeling; the feelings of power are limited to the exploitation of that responsive reality which constitutes the domain of power. Power exploits the right, and right is ability to control an external reality which is outside the consciousness of the individual.

The development of a specialized personality is a necessary part of family living. Throughout his growing years the child takes on character from the family environment. It is not easy for him to give up the kinds of self-expression and responsiveness which are not consistent with his character. The assumption of assertive or masculine qualities by a deeply and permanently sensitive child leads to anxiety; the taking over of yielding or feminine qualities by a resourceful and totally vigorous child brings uncontrollable restlessness.

The creativity which love serves is in the realm of thought. The creative world found by power is in the sphere of constructive action. Thinking might seem to be free, since the mind can manipulate images in any way that it chooses. The mind is free of arbitrary restrictions, but only dream-like thinking is really free, in the sense of being willful. Thinking which finds truth is permanently molded by its subject matter. Only in the secure atmosphere of enduring submission can the manipulative component of thought employ a full measure of energy without a degeneration into willfulness.

Constructive action might appear to be based on the security inherent in established method. Only play-like activity actually conforms to a secure self-conscious view of reality. Action which reaches the right molds its materials completely. Only in the free atmosphere of total domination can the comprehending component of action attract a full measure of tension without a loss of integrity in the form of self-consciousness.

The actions of the thinker, no matter how much energy they use, must remain outside the core of the personality. The feelings of the man of action, no matter how much tension they accumulate, must stay outside the character.

Principles and laws embody the truth inherent in submission; when an individual goes beyond the known in his exploration of truth he goes outside of law but not outside of a submissive relationship with an ideal. He maintains a faith in law which successfully blocks the emergence of his will. When the absence of law unleashes willfulness the individual enters a no-man's land without security where aggression is bred.

Methods and authority embody the right inherent in domination. When an individual goes beyond his limit of control in his exploration of the right, he goes outside the scope of his authority but not outside a dominant relationship with the resources of life. He maintains an attitude of hopefulness which bars the emergence of self-consciousness. If the coming to the limit of his authority submerges him in self-awareness, he enters a sterile world without freedom where passivity takes command.

3

The development of specialized character in civilization deepens and envigorates the sexual tendencies. This extra quantity of sexuality has been sometimes a burden and sometimes a resource of increased individuality, but it has been a consistent problem and obstacle in the course of man's creative efforts, because of the shame and guilt which remain attached to sexuality in the civilized world.

Qualities which are feminine in nature become a part of the yielding character structure of man and provided that they find productive outlet are entirely compatible with social masculinity. Qualities which are masculine in nature become a part of the assertive character structure and provided that they find attachment to enduring undertakings are no longer associated with merely animal masculinity, but come to stand for a uniquely human assumption of responsibility.

The natural tendency of the individual to develop the sexual nature to which he is born is set aside by the civilized process of character specialization. The fact that yielding and assertive individuals are quite different in their sexual feelings and attitudes is widely appreciated but little understood. Sexual nature is attached to character, not to biological specialization. This means that men and women of like character are similar in their sexual life. Such similarity is a powerful force in building family sympathy and cooperation. Without such harmony and unity, family life as it exists in the civilized world would be impossible.

Feminine sexuality in its basic biological form is tension bearing; masculine sexuality is tension discharging, and the source of masculine energy accumulation lies outside the sexual sphere. The sexual act is the consequence of the fusion of female sexual feeling and male sexual interest. The female serves the male, abandoning orgastic sexuality; the male exploits the female, giving up autonomy in the experiencing of needs.

The simple animal psychological sexual mechanisms have not survived the civilized relationships of male and female. Sexuality is no longer born in the courtship of the biologically maturing male and female individuals. Sexual feelings and sexual attitudes are a consistent accompaniment of character development within the family, laying the basis for masturbatory and promiscuous sexual phenomena. These surplus sexual tendencies can be captured by family life and made the basis of a fixed sexual relationship between male and female in the interests of family closeness and family unity. Neither partner in the sex act is dependent on the other for the emergence of his sexual nature, however. Man must choose sexual loyalty and sexual responsibility, a psychological accomplishment which no other animal is called on to make.

Warmth and sensitivity have an independent existence in the character bred by the yielding family, as do pride and vigor in the assertive family. In the lower animals feminine sensitivity and masculine vigor lead to the sexual union; with the initiation of reproduction, sexuality is interrupted and the tension capacity and energy reserve are made available to the nurturing and protecting relationship between parents and offspring.

In the civilized human world, the young arrive in a family life already established by the social ideas and institutions of society. The reservoir of tension and energy held in the character of individuals is already being employed for creative social purposes. The children become an additional outlet for the expression of the nature of the parents. If the children are to be properly reared, it is absolutely essential for the parents to be of like character. Civilized sexuality, therefore, has become unmated in its nature; the mated relationship is reflected in the love feelings and power attitudes which make up the psychological substance of extra-familial social relationships.

Family life must leave the civilized individual incomplete. He reaches outside it for his ideal and for the reality necessary for self-realization. Tension capacity which remains blocked within the family leads to self indulgent degeneration of feeling; energy potential which cannot reach outside the family results in a pretentious vanity.

Shallowness in the self-awareness leads to inferiority feelings in the yielding personality; impoverishment of willfulness leads to a mood of guilt in the assertive personality. The mutual self-indulgence in the family life built on love is an anodyne to chronic shame. The mutually supported vanity in family life organized by power hides chronic guilt. Shame rests on an inner conviction of uselessness to society; guilt, on the acceptance of an existence without social resources.

If the individual who is driven by inferiority feeling devotes himself to the service of the family interests, putting the family in the place of a social ideal, he is in an intimidated position within the family and has an aggressive relationship with society. He may withdraw behind the family protection, developing a neurotic social orientation. The guilt ridden individual may exploit family feeling, using the family in place of a responsive social environment; he functions in a seduced way within the family and has a passive relationship to society. He may become indifferent to social attachments, developing a delinquent social organization. Behind the neurosis lies disappointed love; behind delinquency, power which never reached recognition. The withdrawn social orientation of neurosis is colored by fear; the indifferent social organization of delinquency takes form on a background of rage.

A deep personality maintains a creative relationship to society through love; it is only through the love feelings that analytic thinking is possible. A vigorous personality finds a creative relationship to society through power; it is only through power attitudes that constructive action is possible. The love personality served the world through producing truth; the power personality exploits the world in finding right. Love seeks a masculine ideal; power reaches toward a feminine reality.

The love tendencies are inevitably attracted by that which is psychologically masculine, which usually confuses the masculine image the thinker has of himself. This creates a problem of secret homosexual feeling in yielding individuals. Embarrassment over this emotional tendency is the outstanding cause of the psychological dishonesty which has slowed the development of the science of human nature.

The power tendencies are inevitably attracted by that which is psychologically feminine; the man of action is often unable to exploit the full scope of opportunity which his nature requires. When he experiences the richness of a responsive yielding social world, he develops a celebrative attitude; this celebrative mood often becomes dissociated from the goals of constructive living, leading to wasteful dissipation of his highly energized masculine identity. The waste of the celebrative attitude underlies the psychological weakness that plagues masculine psychology in the civilized world, and accounts for the incompleteness of the development of human modes of cooperation and mutual help.

4

The thinker dwells in a world without limit in time. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow become the same thing through the continuity established by meaning; truth is eternal. New truth comes out of the growth of the individual, taking form through manipulative rearrangement of concepts on a background of the service of truth. The tension holding capacity on which permanence rests is felt in the form of love when it is fulfilled, and in the form of faith when it is in the background during active growth.

The man of action lives in a world without limit in space. All distances become equal through the unity arising from value; the right is complete. New right comes out of the growth of the individual, organizing the self for action by following wherever experimentation with method leads, on a background of exploitation of the right. The energy utilizing potential on which completeness rests is experienced as power in the state of fulfillment, and as hope when it is in the background during active growth.

Patient thinking alone can penetrate the unknown, bringing new truth into being; enduring action alone can conquer the chaotic, bringing new right into existence. The thinker must be located in life so that he dwells amidst the familiar; security requires the absence of novelty in spatial experience. Security welcomes problems and abhors obstacles. The familiar has the quality of a retreat. This retreat does not imply an ignoring of the ideal; it is through feeling and thinking within the security of the retreat that a full scale relationship with the ideal is made.

The man of action is organized so that he is aroused by the interesting; freedom requires the absence of novelty in the permanent quality of things. Freedom welcomes obstacles and is intolerant of problems. The interesting has the quality of an enlistment. This enlistment, which is the wholehearted participation in the ebb and flow of experience, does not imply a neglect of a domain; it is through the experience and action arising from the freedom of the enlistment that a full scale relationship with a responsive reality is established.

In family life, the permanence of character is nurtured and the unity of character is protected. In extrafamilial social relationships the character is utilized as a means of solving problems and overcoming obstacles. The family must maintain its permanence and unity above all other considerations, in order that its task may be well performed. Family life intensifies and enlivens the identity of the individuals within it. In the successful family, the influence of the mother looms large, the father being more concerned with the social feelings and attitudes of the offspring. Women are sponsors and protectors of the family because their child bearing function concentrates their feelings and activities in the family; it is not a product of psychological femininity. Men take over the primary preoccupation with the needs and purposes which derive from a creative relationship with society. There is a consistent tendency to separate family life and social life, as if their interests and purposes were divergent. Insofar as women seek to build up tension and energy within the family which has no outlet in the world, they are the breeders of neurosis and delinquency. Insofar as men tend to outrun their capacity for security and freedom, they lay the basis for psychotic and criminal disturbances of human adjustment.

Aggression and passivity are the consequence of the utilization of familial feelings and attitudes in establishing social relationships; the world becomes an extension of the family environment. Aggression is an emergency use of power in the service of a false ideal; it exists in personalities oriented by love who cannot make a creative relationship to an ideal. When the aggressive person feels submissive toward a masculine ideal he is subject to disorienting anxiety. The protecting of family security becomes his ideal; he adheres to self-indulgent family goals. His relationships with society are established in terms of service to family ends; he seeks to influence the feelings of others, so that they will cooperate with his purposes. Failure of that cooperation in others has the weight of rebellion against family authority, and is overcome by the most direct route available, on an emergency basis.

