THE ADOLESCENT PERSONALITY








A Study in Thought

sa076



by





Marius Heuff

Chapter 1

Content

The adolescent personality; a separate entity?
A metamorphosis.
A matter of definition.
A common bond of youthful exuberance.
Various ways of looking at the realities of adolescent existence.
An inexorable process of divergence between adolescents.
A look at the purpose of acquiring intellectual skills.
Physical growth and sexual awakening.
A turbulent time.
There is no coherent and generally agreed-upon imagey about the human personality.
Difficulties for a common-sense discussion about the adolescent personality.
A bold attempt.
An emphasis on the common features of adolescence; their origins in childhood, and the evolutionary background of our mammalian heritage.

"Are you sure, that there is such an entity as the adolescent personality?", you may ask, as you read the title. "Is this not an example, where we create, rather arbitrarily, a separate category, without any real need for doing so? Certainly, we can group-together a few common denominators in the behaviour and personalities of young people, as they get ready to mature and find a place in society, but, this does not mean, that we should give these common characteristics a separate form of existence by calling them "the adolescent personality".

"If we give-in to the temptation to create new entities, whenever our fancy decrees, we will only burden ourselves with vague and unnecessary words and ideas, which do not really serve a useful purpose. By creating the concept of an adolescent personality, we may give the impression, that all young people go through a certain stage in their behaviour and personality make-up, which sets them apart from the children they were before, and the adults they are going to be. If we group these people together, as adolescents with their own peculiar characteristics, we may suggest, that all young people go through a very similar phase, and show a similar appearance, somewat like the transformation of a larva into a moth during the puppal stage of metamorphosis".

"I think, that it is far more realistic to see the adolescent as a young individual, displaying, already, most of the characteristics of the adult personality, because, then, we emphasise the variability and complexity of the behaviour of young people, and, we do not give the erroneous impression, that there is a marked uniformity in the behaviour of young or adolescent people. Certainly, researchers can tabulate the behavioural characteristics of a large group of high-school students and present the common features as the prototype of the adolescent personality, but, what does this really mean? Does it mean, that young adolescents share a common personality which is reflected in the stage of their life-cycle, rather than the specific features of their genetic endowments, together with the chance-contacts and specifics of their personal history?".

"Of course, we can emphasise the youthful exuberance of their elan vital. We can emphasise their expectations for the future, their energy and enthousiasm, as well as their failures and moods of depression. We see, that, some people are well on their way to become prominent members of society, well-educated, secure and well-adjusted, while others remain drifters at the periphery, with friends and associates who are also on the fringes of society. We can emphasise the sensitivity of young people to justice, or, rather, to being treated unjustly, and, we may see, how their vitality translates into anger and violence, but, somtimes we see, how they seize upon an opportunity and develop rapidly their abilities and skills in a way that amazes their teachers and guardians".

"Adolescence shows a fascinating field of potentials and early starts in development, but, why should we call this a separate category of personalities? Why should we not consider them to be in a transitional stage, between the world of childhood and maturity, making tentative preparations to enter, somewhere, this overwhelmingly complex and layered world of the larger adult societies? Class-mates and friends of school will quickly become absorbed in different social strata, and, they will lose sight and contact. If you want to use the title of the adolescent personality for a view that is specifically oriented upon this transitional period, where the human being has the somewhat ambiguous privilege of growing-up into adulthood, then, I can agree with your choice of title, and, I will now let you discuss the adolescent personality, without further interruptions from a critical reader".

Thank you, and you have pointed-out an important observation. Indeed, we have to scrutinise, time and again, whether or not our concepts and ideas serve indeed a useful purpose; whether or not they are perpetuating, somewhat unthinkingly, a notion that is accepted on the authority of tradition, but has become vague and outdated. You are quite right to point-out, that the adolescent indvidual is in a transitional stage between childhood and adulthood, and, that he or she already displays the major behavioural trends of his or her personality, which will be visible for the remainder of this individual's life, and, I agree, also, that there is such a remarkable variety of personalities during this transitional stage that it is superficial to visualise a "typical" or representative personality of the adolescent.