Passivity is an emergency need to accept love out of extravagant expectations; it exists in personalities organized by power who cannot make a creative relationship to reality. When the passive person experiences domination of a feminine reality he is subject to disorganizing restlessness. The nurturing of family freedom becomes his reality; he accepts those egotistical gratifications which the family sponsors. His relationships to society are extensions of familial conformity; the gregarious experiences which he shares socially are based on the need to gain sympathy through cooperation. Failure of that social sympathy has the weight of heresy against family law, and is dealt with by a massive withdrawal on an emergency basis.

5

The actions which proceed from love are in the service of an ideal and remain subjective in origin. The feelings developed by power are part of the exploitation of reality and remain objective in origin. Love is never willful; power is never self-conscious. Love is not stationary; it grows in depth. Power is not limited; it grows in scope. When deepening feeling cannot find a totality in its subject, the individual is in the presence of the unknown. When extending action cannot find permanence in its object, the individual is dealing with the chaotic.

In order that the area of love and understanding may grow, faith is necessary. Faith holds the character of the individual in a fixed position when comprehension is not sufficient to release the individual to a full scale relationship with the ideal. Faith bridges the gap when understanding fails; when understanding has grown to the necessary point, faith disappears, its work done, and insight is born. The channels of awareness are again cleared and the state of isolation from the ideal ends. This process keeps repeating itself as new truth comes into existence. if thinking is undertaken as an end in itself, without devotion to an ideal, as a self-indulgent rumination in the area of the familiar, there is no end for faith because insight cannot arrive.

In order that the scope of power and responsibility may grow, hope is necessary. Hope maintains the intent of the character when ability is not sufficient to obtain a complete relationship with reality. Hope bridges the gap when responsibility falls short. When ability has grown to the necessary point, hope disappears and mastery takes command. The channels of self-confidence are cleared and the state of dissociation from reality ends. This process occurs over and over as new right is established. if action is undertaken for its own sake, without responsibility toward the materials which are exploited, using momentary interests for vain purposes, there is no need for hope because mastery will never come.

Aggression exploits society by establishing the social ideas which lead to conformity to its will; its authority is autocratic and does not develop the resources of the materials it uses. Passivity serves society by supporting the social institutions which encourage its self-awareness; its law is arbitrary, and is not responsive to the nature of its subject matter. Aggression is social recklessness; passivity is social helplessness. Throughout the history of civilization the masculine ideal has been more or less entangled with the corrupting image of aggression, and feminine reality has been more or less mixed with the enslaving ways of passivity.

Since aggression arises in response to the failures of love, it comes armed with assets of sympathy and knowledge which are put to use in the service of the emergency goals of aggression. Since passivity arises as a consequence of the failures of power, it has available the assets of helpfulness and skill which are used to protect the emergency needs of passivity.

When the family life oriented by love is self-indulgent, multiplying familial gratifications as the means to security and contentment, there can be no point at which security becomes permanent. Activity develops meaning because it protects familial gratifications. When the supply of satisfactions runs out, a sense of emptiness and abandonment enters the personality. This is an emergency which justifies demands on the other family members, or anyone of similar familial feeling. The aggressive individual seeks to encircle others in the sympathetic familial bond; such relationships constitute his entire social life. Through intimidation he arouses others to activity in his interests or paralyzes opposition to his will. He lives on the edge of crisis; if his willfulness fails, his artificial security evaporates, leaving a painful emotional emptiness behind. He continues to see society as an extension of his own family, but a family which refuses to indulge him. He can no longer feel love, because his own kind have turned against him. He suffers a loss of the sense of well-being with hypochondriacal symptoms; if he attempts to cure himself by establishing mature social relationships he must run the risk of a paranoid breakdown.

When the family life organized by power is egotistical, multiplying family accomplishments as the means to freedom and happiness, there can be no point at which freedom becomes complete. Feeling develops value because it nurtures family accomplishments. When the supply of accomplishments is depleted, a mood of depression and impoverishment takes over the personality. This is an emergency which calls for automatic sympathy in other family members, or anyone of similar familial attitude. The passive individual seeks to arouse others to a cooperative familial helpfulness; such relationships constitute his entire social life. Through the mechanism of seduction he creates a harmony of feeling with his needs, or establishes a hegemony of feeling which banishes anything alien to his consciousness. He lives on the edge of crisis; if his self-awareness fails, his unreal freedom disappears, leaving a depression of mood with great potential suffering. He continues to deal with society as an extension of his own family, but a family which falls to cooperate in the promotion of his egotistical purposes. His power attitude fails because his own kind have deserted him. He develops an antisocial attitude with a sense of impoverishment; if he attempts to establish a mature social domain he exposes himself to the risk of criminal behavior.

6

The mutual nurture of feeling in the yielding family and the mutual protection of activity in the assertive family create an atmosphere favorable to sexual feelings and celebrative attitudes. Sexual feeling is an aspect of self-awareness; celebrative attitudes are an aspect of self-confidence. Family life stimulates sexuality in its indulgent and egotistical aspects; the fundamental mated reaction on which sexuality rests does not take its origin in family life. It is a rich responsiveness to an ideal, and a spontaneous expressiveness toward a domain, which brings sex and celebration into being. Once established, they are utilized by family life for its own psychological needs and purposes.

The surplus sexual feeling of the yielding personality is autistic in quality; it is established through mental pictures and has the quality of phantasy. If the personality rejects such feelings because they do not fit in with the individual's view of himself, the depth of the sexuality itself may be permanently damaged. The celebrative attitudes of the assertive personality are euphoric in quality; they are expressed through habitual motility and have the quality of play acting. If the personality rejects such attitudes because they do not harmonize with the established way of life, the vigor of the celebrative capacities may be compromised, undermining the character structure.

In the neuroses, the individual is accessible to limitless feeling, including sexual feeling, without an attachment to an ideal subject matter. The neurotic rejects the aggressive familial pseudo-ideal without finding the ideal he seeks. Neurotic symptoms arise from the overtaxing of faith. As each effort to serve an ideal comes to an end in stifling anxiety, the individual returns to the nurturing sympathy of the family circle, a victim of disappointed love; he returns unwillingly, occupying a rebel's position. The pressure of unattached feelings creates the neurotic symptoms.

In the delinquent behavioral deviations, the individual possesses unrestricted expressive attitudes, including the celebrative attitudes, without finding a reality which is his own. The delinquent attempts to avoid the passive familial pseudoreality without finding the reality he needs. Delinquent antisocial traits arise when hope is overwhelmed. As each new attachment to a real world ends in the same intolerable restlessness, the individual returns to the protecting cooperation of family life, a victim of frustrated power; he returns with inner reservations, viewing the family world with heretical eyes. The pressure of unchanneled attitudes creates the delinquent behavioral disorders.

The rebellion of the neurotic consists in a refusal to conform to conventional family behavior; the heresy of the delinquent is against the family principles established by custom. Because the neurotic is filled with hatred, he looks out on the world from a withdrawn place. His dream-like relationship to others is compatible with security in the nurturing family atmosphere, but in relationship to the social world he is vulnerable to overwhelming disorientation and anxiety. The neurosis may find a cure in cynicism, in which the hatred is communicated to others similarly afflicted. Because the delinquent is consistently angry, he deals with the world in an indifferent manner. His casual relationship with others is compatible with freedom in the protecting family atmosphere, but in relationship to society he is vulnerable to uncontrollable disorganization and restlessness. The delinquent may find a social adaptation through opportunism, in which the anger leads to a self-expressive outlet in fortunate circumstances.

The failure to establish a relationship with an ideal robs the neurotic of his pathway to experience, depriving the personality of energy. The failure of the delinquent to find a real world of his own eliminates the sources of stable feeling, and empties the personality of tension. The neurotic becomes vulnerable to easy fatigability; the delinquent is a ready victim of boredom. Neurotic symptoms are molded by the attempt to return to experience; delinquent behavioral difficulties are given variety by the attempt to find feeling.

When the recognition of the difference between the family and the social world disappears, the psychological conditions for the development of psychosis exist. The individual enters the world of concrete experience as if it were a nurturing source of security. If he finds social dependence through the sharing of feelings with others, he becomes aggressive. If he finds himself alone he will lack the means of establishing communication, since he is unable to enter a growth process without disabling anxiety. Under these conditions his thinking undergoes paranoid degeneration. If the paranoid ideas find sufficient response among others, he may stabilize at this level. When deterioration proceeds, the energy for conceptual thinking is lost and thoughts become mere impressions without logical connections.

When the family and the social world are dealt with as if they were the same, the psychological conditions for major behavioral and mood disturbances exist. The individual accepts whatever beliefs are current in the situation of the moment as if they were a protecting instrument of freedom. If his vanity is gratified in a socially dependent way, he becomes passive. If he finds himself dissociated from any permanent attachments he will lack the means of establishing a world of his own, since he is unable to enter a growth process without disabling restlessness. Under these conditions his activity undergoes criminal changes. If the criminal mechanism finds sufficient success he may stabilize at this level. When the behavioral integrity deteriorates further, the tension holding capacity on which integrated action takes form disappears, and actions become mere impulses without organized sequences.

The stabilized neurotic becomes a critic; he gives expression to his idealism through exposing the defects in the false ideal to which he remains attached but cannot serve. His vision is sharp in the atmosphere of his personal rebellion. The stabilized delinquent becomes a dissenter, or maverick; he manifests his sense of reality through condescension and contempt for the reality with which he is involved but cannot make his own. He acts with a sure touch in the unencumbered world of his personal heresy.

7

Yielding psychological growth requires a stabilizing of the limitless feeling of self-awareness so that ideas may be manipulated for the purpose of solving problems. The acceptance of a problem fragments the totality of the subject matter, leaving the individual with impressions which can be manipulated. As changing ideas come to reflect the totality of the subject matter the individual has reached a new and greater conformity. With the coming of insight, the fullness of the self-awareness is reborn and the totality of the subject matter reemerges, fusing self and subject matter.

Assertive psychological growth requires a stabilizing of the limitless attitude of self-confidence so that methods may be tried out for the purpose of overcoming obstacles. The dealing with an obstacle compromises the permanence of the relationship to the materials, leaving the individual with impulses which can lead to acceptance of experimental modes of trial and error. As changing methods find the permanent nature of the materials the individual has reached a new and greater dominance. With the coming of mastery, the fullness of self-confidence is reborn and the permanence of the nature of the object reemerges, fusing self and object.

Social ideas are commonly held beliefs by which civilized persons share insights into human truth; social institutions are established modes of action by which civilized individuals reach mastery in the area of their social relationships, in fealty to the right. Social ideas and institutions develop through the creative efforts of individuals, being the depository of the new human knowledge and ability which individuals have brought into being. The security and freedom on which individual creativity depends are not guaranteed by society. These psychological states are the product of a surplus in tension holding and energy employment which the individual finds in his own relationship to society. If creative productivity becomes less, social progress slows down. Society has no means for maintaining any particular rate of progress; only the individual need for self-fulfillment perpetuates the creative process.

It is only in his contributions to social progress that man gains that inner identity which he recognizes as his soul. In the civilized view of life, society is an ideal; in the civilized way of life, society is a material reality. The important truths are always on the move, requiring a lifetime of faith. The significant right is constantly reaching, requiring a lifetime of hope. In order that faith may not be lost in exhaustion, or hope disappear in empty boredom, men must have a personal contentment and happiness in their relationship to the social ideal and the social reality. It is an outstanding characteristic of civilization that those pleasurable social relationships which are a necessity to mental health and social wellbeing must be found by each person on his own. How much he deviates from others depends entirely on how far he wishes to go. Deep understanding leads into great needs; vigorous responsibility is tied to great purposes. But whether his creativity is large or small, the way a man employs his surplus tension and energy in his social life is a matter of his own choosing. Once committed to a view of life or way of life, a man will maintain it without counting the cost; before men will abandon their self-awareness or their self-confidence, they will give up life itself.

The only psychologically successful pathway to individuality lies through creative social relationships. In following this route the individual must find his own conceptions of truth and his own procedures in establishing right. To view life through the eyes of love, becoming a genuinely responsive person, requires the discarding of many falsehoods, and these falsehoods may be part of the established beliefs through which others maintain their psychological security. To take hold of life with the hands of power, becoming a wholeheartedly expressive person, requires that many wrongs be avoided, and these wrong modes of action may be part of institutionalized ways to which others adhere as part of their freedom.

The existence of civilization depends on the creativity of the individual, but society cannot guarantee even the survival of the creative individual, let alone his security or freedom. The reason for this lies in the fact that the end results of the creative process belong to society and enrich it, but the individual growth process is entirely personal and gives society nothing. Only the family supports the individual whether productive or not, and the family inherently resists change.

If the yielding individual with a heightened self-awareness cannot make a relationship with an ideal because of interference from an aggressive familial orientation, he becomes rebellious within the family and develops a neurotic accumulation of tension within himself, stored for a social expenditure which never arrives. The neurotic burns in the fires of his own intensified self-awareness. If he succeeds in sealing off his familial emotional attachments through hate, he may take on an outward appearance of independence; as soon as he makes an effort toward social relationships he enters the area of the phobic reaction. When he leaves the neighborhood of the familiar, he is subject to increasing self-consciousness without orientation; the inner excitement is perceived in a hypochondriacal fashion, as evidence of ill-health. Such reactions readily lead to panic and a withdrawal to the orienting protection of the familiar in the environment. The phobic individual goes forth into the world with a false courage, bred of rebellion; he next must cross the bridge that chokes him with fear, and this he cannot do. If by superhuman effort he does cross it, he will only meet another, more frightening than before.

If the assertive individual with a heightened self-confidence cannot establish a relationship with a responsive reality because of involvement with a passive familial organization of his energies, he becomes a heretic within the family and develops a delinquent mobilization of energy within himself, ready for a social expenditure which never arrives. The delinquent runs on a treadmill built of his own boundless self-confidence. If he succeeds in neutralizing family involvement through anger, he may be completely convinced of his independence; as soon as he enters social relationships, he shows psychopathic behavioral deviations. When he moves away from the usual familial interests, he accumulates an increasing self-confidence which is without organization; the inner eagerness is experienced separately from circumstances, with antisocial implications. Such reactions readily lead to wild bursts of activity in the fugue pattern and the protective development of indifference, turning back to those familial interests which organize the self. The psychopathic individual reaches out into the world with a makeshift honesty, born of heresy; he meets a poverty that sets him trembling with rage. Each act of submission which self-discipline attains brings a renewed flood of rage, greater than before.

8

The development of an aggressive relationship to society ends the creativity of the personality oriented by love. The active tendencies of the self break loose from their subservience to an ideal and go forth into the world to protect the security of the aggressor. This compulsive dominating activity does not develop the resources inherent in society; it takes advantage of any situation where effective opposition is not offered. Aggression is essentially irresponsible and immoral as far as society is concerned, but since it protects self-interest without provoking the effective opposition of society it becomes invested with ideal qualities by the yielding personality. By accepting aggression, the painful disorientation of the phobic state can be avoided.

The development of a passive relationship to society ends the creativity of the personality organized by power. The feeling tendencies of the self are victimized by circumstance, instead of being attached to the established domain of the individual. Obsessive submissiveness does not serve a social ideal; it gives itself over to any situation where a temporary advantage can be gained. Passivity takes its being in ignorance and corruption in social relationships, but since it provides a privileged position without loss of social cohesion it confers advantages on the assertive individual. By accepting passivity, the suffering inherent in psychopathic disorganization can be avoided.

Aggression serves a false masculine ideal which the yielding family can provide out of its own psychological resources. Passivity exploits an artificial feminine reality which the assertive family can find without going outside itself. Love finds fruition in insight; aggression embodies the willfulness of an individual who has lost faith in understanding. Power finds its destiny in the coming of mastery; passivity embodies the self-consciousness of a person who has lost the hope of establishing responsibility. The willfulness in aggression cannot tolerate obstacles; the hands of aggression hold weapons, not tools. The self-awareness in passivity cannot accept problems; the eyes of passivity see only what is convenient. Without an immediate outlet, the energy of aggression leads to anger; aggression has no reservoir of energy of its own. Without direct gratifications, the tensions of passivity turn to hate; passivity has no reservoir of tension of its own.

Aggression is responsible for the great weight of dishonesty in the civilized world, which cynics believe to be an inevitable part of human nature. Because mankind has never established a view of life based on love which the bulk of human beings can use in daily living, this cynicism carries a certain credibility. Social progress rests, however, on the confinement of dishonesty and the selfishness it serves, through the spread of creative love on a wider and wider scale. Without the basis of comprehension of human affairs which love alone can give, men wander in a maze of the unknown where human psychological matters are concerned, no matter how sophisticated they may become in the understanding of the impersonal world.

Passivity is responsible for the great weight of cowardice in the civilized world, which the opportunist accepts without question. Because mankind has never established a way of life based on power which the average man can use in daily living, this opportunism carries a quality of inevitability. Social progress requires the isolation of cowardice and the vanity it utilizes, through the exercise of creative power on an expanding scale. Without the basis of responsibility which power alone can give, men are the victims of the chaotic in human psychological matters, no matter how capable they may become in control of the impersonal world.

Aggression measures its success in material values without concern over method, except that it avoids conflict with the authority of the state through obedience to the letter of the law. Passivity attains success through guaranteeing basic gratifications without involving the individual in attachment to principles, except that spiritual law is accepted through cooperation with religious authority. The aggressive individual gives up contentment in favor of an enervated happiness; whatever his success, it is never enough to win the vigorous happiness which his personality cannot sustain. The passive personality abandons happiness in favor of a shallow contentment; no matter how rich his store of gratifications appears to be, he never finds the contentment in depth that is beyond his personality. The attempt to attain happiness leads the aggressive individual into compulsive activity, exhausting him both psychologically and physically. The search for contentment of the passive personality leads into obsessive feeling, which ends in a boredom which has both psychological and physical consequences.

Withdrawal from a full scale relationship with society is often the price of eliminating aggression from the personality. The monastic life sets up the conditions of this withdrawal, providing the individual with social experience under the rigid control of authority. The monastic atmosphere which higher education provides serves to promote scientific development. The monastic life is ill-suited to the development of a scientific psychology, because the involvement with other human beings on which a comprehension of human nature rests results in rebellion against monastic authority.

Indifference to a permanent relationship with society is often the means of eliminating passivity from the personality. The life of the barracks sets up the conditions for this in difference, providing the individual with social feeling automatically set in motion by fixed social ideas. Work patterns which take the individual out of the ordinary relationships of daily living, such as exists in life at sea, in construction projects in undeveloped areas, and in explorations of remote places develop a barracks type of life which has proven effective in maintaining the morale on which engineering and industrial development rests. The barracks life is ill-suited to the development of human psychological engineering, because the attitude of responsibility on which a control of human nature rests results in heresy against barracks law.

When the creative yielding individual does not find his orientation through a monastic-type institution, he must find his security in his relationship with society as a whole. To make his social relationship in this independent fashion requires a deep attachment to human truth. Only then can he have that faith in the unity and completeness of human nature which provides him with the motive to serve morality in social life. When he is independent, he is beyond the reach of authoritarian intimidation; there is no one to make him act, and only his feelings can lead to experience. In the development of such an independent social adjustment he must deal with many irresponsible forces which tend to capture his submissive tendency. In the presence of such forces he withdraws if he can; if withdrawal is impossible, hatred preserves the integrity of the personality.

When the creative assertive individual does not gain his personality organization through the social beliefs associated with barracks living, he must arrive at freedom through a permanent relationship to society. To make his social relationship in this independent fashion requires a vigorous grasp of right in human affairs. Only then can he maintain that hope which is based on the permanent and enduring in human nature and which arouses him to the exploitation of the goodness in society. When he is independent, he is outside the circle of seduction of dogmatic law; there are no automatic channels of feeling, and only experience can bring attachment. In the development of such an independent social adjustment he must be exposed to many betrayals which tend to involve his dominant tendencies. In the presence of false opportunity he maintains indifference if he can; if indifference is impossible, anger preserves the integrity of the personality.

9

Psychological growth is based on the unlimited expansion of human feelings and attitudes; today's truths and today's right are not enough for tomorrow. In order to find contentment and happiness, men must use their natures in relationship to the problems and obstacles of society itself. Only then is the scope of self-expression big enough for all the depth of tension and vigor of energy which men's specialized characters bring into being. The tendency to become disoriented and disorganized in these complex social relationships is very great. Men call for human truth when they need it, but if it is not there, the demand on personal wisdom may be too great; if it is, the individual must either abandon his creative potential or lose the security on which hid mental health depends. Men reach for the right as they need it, but if the necessary tools are not at hand, the demand on personal strength may be overwhelming; if it is, the individual must cease creative activity or lose the freedom on which his social adaptation rests.

The historical defect in human psychological understanding has been spanned by the vision of religion; the historical inadequacy of human responsibility has been remedied by the heroic in military life. Without religion, society would have lost its capacity for faith; without military life, men would have failed to give embodiment to hope and its accompanying social morality. The worship of God stabilizes the yielding depth of the personality, bringing a peace of mind and contentment that is in no way dependent on social experience. The military spirit stabilizes the assertive vigor of the personality, bringing an aliveness and happiness that is not attached to social ideas. The influence of religion contracts as knowledge of human nature expands; the scope of military influence diminishes as man's ability to control human nature increases.

Christianity rests on a personal faith for which the individual alone is responsible. Without this individual faith, religion becomes an extension of family influence, stabilizing the individual through withdrawal from the problems of society. The church's function as a refuge may be very useful to the individual who is overwhelmed, but unless this function is confined to transient need it will stifle the creativity of love. Democracy rests on hope, shared in brotherhood, which the individual must find out of his own resources. Without this gregarious hopefulness, democratic institutions become the sounding board of personal egotism, reaching stability through indifference to social obstacles. Through patriotic fervor, the state may protect the pride of individuals who cannot find a personal self-realization, but such a function undoes the creativity of power.

The multiplicity of needs which exists in the love type of family is brought into being by the sensitivity which the members share. There is always room to add another need provided that awareness of the outside world is not lost in the process. The satisfactions which give meaning to family cohesion make the holding of tension more enjoyable; if the members lose their tension in the pursuit of gratifications they have become selfish. Such needs and gratifications must be subsidiary to the creative goals of the personality. When sensitivity enters the area of sexuality it brings major problems to the yielding personality.

The multiplicity of purposes which exists in the power type of family is a product of the vigor which the members share. They experience a variety of interests which they enjoy planning and accomplishing provided that responsibility toward the outside world is not lost thereby. The accomplishments which give value to family cooperation make the accumulation of energy more enjoyable; if the members lose their energy reserve in the attainment of accomplishments they have become egotistical. Such purposes and accomplishments must be subsidiary to the creative goals of the personality. When vigor enters the area of celebration it brings major obstacles to the assertive personality.

The sexuality of the yielding personality requires depth which must be found in submission to an ideal. If the male or female in a yielding family seek to usurp the position of the sexual ideal, the sex act suffers from a compulsive quality. There is a healthy tendency in each to find an ideal in phantasy outside the family which feeds the sexual tension in the personality.

The celebrative attitudes of the assertive personality re quire vigor which must be found in the domination of a responsive reality. If the male or female in an assertive family seek to usurp the function of the sexual reality, the celebrative state suffers from an obsessive quality. There is a socially harmonious tendency in each to find a reality outside the family, indulgent to play-acting, which encourages the celebrative energy in the personality.

The depth of feeling in the yielding character is permanently maintained, giving way only to emergencies; tension gives life its meaning, and its discharge destroys the inner self-awareness. The orgastic sexuality of the yielding individual must discharge a purely physical sexual tension, leaving the character tension intact. The vigor of attitude in the assertive character is maintained in a unified way, accepting compromise only in emergencies; energy gives life its value, and its dissipation destroys the inner self-confidence. The sex act in the assertive individual uses a circumscribed physical energy; it must not consume the energy of the character.

Each man finds his own view of life and way of life in the civilized world. Adolescence is a time of universal psychological growth when the enthusiasms of love and the inspirations of power take over the spirit of the individual and guide his self-fulfillment with a minimum of interference from practical understanding and responsibility. The individual explores his own nature and experiments with his own resources, attempting to find the core of his individuality. Maturity some times is regarded as a state in which the extravagant sensitivities and unbridled motility of adolescence is given up in favor of the customary and the conventional. Society does not impose the customary or the conventional on any individual, however, in those areas in which the creative takes its being. If the individual expects support from society in establishing his own life pattern he will be disappointed. Only truth can help a man who needs more understanding; only right can guide a man who requires a greater scope of responsibility. When a thinker stands on his own feet in his social adjustment he will need psychological knowledge to comprehend what is happening to him; if this knowledge is inadequate it is because the science of human nature has not developed to the point where it can give a man a sufficient grasp of human truth to see his problems as a whole. Man's ignorance is greatest in the area where his need for knowledge is the greatest. When a man of action stands on his own feet in his social adjustment he will need human skill to handle what is happening to him; if this skill is inadequate it is because the capacity for the control of human behavior has not developed to the point where a man can adhere to an enduring right on a permanent basis, fully prepared to accept any human obstacle. Man's clumsiness is greatest in the area where his need for skill is the greatest.

10

A masculine character is completely organized by free energy, expressed whenever opportunity presents itself. A feminine character is permanently oriented by secure tension which is felt whenever experience makes itself manifest. When the masculine character is temporarily without opportunity, the vigor in the self persists, carried in the form of hope. When the feminine character is incompletely influenced by experience, the depth of the self persists, maintained by faith. Masculinity fills all the space it occupies, and is therefore unified, complete, and ideal. Masculinity cannot find permanence out of itself, and therefore needs to be loved in order to fulfill itself. Femininity extends in time without limit and is therefore permanent and real. Femininity cannot find unity out of itself, and therefore needs to be possessed in order to fulfill itself.

The masculine expressiveness begins and ends according to opportunity, but it has no cause and no effect, being complete. The feminine responsiveness is caused by experience and records an effect, but it has no beginning and no end, being permanent. Femininity is caused by the actions of forces on it and has results in the interaction with those forces. Masculinity has a beginning in the opening of opportunity and an end in the maturation of dominance. Cause and effect is an abstraction based on insight into the full nature of a thing. Beginning and end is a concrete experience, based on mastery of the lasting quality of a situation. The awareness of space is an abstraction which can be put into words. The utilization of time is concrete and can be experienced in modes of behavior.

Femininity puts the unity that exists in masculinity into words, including any impression and any fact; it does not find unity through the exclusion of anything. When unity has everything of which the unfettered mind has become aware it is insight. In the state of insight the self is fulfilled in the complete awareness of the subject matter. The manipulation of concepts which is an essential part of creative thinking takes great energy, but this energy is all bound in subservience to the emerging unity of the subject. When truth is reached this energy dies, and the consequent self-fulfillment is perceived as a satisfaction, not as an accomplishment. No matter how much energy the feminine personality uses, the character never becomes organized by it.

Masculinity takes advantage of the permanence that exists in femininity, giving expression to any impulse or mode of action; it does not find permanence by making exceptions. When permanence has organized everything which the untrammeled activity of the self has expressed, a state of mastery exists in the individual. In mastery, the self is fulfilled by a permanent command of the situation. The attachment to methods, which is an essential part of creative productivity, calls for a high tension bearing capacity, but this tension is all subsidiary to domination of the emerging permanence of the situation. When the right is attained this tension dies, and the consequent self-fulfillment is experienced as an accomplishment, not as a satisfaction. No matter how much tension the masculine personality carries, the character never becomes oriented by it.

The self-awareness that comes with insight is based on limitless feeling. This unrestricted depth goes readily into the sexual channel. Sexual feeling and self-awareness mutually enrich each other. The self-confidence that comes with mastery is based on unrestricted motility. This extending vigor goes readily into the celebrative channel, in the form of a celebrative attitude which enlivens self-confidence.

The capacity for psychological tension and the accessibility to sexual feeling go together. If the personality cannot accept sexual feeling in a consistent way, creative love becomes impossible. Sexual feeling, like self-awareness itself, is timeless in the yielding personality. The storage of psychological energy and the readiness for a celebrative attitude go together. If the personality cannot accept a celebrative mood in a harmonious way, creative power is impossible.

Sensitivity makes possible the enjoyment of a multitude of needs. These needs and their satisfactions are acceptable to the yielding personality provided that they enrich the contentment and security within the familiar world of fixed orientation in which the yielding individual lives. If self-indulgence is not contained within a secure world it becomes autistic; the individual does not establish a relationship with society as a whole. The ascetic refusal of pleasures cannot make the individual more social. The heart of autism lies in the absence of an ideal, not in the enjoyment by the self of a multiplicity of simple pleasures.

Vigor makes possible the wholehearted participation in a multitude of interests. These purposes and their associated accomplishments are acceptable to the assertive personality provided that they enliven the happiness and freedom within the world of opportunities and fixed organization in which the assertive individual lives. If egotistical strivings are not contained within a free world they become euphoric; the individual does not establish a permanent relationship with society. Enslavement to duty cannot correct the tendency to capricious social behavior. The heart of euphoria lies in the failure to take advantage of what really exists, not in the acceptance by the self of a multiplicity of ego gratifying activities.

The yielding individual labors in the service of an ideal, and he needs to be so located that such energy is expended without meeting obstacles. Such a place embodies morality and therein he may enjoy all the simple pleasures. The assertive individual develops the resources in the reality which is his own, and his purpose is to be so organized by his opportunities that he accepts the tensions involved without being faced with problems. Such a situation embodies understanding, and participating in it he may enjoy all the spontaneous pleasures. One and the same world may be moral to those whose hearts are tuned to the understanding of morality, and understanding in nature to those whose hands reach out to take responsibility for a world of flexible and receptive materials. If security is found monastically, and freedom comes through barracks living, the life of love and the life of power are separated into two worlds.

11

The career of the yielding individual gives him a fixed position relative to society, out of which an oriented security comes. Because of the permanency inherent in the career, education and training are facilitated. The aggressive individual uses the sensitivity inherent in the career for self-serving goals; the career is his sole tie to society. However active his social life may appear to be, he never goes beyond the career identity in his relationships with others. If he attempts to do so, the entire aggressive edifice is threatened.

The social attachments of the assertive individual, operating as an informal class system, give him a fixed function in relationship to society, out of which an organized freedom comes. He lives in a gregarious environment, fraternal in quality. The totality inherent in the group identity facilitates the finding of opportunities. The passive individual uses the vigor inherent in his social position for the promotion of egotistical goals; his fraternal identity is his sole tie to society, and no matter how wide his loyalties may become in social relationships he never goes beyond his fraternal identity in his dealing with others. If he attempts to do so, the entire passive system is threatened.

The actions of the aggressive part of the self are the consequence of a self-indulgent relationship to society. Aggression is bred in the relationship with an indulgent parent within the circle of family life. Because the individual feels loved, he is at liberty to act willfully. The false masculinity thus expressed takes its being in the act, not the man. Only particular successes gratify the masculine strivings of aggression; there is no masculine self to provide unity in the face of obstacles. Aggression literally falls apart in the face of frustration; if emergency measures energized by rage are unsuccessful, fear overwhelms the individual.

The feelings of the passive part of the self are the outcome of an egotistical relationship to society. Passivity is developed in the relationship with an admiring parent in family life. Because the individual experiences power without responsibility, he develops a self-consciousness on this basis. This false feminine responsiveness lies in the sensibility, not the man. Only particular gratifications fulfill the feminine needs of passivity; there is no feminine self to provide continuity in the presence of problems. Passivity makes a rapid retreat in the face of difficulties; if emergency measures dictated by fear do not succeed, rage overwhelms the individual.

Aggression takes its being in a world seen through the eyes of love; within this world, similar individuals of sensitive character structure compete with each other for masculine prerogatives. Whoever accepts the customary beliefs and ideas may be admitted to this family-like grouping, and once a member he is free to reach for the prizes and rewards. Aggression finds its opening wherever its philosophy can be established. True masculinity exploits society by developing its resources, leaving it richer than before. Aggression depletes resources; when the purposes of aggression are realized the residue is of no further interest to the aggressive individual.

Passivity takes its existence in a world built by power; within this world, similar individuals gather together to seek the feminine privileges. Whoever accepts the conventional modes of action and institutionalized behavior may automatically share in the community advantages. Passivity finds its encouragement wherever authority takes over the whole of morality, rejecting individual responsibility. Genuine femininity serves society by understanding its nature, increasing the alternatives of action. Passivity is parasitic; when the needs of passivity are surfeited the source of its awareness is forgotten.

The aggressive spirit exerts a constant pressure on the form of the government, seeking to so alter it as to provide more fully for the security of aggressive individuals. When this pressure cannot attain further results due to the fact that the interests of the entire population resist further change, aggressive international policies provide an outlet for this self-seeking tendency.

The passive spirit creates a tendency toward expansion in the function of religion; it seeks the greatest possible area of application of religious law, so as to increase the enjoyment of the passive freedom which a dogmatic philosophy bestows. When the expansion of social beliefs is stopped by the failure of its ideas to reach general acceptance, national dogma in the form of patriotic fervor takes over this egotistical tendency

Social institutions guide the actions of men in those fundamental matters where the basic purposes of society require action; the instrumentality of the institution is authority. Wherever the institution expands its scope, it is through the authority which it puts into the hands of individuals who do its work. The existence of a core of stable authority in society is part of the security of yielding individuals. Whenever aggression usurps the place of established institutionalized authority, the security of the yielding personality shrinks. The contemplative search for truth can only come to fruit in an environment separate from and protected by authority.

Social ideas bring the feelings of men into being in those fundamental ways in which the basic needs of society require feeling; the instrumentality of social ideas is spiritual law. Whenever social ideas deepen the scope of human attachments, it is through the comprehension of law which individuals who labor in its service communicate to their fellow men. The existence of a core of permanent law in society is a part of the freedom of assertive individuals. Whenever passivity generates its own opportunistic social ideas, the freedom of the assertive personality is diminished. The exploratory reaching for the right can only attain success when its activity is separate from and enriched by law.

Wherever love has shaped the characters of men, aggression has arisen. Whenever character arises from the ways of power, passivity enters men's lives. This happens because aggression and passivity are a product of the dependent side of men's natures. Independence means facing the unknown, with the fear of abandonment that the unknown brings, or dealing with the chaotic, with the rage at impoverishment that the chaotic arouses. Aggression and passivity allow men to cross over into a kind of social maturity without having to battle the fatigue that comes when faith weakens, or circumvent the boredom that takes over the self when hope becomes a shadow. This substitute maturity contributes nothing to social progress. It is parasitic on the civilization process, taking advantage of the knowledge that others have found and the skill that others have brought into being. The more aggression and passivity become a fixed part of life, the greater is the subterranean rebellion against the aggressive ideal, and the more men's fraternally shared thoughts turn to heretical channels in the evaluation of passive reality. Every individual starts life potentially creative; he does not give up his yielding idealism or his assertive realism without a struggle. If his potential creativity remains in the stage of rebellion, he becomes neurotic. If he remains in the stage of heresy, he becomes delinquent. The quantity of neurosis and delinquency in a particular period of civilization are an index to the amount of dissatisfaction with established aggression and passivity, and are therefore a sign of reaching toward increasing health and social adequacy. Society does not profit from the disappearance of neurosis and delinquency in civilized life unless such a desired state of affairs is based on the overcoming of aggression and passivity. The creativity of individuals develops on a background of neurosis which has been cured and delinquency which has been overcome.

12

Institutions reach stability where the modes of action which they establish can be comprehended in the form of principles and laws. Where the right can be thus objectified by understanding, it can be administered in a routine fashion, without the investment of creative leadership. The energy of leaders goes into dealing with the chaotic, expanding the scope of the institutions they represent.

Social ideas reach permanency when the concepts they create become the basis of authority. Where the truth can thus be incorporated in the skill of those who employ it, it can be communicated in a routine way, without the necessity of creative teaching. The tension of teachers can go into preoccupation with the unknown, deepening the scope of the social ideas with which they are preoccupied.

Thinkers are law makers; in the political life of man, laws are formulated as a codification and systematization of patterns of action already established. With the coming of new law, chaos has already been mastered. Men of action are administrators; in the spiritual life of man, authority gives embodiment to those established modes of feeling which the communication of ideas has already brought into existence. With the coming of new authority, insight has already won territory from the unknown. Neither political law nor spiritual authority are creative. The existence of political law frees energy in political action; where men attempt to expand social control through law they legislate in vain. The existence of spiritual authority gives security to spiritual feeling; where men attempt to deepen social understanding through authority they issue futile commands.

Whenever the yielding individual enters experience he submits to social authority. Whenever the assertive individual accepts attachments he responds to social law. Within the love-type family, experiences take place in a private atmosphere. Family activities become the focusing point of mutual feeling, stimulated for the purpose of enjoying a multiplicity of needs. Authority in such a context is intimidating and has aggressive connotations. Within the power-type family feelings take their being in a separate atmosphere, dissociated from adaptive requirements. Family feeling becomes the basis of family cooperation, encouraged for the purpose of enjoying a multiplicity of interests. Lawgiving in such a context is seductive and has passive connotations.

The tension filled love family is complete in itself but each individual is incomplete, reaching out into the world toward submission to an ideal. When family authority is exercised for the purpose of expanding experience, based on the desire to indulge the family members on a wider and wider scale, family experience tends to replace social experience and the reaching for the ideal is lost. The service of the false family ideal becomes the basis of aggression.

The energy filled power family is permanent in itself but each individual lives on an impermanent basis, reaching into the outside world toward domination of that domain which can bring a materialization of reality. When family law expands out of a need for deepening feeling, based on further cooperation in the gratifying of family vanity, family feeling tends to replace social feeling and the need for a responsive reality disappears. The exploitation of the false family reality becomes the basis for passivity.

A healthy atmosphere in the yielding family provides a consistent supply of simple pleasures available at need, with a respect for the privacy of each individual. Simple indulgences leave the individual ready for service to an ideal when need requires his activity. A socially harmonious atmosphere in the assertive family is founded on a full supply of spontaneous interests, with an acceptance of the separateness of each individual. Spontaneous ego gratifications leave the individual ready for exploitation of reality when opportunity commits him. Family feeling and family activity provide the model for those resting phases of the personality in which growth is absent. These periods have a holiday quality; if the individual cannot expand beyond the level of family security and freedom he is soon surfeited. It he cannot return to these enjoyments at need, he becomes the easy victim of fatigue and boredom.

The submissive tendencies reach their endpoint in insight. which is unalloyed with willfulness. At the moment of insight the subject of understanding is completely manifested, and the self is harmoniously fulfilled through self-awareness. This constitutes a fusion between self and the thing comprehended. In familial activities the self is not fulfilled in this fashion. Self-awareness proceeds at a high level which stimulates a sensitivity to needs and their satisfactions. When society is to be served, self-indulgent activity must be abandoned for a creative goal; then only love can keep self-awareness alive. If the self-indulgent familial tendencies intrude into the social life of man, the pathway on which insight comes is never traveled; instead, the self takes over authority whenever opportunity presents, and by act of will that fragment of understanding which suits the individual's needs is accepted as the whole.

The dominant tendencies reach their endpoint in mastery, which is unalloyed with self-consciousness. In the state of mastery the object controlled is permanently possessed, and the self is spontaneously fulfilled through self-confidence. This constitutes a fusion between the self and the situation controlled. In familial feeling, the self is not fulfilled in this way. Self-confidence is maintained at a high level which is favorable to active involvement in purposes and accomplishments. When society is to be exploited, feeling which serves pride must be put aside in favor of creative goals; only power can keep self-confidence alive. If the vanity of familial attitudes takes over the social relationships of the individual, the tools for the reaching of mastery are never found; instead, the self accepts whatever appears permanent in the way of principle in a self-conscious manner, using that moment of control which the situation brings and taking feeling as proof of permanence.

13

The neurotic withdrawal differs from the mature surrender of independent experience in that the mature yielding individual is oriented by love and remains always a servant of society. Delinquent indifference is different from the mature putting aside of independent feeling in that the mature assertive individual is organized by power and always uses society as his primary resource.

The progress of civilization rests on new ideas and new techniques. Depth of personality is required to bring new truth into being; vigor in the personality is necessary to the establishment of new right. The mature surrender of independent experience brings the yielding individual close to the feelings of inferiority which are at the heart of the neurosis; only success in communicating ideas to others can conquer this menace. The mature putting aside of independent feeling brings the assertive individual close to the mood of guilt which is the essence of delinquency; only success in the taking of responsibility can dissipate this cloud. Human needs and purposes are big enough to take up all a man has to give; contributions to human truth and right have the greatest potential for fulfilling the individual.

Idealism leads to understanding and admiration; realism to responsibility and respect. The ideal embodies unity; the real takes its being in the permanent. The capacity for creative thought is dependent on the perception of that apparent willfulness in a subject on which unity rests. Creative action becomes possible through the manipulation of that apparent consciousness in an object on which permanence rests. In penetrating the unknown, the thinker's personality retains the same orientation as if he were in the presence of an ideal; the subject matter, being in a state of change, does not command this submission, but the self remains faithful. Faith is a product of the nature of the personality itself. In dealing with the chaotic, the personality of the man of action retains the same organization as if he were in the presence of the real; the object, being in a state of change, does not invite this domination, but the self remains hopeful. The sources of hope lie in the personality itself.

Submission to an ideal preserves the consciousness of the yielding personality. When that consciousness tends to shrink, with consequent feelings of inferiority, the ideal is recovered by the active processes of thought. When the unity of the subject matter is thus reestablished, self-awareness is reborn in the coming of insight. Domination of that which is real preserves the willfulness of the assertive personality. When willfulness tends to accept compromise, with a consequent attitude of guilt, the real is restored by trial and error experimentation with methods. When the permanence of the situation is thus restored, self-confidence is reborn in the coming of mastery.

The awareness of beauty, in the sense of perfection, accompanies the coming of insight. Esthetic feelings, if they are to be more than mere pleasurable sensations, rest on the coming of unity to that which is potentially divisible into impressions, that unity being the work of the human mind. The experiencing of beauty, in the sense of richness and goodness, accompanies the arrival of mastery. The esthetic experience, if it is to be more than pleasurable muscularity, rests on the emergence of permanence in that which potentially evokes evanescent impulses, that permanence being revealed by human skill.

The hatred of the ugly overcomes the impressionable fascination which the ugly contains. The anger at the provocative overcomes the impulsive possession which provocation invites. Sensitivity exposes the yielding individual to awareness of the ugly as well as the enjoyment of beauty. Vigor involves the assertive individual in dealing with provocation as well as the pleasurable commitment to the good. The beauty of unity and truth are manifestations of the same capacity to find the ideal; the beauty of permanence and the right are linked together as products of the ability to take advantage of the real.

Creative thinking always makes a place for action in others; the more new truth that is brought into being in the world, the more opportunity is created for right. Creative action always stimulates thought in others; the more new right that exists, the more room there is for truth. Thought without an action ideal leads to aggression, the selfish and self-serving action; action which is not based on a reality enriched by thought leads to passivity, the vain and egotistical way of thinking. Aggression requires efficiency and is not interested in skill for its own sake. Passivity needs the form of logic and is not concerned with knowledge for itself. Where aggression is successful on a national scale for a period of time, it can outweigh the action ideal, as in modern Germany. Where passivity grips an entire nation for a period of time it can obliterate the sense of reality, as in modern France. The French democratic tendency is creative, but French Christianity is formal. The Christian spirit of the Germans is creative, but their democracy is merely efficient. It is in this tendency to national specialization that the cause of the downfall of civilizations is to be found.

14

Limitless self-awareness overcomes inferiority provided that it occurs as part of a fusion with a subject matter. Such a subject matter becomes an ideal, which means that the subject freely manifests itself, as if with a will of its own. In the case of impersonal subjects, the manifestation of the will of the subject matter lies in the completeness which gives it abstract existence.

Limitless self-confidence overcomes guilt provided that it occurs as part of a fusion with an object or situation. Such an object becomes reality, which means that it is richly responsive as if with a consciousness of its own. In the case of impersonal objects, the manifestation of consciousness lies in the permanence which gives it concrete identity.

The union of the self-conscious and the self-confident provides the one with an ideal, the other with reality, and fulfills both. This type of psychological union is essential to the creative nature of man and the character formation on which creativity rests. When men establish permanent relationships unlimited in scope of this fused type, they find themselves in the area of sexual feeling and celebrative attitudes, for the psychological mechanisms which bring them together are the same as the biologically established mating mechanisms which bring male and female together in nature.

Personal love for individuals of the same sex in the yielding personality enters the area of homosexual feeling; personal power over individuals of the same sex in the assertive personality enters the area of an all-pervasive celebrative attitude. If homosexual feeling invades the area belonging to family life, it becomes a form of self-indulgence inimical to a basic social adjustment. If the celebrative attitude replaces familial relationships, it becomes a manifestation of vanity which undermines the integrity of social adjustment.

In order to avoid being drawn into homosexual feeling which is alien to their lives, men go to great lengths to empty love feelings of their homosexual content. There is only one way to do this effectively, and that is to avoid human nature as a subject of truth seeking. The world is filled with a multiplicity of impersonal things a man can think about, many of them of great social importance.

In order to avoid the acceptance of a celebrative world which is a threat to their adaptive lives, men go to great lengths to divest power attitudes of their celebrative quality. There is only one way to accomplish this purpose and that is to avoid human nature as a resource for the development of right. The world is full of impersonal materials a man can manipulate, many of which are of great social usefulness.

In a world ruled by the fear of homosexual feeling and the rage against celebrative tendencies there can be no material progress in developing a science of human nature on the one hand, nor the engineering type of skill in controlling human nature on the other. In such a world, man loses his awareness of his first scientific subject matter, his own nature, and areas of knowledge that should be best developed are claimed by the blackness of the unknown. He allows his most important opportunity, the mutual cooperation of human beings, to fade in interest and aliveness, and the skills that should be the best developed lose their identity in a sea of chaos.

Shame in the yielding personality which cannot be overcome by growth may direct the individual toward ambitious effort in the career. If success comes out of compulsive activity it is demoralizing to the individual; there is no room for the creative where conformity is to the authority set up by the standards associated with success rather than to an ideal. In the world where a man's identity is formed by his professional or business function, it is the picture of himself which others see which compels his activity. Deviation from this picture is at his own peril and any material deviation marks him for failure. If he wants the rewards of his position, he must be loyal to it in all significant ways.

Guilt in the assertive personality which cannot be overcome by growth may influence the individual toward attachment to ritualized fraternal activities. The obsessive quality of fixed fraternal feeling has a degenerating influence; there is no interest in the creative where the utilization of opportunity is in response to principles set up by custom rather than in response to reality. In the world where a man's identity arises from a hierarchy of social attachments, it is the preestablished responses to type situations which draws him into obsessive feeling. Deviation from this mode of social adjustment is at his own peril; any serious deviation results in his isolation. If he wants the rewards of this mode of social adjustment, he must accept the responsibility of consistently supporting it.

The security of the career ridden yielding personality does not reach the relaxed naturalness of contentment. Such individuals are the ready victims of fatigue and an accompanying hypochondriasis. The freedom of the assertive personality guided by fixed social patterns does not reach the alive spontaneity of happiness. Such individuals are the victims of boredom and fail to reach the good fortune to which they feel they are entitled, resulting in behavioral deviations in which bad luck is their constant companion. They are readily deceived by confidence games, and become addicted to gambling and short lived enterprises.

15

Anxiety is an expression of a self-awareness without that warmth and contentment which comes from security. The intimidated individual is cut off from the growth that is the substance of his attachment to the external world in a permanent way. The nameless fear of anxiety is a fear of aloneness and abandonment, occurring in a personality oriented by love who cannot feel love. As long as the individual serves a taskmaster who keeps him busy, his personality maintains an identity. Such an identity has no permanence, and requires constant cooperation from others to remain alive. It is characteristic of the atmosphere of the love family that there is always some small duty waiting, based on the needs of others for cooperation in maintaining warmth and close ness. In the anxiety state, action loses its energy investment with a consequent inhibition that ends familial cooperation. The inner self comes into focus but there is nothing there to see or feel. The individual perceives a nothingness, an unknown, a blank window which at any time may show the paralyzing face of terror.

Restlessness is an expression of a self-confidence without genuine freedom, lacking in vigor and happiness. The seduced individual is cut off from the growth which is the substance of a unified attachment to the external world. The drifting rage in restlessness is a rage at poverty and neglect, occurring in a personality organized by power who cannot give expression to power. As long as the individual is surrounded by those temporary opportunities that keep his feeling alive, the self maintains an identity. This identity has no completeness, and requires reinforcement from the feelings of others to remain significant. It is characteristic of the atmosphere of the power family that there is always some interest to be shared which becomes the basis of mutual sympathy. When restlessness brings the chronic perplexity which ends family cohesion, the feeling resources of the individual lose their tension holding capacity. The inner self goes into action but there is no organization, no attitude toward the environment. This behavior is only a drifting, a chaos, a door through which impelled motion runs amok into boundless space.

The emergency reaction of fear which signals the disruption of orientation provides the basis for an unlimited receptivity entirely without self-awareness; fear replaces the inner self. There is an unlimited accessibility to comprehension without attachment, so that the information which the organism receives can be used completely in its own interest. The feeling of fear has an expanding quality which is to be terminated at all cost. The emergency reaction of rage which signals the coming of disorganization provides the basis for an unlimited manipulative motility entirely without self-confidence; rage replaces the inner self. There is an unrestricted acceptance of an attitude of control without ownership, so that the routes of action which the organism finds can be used without regard for the conservation of resources. The attitude of rage has an expanding quality which is to be resolved at all cost.

The human yielding personality readily feels fear. If the individual must maintain an attachment to something noxious, self-awareness may be preserved through the feeling of hate, which circumscribes the subject matter in a circle of distaste. Hate is a stabilized alternative to fear which the individual can tolerate. It is when hate loses its structure, releasing floods of fear from which the individual cannot escape that anxiety is born.

The human assertive personality readily experiences rage. If the individual must accept a noxious object, self-confidence may be preserved through an angry attitude, which brands the object as an annoyance and separates it from the total context of the situation. Anger is a stabilized alternative to rage which the individual can tolerate. It is when anger loses its enduring quality, releasing unpredictable rage reactions which the individual cannot avoid that restlessness comes into being.

Where depth of character takes an aggressive pseudo-ideal for its subject matter, there is no unity in the thing understood nor permanence in the self-awareness. Whatever aspect of the subject matter is vigorously manifested comes to stand for the whole. The willfulness of the subject matter feeds a dependent self-awareness in the individual. Whenever an outside will is not acting on the individual, a withdrawal into fantasy is necessary in order that the inner identity be sustained. Without the service of an ideal which growth brings there is no reliable source of energy in the personality. The aggressive individual avoids fear through conformity to institutionalized modes of action; he is a self-serving soldier in the army of personal ambition, cooperating with others to reach that apparent security which holds back disorientation.

Where character vigor takes a passive pseudo-reality for its object, there is no permanence in the thing possessed nor completeness in the self-confidence. Whatever aspect of the object invites action takes over the qualities of the permanent. The consciousness inherent in the object builds a dependent self-confidence in the individual. Whenever an outside consciousness is not encouraging the individual, an indifference takes over and play becomes the means of preserving the inner identity. Without the exploitation of a responsive reality which psychological growth makes possible, there is no reliable capacity for tension in the personality. The passive individual avoids rage through the exploitation of pathways to feeling inherent in social ideas; he is an egotistical priest worshipping the false idol of fraternal superiority, finding an apparent freedom through influencing others, thus controlling the disorganization of his personality.

16

The avoidance of psychological growth, maintaining the familial gratifications and manifold accomplishments of familial living in the aggressive and passive patterns, spares individuals the loss of security and freedom out of which anxiety and restlessness come. If the pressure of inferiority feeling becomes great enough, neurotic rebellion against the aggressive familial ideal takes over and a cycle of reaching toward new experience initiates the phobic mechanism. If the pressure of a guilty attitude is great enough, the delinquent heresy against the passive familial reality takes over and a cycle of accessibility toward new feeling initiates the psychopathic mechanism.

The compulsive mechanism protects the yielding individual from phobic insecurity through an intimidated conformity to a fixed system of petty laws. Rules guide every action; a great deal of energy is expended following each rule exactly. Because the compulsive individual conforms, his yielding feeling tone remains intact. Whenever depth of feeling threatens to become the basis of a rebellion against the petty laws, anxiety enters and conformity is reestablished through compulsive ritual.

The obsessive mechanism protects the assertive individual from loss of freedom in the psychopathic pattern by seducing him into the acceptance of principles attached to petty authority. Institutionalized ways of action control every feeling, and a great deal of tension is built up in the exercise of authority. Whenever vigor of attitude threatens to become the basis of heresy against petty authority, restlessness enters and the patterns of conventional action are restored through obsessive attachment to dogma.

In order to find new truth and right in the creative way, a man must establish a fixed relationship with his world, through his view of life or way of life, out of which the growth of knowledge or ability comes. This relationship is characterized by depth unlimited in time or vigor unlimited in scope. In the secure relationship established by the yielding personality there is an unlimited responsiveness based on faith in the unity of the subject matter. No matter how abridged or fragmented the subject may seem to be, faith spans the gap and maintains the understanding of the self. In the free relationship established by the assertive personality there is an unrestricted expressiveness based on hope for the permanence of the object. No matter how temporary the situation may be as far as the experience of the moment is concerned, hope spans the gap and maintains the responsibility of the self.

In the ordinary give and take of human relationships, most men do not find it possible to maintain depth or vigor in their intercourse with others. Their failure to do so is the source of the discontent and unhappiness which men accept as an inevitable part of living. Those who survive the tendency to rebellion and heresy in their early adulthood, thus avoiding involvement in neurosis and delinquency, are in danger of falling victim to the disillusionment of middle age; this state brings with it the hypochondriasis and addiction to casual gratifications which mark the emotional emptiness and depression of mood often associated with the change of life. In the years of declining physical capacity and contracting social relationships, only the enriching tensions of enthusiasm and the guiding energies of inspiration can maintain the health and welfare of civilized human beings, holding the fear of death and rage at futility outside the circle of light established by a human life.

Discontent and unhappiness may have grave psychological consequences if they lead individuals away from a familial security or freedom toward a growth state which they have neither the depth nor vigor to handle. Compulsive and obsessive states conceal an underlying insecurity and lack of freedom. It is through the deepening of the view of life and envigorating of the way of life that men reach that security and freedom which permits the overcoming of compulsive and obsessive states. If deep feeling breaks through a compulsive barrier without a preparatory growth of the personality, the conditions of a paranoid breakdown of the personality are present. If a vigorous attitude overwhelms the obsessive barrier without a preparatory growth of the personality, the conditions of a criminal degeneration of the personality are present. In the paranoid state, the individual attains a pseudo-security through the delusion that his ideas are established truths. In criminality, the individual attains a pseudo-freedom through the establishment of a personal world in which his modes of action become automatically right.

Anxiety states are characterized by a loss of energy in the personality. The rebellion of the individual against the family ideal leaves him in a dependent state without a consistent relationship to society of his own. When he must deal with society out of his own resources, simple problems arouse insecurity of great proportions; the tendency to flight arouses energy which has no channel of discharge, resulting in tremulousness, rapid heart beat, profuse perspiration, and other symptoms of emergency preparation for action.

Hysteria is characterized by a lack of tension holding in the personality. The heresy of the individual against the family conception of reality leaves him in a dependent state without a unified relationship to society of his own. When he deals with society out of his own resources, simple obstacles imply a loss of freedom of great proportions; the tendency to a fighting reaction raises the tension level in a way that has no meaning for the individual. This alien tension holding capacity shows itself in episodic dissociated placidity with emotional detachment. The conversion symptoms of hysteria are the result of investment of tension holding in a dissociated way to a part of the body, culminating in a disturbance of function.

17

Family life develops the character of the child, but it cannot maintain the character of the adult. The surplus capacity for tension and the surplus supply of energy must be maintained through the feelings of love and the attitudes of power which find outlet in social relationships. Family life uses love and power but it cannot bring them into being in adult relationships. When love responds to love sympathetically, the individuals being identical in that moment, love becomes an indulgence which cannot find work to do in the world. The nurtured child needs such love; adults lose the depth of their tension in such relationships. When power links itself to power in complete cooperation, the partners being identical in that process, power becomes a form of egotism which cannot attach itself anywhere in the world. The protected child needs such power; adults lose the vigorous quality of their energy when they enter such relationships.

As long as the gratification of the yielding individual's multitude of needs stays separate from the mainstream of the character forming relationships of life, it cannot dissipate the depth of character. Asceticism blocks the creative process because it rests on a prohibiting authoritative attitude in the self, resulting in the idealization of an action component of the self which has no social value. The ascetic process leads to willfulness and false pride; no matter how long the prohibition lasts a single lapse undoes the whole pseudo-accomplishment.

As long as the attainment of the assertive person's ample supply of purposes stays separate from the mainstream of the character forming relationships of life, it cannot undermine the vigor of the character. Enslavement to cultism blocks the creative process because it rests on an opportunistic identification of the self with dogma, resulting in an exploitation of feelings which are without social meaning. Cult adherence leads to self-consciousness and false comprehension; sooner or later internal contradictions develop which expose the pretentious quality of the satisfactions gained.

If a man is to find a creative view of life he must be independent of family authority without expending energy in rebellion against it. He attains independence through his willingness to forego the benefits which conformity to family authority bestows. The pattern of family authority extends out and intersects with other familial groups. The aggressive career is a product of misplaced family psychology. When a man accepts the identity which is a part of the conventional requirements of an aggressive career, he takes the responsibility of cooperation with other members of the same group.

If a man is to find a creative way of life he must be independent of family law without having to endure tension in heretical argument against it. He attains independence through his willingness to forego the benefits of adherence to family law. Established family ideas overlap other similar systems of ideas in the community. The passive security conferred by social position is a product of misapplied family psychology. When a man gains the advantages of the identity which is a part of a passive social position, he must accept loyalty to the system of mutual sympathy in the group.

When men attempt to idealize that which is a mirror image of themselves, they must submit to aggression in others and take over the aggressive position themselves if they are to survive. In such a competitive world there is no endpoint of security and contentment. Such self-aggrandizing activity leaves society poorer, since it does not develop the resources it uses.

When men seek a responsive reality in that which is like themselves, they are passively committed to the sharing of established principles, and they accept domination by circumstances. In such a world of fixed relationships, there is no endpoint of freedom and happiness. Such self-effacing attachments subtract something from the comprehension of society, since they do not deepen the awareness of social experience.

Wisdom comes to a man in the surrender of the childlike effort to become his own ideal. The son wishes to become the man his father is, because this is the natural destiny of his growth. The mature adult serves his ideal, and becomes secure in the orientation which love of the ideal provides. The greater his security, the more tension holding capacity he has. He expends energy only in necessary ways; thus he is the opposite of his ideal.

Strength is found by a man in the laying aside of the childlike belief in a human reality consisting of individuals like himself. The son wishes to live in the same world of human opportunity as his father because this goal is appropriate to his growth. The adult moves outside a preestablished world, finding reality through his exploitation of it, and becomes free through the organization of his personality which power over his domain makes possible. The greater his freedom, the more surplus energy he can accumulate. He accepts tension only in necessary ways, thus being opposite to the reality which he possesses.

Adults who increase their security or freedom at the expense of society remain children psychologically; it is the attempt at growth within the family circle after biological maturity which leads to the rebellion of neurosis and the heresy of delinquency. Only the pathway to creativity can preserve growth and find the full interests of society at the same time. But society does not demand creativity in any given individual. It rewards success in creative accomplishment but does not penalize failure. It does penalize failure to meet the minimum requirements of social maturity. Many individuals are therefore drawn into aggressive or passive patterns of social adaptation, because these forms of social life transfer the dependence of the individual immaturity from society to a group within society which encourages such a relationship. The fact that such groups take their existence in the tolerance of immorality and the acceptance of ignorance does not lead to social disapproval, provided that the immorality avoids conflict with the law of the state, and that the ignorance does not overlap the area covered by religious authority. The penalty for aggression lies in the unending struggle with inferiority in the psychic life of the aggressive person. The cost of passivity is counted in the unrelieved burden of guilt in the psychic life of the passive individual.

Without the inner identity which service of truth confers, the surrender of willful action leaves the yielding personality alone in life, subject to disorientation and disabling anxiety. It is the successful passage through the area in which being alone threatens the personality that makes creativity possible to the yielding individual. He must maintain access to psychological growth in his view of life if he is not to be overwhelmed by a frightening isolation from others.

Without the inner identity which exploitation of the right confers, the putting aside of self-conscious feeling leaves the assertive personality impoverished, subject to disorganization and a restlessness that destroys social adaptation. It is the successful passage through the area in which impoverishment threatens the personality that makes creativity possible to the assertive individual. He must maintain access to psychological growth in his way of life if he is not to become lost in a grim dissociation from all meaningful attachments.

Human truth lies in the sphere of religion; shared social ideas of religious depth constitute the spiritual resource of civilization. Religious institutions are secondary, incidental, and temporary in an historical sense; the spiritual life of mankind exists outside the vicissitudes of church activity. Human right lies in the sphere of government; individual responsibility as embodied in governmental institutions constitutes the worldly resource of civilization. The law of the state is secondary, incidental, and incomplete in an historical sense; the life of human cooperation under the leadership of the state goes on without dependence on the variations from one era to another in the importance of law.

Religious truth is the substance of all human understanding and is the background from which science comes. Governmental right contains the fundamentals of all human social skills and is the basis on which the cooperative successes of industry rest. Impersonal knowledge may appear to be the main product of science, as impersonal control may seem to be the primary concern of industry, but religion and government have laid the foundations for the modern outpouring of scientific and industrial productivity.

18

The search for truth is based on the surrender of willfulness in thought; the reaching for the right is based on the putting aside of self-consciousness in constructive action. The thinker dwells in a secure relationship with his subject matter; the manipulative component in thought comes into being as a form of service to the subject. This manipulative component is experienced as effort which interacts with a need in the subject matter, endowing the subject matter with living qualities, as if capable of the feeling of need. There is no power in these manipulations, however; by altering the subject matter in certain ways which lie outside the core of the subject matter's identity, a fuller expressiveness emerges in the subject matter. When the thinker's activity ends in accomplishment, his sensitivity is restored and insight is born. The duration of this submissively oriented manipulative activity before insight may be very great, depending on the amount of unknown with which the thinker deals. This span of time must be covered by faith; otherwise aggressive willfulness destroys the search for truth.

The man of action lives in a free relationship to his object, or domain; the feeling component of action comes into being as a form of exploitation of the object. This feeling component is a type of comprehension which interacts with the purposes of the object, as if endowing the object with living qualities. There is no love in this comprehension, however; by submitting to the object in certain ways which do not affect the core of the object's identity, a fuller responsiveness develops in the object. When these feeling attachments of the man of action end in gratification, his vigor is restored and mastery is born. The area covered by this dominantly organized feeling may be very great, depending on the extent of the chaos with which the man of action deals. This scope must be covered by hope; otherwise passive self-consciousness destroys the reaching for the right.

If a man of thought attempts to become a man of action, thus usurping the place of his ideal, his personality is denied the security which makes growth possible. The power that he wishes to serve becomes an irresponsible force and he has no choice but to make a cynical withdrawal from the world. If a man of action attempts to become a man of thought, thus embodying the reality which should remain external to him, his personality is denied the freedom that makes growth possible. The love that he wishes to exploit lacks understanding and he has no choice but to adopt an opportunistic indifference to the world.

The successful maintenance of faith and hope are essential to the creative process. Only a secure man can maintain faith; only a free man can adhere to hope. Since society rewards creativity but does not require it, there are no guarantees of either creative security or creative freedom in the basic social ideas and institutions of civilization. The successful family develops character in the individual but cannot provide an outlet for the mature character in the world. The family will offer the individual consolation and help if he fails, because in this moment he is like a child again. It is in the attachment between that which is psychologically male and that which is psychologically female that security and freedom can find permanence and completeness. There are no provisions for such attachments in the fixed ideas and institutions of the civilized world. Men find such attachments piecemeal, for shorter or longer periods of time, in a greater or lesser degree, depending on the turn of events in living and on their capacity to take advantage of opportunities.

The Christian spirit of universal love is based on loyalty to mankind as a whole; the objective power characteristic of democracy is based on responsibility toward mankind in a permanent way. The bringing of love into the view of life is a hazardous procedure for most men because of the danger of submission to aggressive forces. Love must remain discerning and analytical, responding only to that which is capable of giving expression to an ideal. In the daily activities of life, the sensitive person may be more withdrawn than otherwise, if he is exposed to an aggressive substitute for masculine authority. The inclusion of power in the way of life is hazardous because of the danger of entanglement by passive tendencies. Power must remain selective and methodological, taking hold only when it is in the presence of an enduring reality. In the daily give and take of life, the vigorous personality may be more indifferent than otherwise, if he is exposed to a passive substitute for feminine principles.

Wherever love can enrich life, there it seeks to establish its responsiveness; whenever power can enliven the interest in living, it takes over in its expressive way. Love based on a deep capacity for tension which has no limit in time is creative because it can identify the essence of the thing loved, maintaining understanding in the face of the alien and unknown. Power based on an unlimited store of energy which accepts no boundaries in its spatial scope is creative because it can permanently command the object possessed, maintaining responsibility in the face of the unpredictable and the chaotic.

Love accepts the existence of the unexpected, the strange, and the mysterious without giving in to fear or submitting to ignorance. Power stands ready to accept the refractory, the unusual, and the apparently supernatural without giving way to rage or the acceptance of lack of ability. Love lies at the heart of the problem solving mechanism; it permits an awareness of the unknown because it reduces the unknown to the status of an incidental phenomenon, outside the essence of the thing contemplated. The unknown disappears when it is absorbed by the known as a result of the unifying classifications which are a product of creative thinking. Power holds the means of overcoming obstacles; it permits a self-confidence in dealing with the chaotic because it gives the chaotic a temporary status, separated from permanent reality. The chaotic disappears when it becomes a part of organized reality as a result of the establishment of the enduring methods which are a part of constructive action.

Creative individuals are valued by society when society becomes aware of problems and deals with obstacles; this is always the case when society is in a state of change, reaching toward progress. In times of accelerated social improvement the creative individual has a greater opportunity for self-fulfillment. If men commit themselves to the utilization of tension and energy levels which go beyond their resources, they enter the area of mental illness and breakdown of social conformity.

19

The yielding character is based on a self-awareness which includes sexual feeling; the assertive character is based on a self-confidence which includes a celebrative attitude. The yielding individual seeks to bring sexual feeling within the scope of love; the assertive individual seeks to bring the celebrative attitude under the domination of power. Masturbatory sexuality, which is self-indulgent phallic sexuality, must remain separate from the character if it is not to influence the yielding individual toward an aggressive pseudo-masculinity. The struggle against phallic sexuality in yielding personalities, accompanied by intense feelings of shame for that sexuality, is actually a battle against those aggressive tendencies in the self which gain expression in masturbatory phantasy. Sometimes the loser in this battle is the depth of the character itself. When the creativity of the character is maintained, phallic sexuality is admitted as a simple source of pleasure without the involvement of the individual in an assertive attitude.

Under the conditions of civilized living, familial sexuality is not of a type which mates the psychologically yielding and the psychologically assertive together. In a yielding family two yielding personalities, one male and one female, find a life together which includes sexual pleasure. Sexuality must not lie at the heart of their relationship; if it does, the mutual understanding on which family permanence rests will be lost. In the assertive family celebration must be equally separate from the heart of the relationship; if it is not, the cooperative responsibility on which family integrity rests will be lost.

The male and female in the yielding family find a sexual utility in each other without mutual idealization; the male and female in the assertive family find a celebrative mood in each other without mutual exploitation. When the yielding pair come together with a high sexual tension in each, already established within each personality, sexual cooperation becomes possible. When the assertive pair come together with a high celebrative energy already established in each, joyful sympathy becomes possible. Among the animals, courtship is a matter of bringing to fruition the inborn assertive and yielding tendencies. Among civilized human beings, courtship becomes a complex system of testing feelings and attitudes in the prospective marital relationship, so that a sexual relationship may be found which is effective but remains subsidiary to the goals of married life.

Truth is not measured by its practical utility for the thinker; the discovery of truth is its own end. Truth expands the individual's capacity for tension, and unifies the subject matter comprehended so that it becomes totally expressive. Truth fulfills the feminine nature of the self through union with an ideal in the outside world. Right is not measured by its practical utility for the man of action; the search for right is impelled out of itself. Right increases the individuals store of energy, and makes the object controlled permanently responsive. Right fulfills the masculine nature of the self through union with what is real in the outside world.

The surrender of independent energy in the yielding personality makes creative thinking possible. It also makes the yielding person dependent on his ideal for his mental health; if his security diminishes, inhibition effaces the capacity for action. The surrender of independent tension in the assertive personality makes creative action possible. It also makes the assertive person dependent on a responsive reality for his social adequacy; if his freedom is limited, perplexity effaces the capacity for feeling.

Truth creates a social resource which power must exploit; if it does not, the responsive emotional life of the thinker is compromised. Right creates a social force which love must serve; if it does not, the expressive life of action of the builder is compromised. This reciprocal relationship between masculine and feminine productivity is the substance of civilized psychological life and confers upon man his superiority over the lower animals. Because the creative relationships between men lie outside basic social institutions and fixed social beliefs, being entirely elective in their nature, they might appear to be non-essential to human beings. Nothing could be farther from the truth. These relationships lie at the heart of human mental health and social adjustment. Without these relationships, morality and understanding desert the arena of civilized life; boredom and fatigue take their places. The love men bear each other, and the power they hold over each other, is something they perceive and shape with questioning minds and experimental hands; once established, these relationships become the vehicle of the human soul, something a man would give his life to nurture and protect.

20

If men are to establish those relationships on which the creativity of mankind depend, they must employ their personal wisdom and strength. In the history of civilization, the knowledge of human nature has never been sufficient to guarantee such wisdom, nor has the ability to handle human nature been enough to guarantee such strength. When men wish to live by wisdom, they gravitate toward a monastic type of life; when they choose to live by strength, they go toward the military barracks type of living. There are times of relatively rapid progress in human history favorable to wisdom and strength, when new human concepts and new modes of behavior gain quick acceptance due to the ease of communication of ideas and a readiness to follow the example set by demonstrated methods. Strength which is not a form of leadership does not endure; wisdom which does not find outlet in teaching cannot reach universality. In the times of renascence in civilization, wisdom and strength are part of the atmosphere of men's lives.

Homosexual feeling creates an outstanding problem in the psychological life of yielding individuals; the mode of solution of this problem determines the fate of the personality. Homosexual feeling is based on hero worship and the sensitivity to the attractiveness of masculine vigor which goes with it.

The celebrative attitude creates an outstanding obstacle in the psychological life of assertive individuals; the way of dealing with this obstacle determines the outcome of the personality adaptation. The celebrative attitude is the sense of untrammeled power which is based on the exploitation of the richness of human submissive emotionality. In the celebrative state, the individual experiences his own inherent value; everything which impinges on him is subject to his control, and without effort on his part. The enjoyment of this state is increased by the use of alcohol or other sedative drugs, because of their favorable influence on euphoria.

All masculinity must run the gamut of addiction to those experiences which have a physically gratifying quality. In a true drug addiction, where withdrawal symptoms compel adherences to the drug, the attachment of the celebrative state is lost. All femininity in the character of men tends to become involved in sentimental associations in which cooperation in petty activities substitutes for meaningful experience; such relationships have an atmosphere of mutual consolation. The promiscuous homosexual is hated by society because he exploits an area of feeling for compulsive self-serving gratification which should belong only to wisdom working in the interests of the whole of society. The addict, and especially the chronic alcoholic, is the object of social anger because he uses his free attitude for the furtherance of his own vanity through feelings without social value, wasting an instrument of strength which should be employed in the interests of society in general.

Those relationships between men which are based on the depth of feminine character and the vigor of masculine char