However, we should, indeed, not forget, that adolescents share a very important and powerful process of physical change, which colours their behaviour to a remarkable extent. We are, indeed, not dealing with anything as dramatic as a complete meta-morphosis, but, the physical and mental processes of maturation, of sexual awakening and physical growth, together with the social and emotional changes associated with this period, all these happenings are so dominant and profound, that we may, indeed, consider them to give adolescent behaviour a characteristic set of features.

The physical changes that take place in the period of adolescence, starting with puberty and ending somewhere in adulthood, are well known, and, even, the psychological manifestations are a frequent subject of attention and discussion. However, we still tend to concentrate on the experiences, tensions and emotions of adolescence, rather than on a clear, lucid and rational over-view of the whole process. This is partly a result of the fact, that we are so much a part of this process, either as an adult dealing with young people, or as an adolescent trying to understand what is happening, and, trying to cope with the many tensions that are invariably a part of growing-up in a complex society.

Usually, we concentrate on an empirical evaluation of these tensions and mechanisms of adolescence, because we do not have a clear intellectual picture of these processes. While the sciences of psychology and child education are full of opinions and schools of thought, it still remains difficult to put the whole field of adolescence, as well as the myriad of behavioural aspects, into a lucid perspective, because we have not developed, as yet, a choherent and generally agreed-upon image of the human personality.

We are, intellectually as well as emotionally, somewhat confused about the whole field of adolescence, including the phenomenon of sexuality and human emotions in general, and, we look, therefore, to a portrayal of these mechanisms in an artistic or dramatic form. While we find it extremely difficult to decide, intellectually, whether or not a particular view, theory or opinion has merit, we find it easier to recognise, or reject, a specific portrayal of a conflict-situation in a dramatic or comic perspective of human relationships, especially, relationships between young people.

For this reason, our world of entertainment is full of portrayals of specific situations, but, it is uncommon to see a readable, common-sense discussion about the phenomenon of adolescence; a discussion that does not lose itself in technical research details, or, vague platitudes that hide the inability to trace, boldly, the common denominators and general features of human behaviour, regardless of its stage of development. This lack of a commonly agreed-upon scientific hypothesis of human behaviour is not the only reason, why it is so difficult to come to a generally acceptable, common-sense discussion, because many cultural variables play an important role in the way we interpret the essence of human behaviour.

You have guessed it. We will try such a common-sense approach, and, hopefully, it will turn-out to be a readable and sensible discussion about the behaviour of young people. We will not refer, in detail, to any specific school of thought or field of research, but, I like to be guided, primarily, by what we all can see and observe around us, if we use a dose of common-sense and a general awareness of the modern sciences.

I like to use an approach that is somewhat different from an attempt to be completely thorough and comprehensive. In stead of discussing many aspects in detail and sketch a rather static portrait of young people in a particular stage of their development, I am going to refer, constantly, to the more common features and characteristics of adolescence, as well as to their origins in childhood or the evolutionary history of mammalian life. I will also refer, frequently, to the inter-play between genetic and environmental influences, as well as the later stages of human development, because, as you mentioned, adolescence is, in essence, a transitional stage and can best be illuminated by looking at the stages it came from, and, the developments into which it is evolving. I will refer to ideas I have developed more extensively in other essays on the nature of the human personality, but I hope to make this discussion lucid, logical and relatively easy to follow, because the subject-matter will be treated informally.

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Chapter 2

Content

Every living organism represents a channel for the dissipation of an energy-gradient.
High-energy electron-bonds, formed by the capture of solar energy.
A synopsis of the evolution of the living organisation.
The need to spend energy is a characteristic shared by all life-forms.
A constant expenditure of "maintenance energy".
"Elan vital"; a measure of surplus energy.
A remarkable surplus energy at the onset of healthy adolescence.
The need for guidance, and the likelyhood of experiencing frustrations.
A willingness to take risks.
Data selection, according to the "filter" of our mood or outlook.
Socially determined deviations from a well-accepted "norm".
Anger and frustrations, based on sharp disparities in living conditions.
Young people are ready to commit their youthful energies to an ideal.
An increased emphasis on the realities of social conditions.
Learning to "fit-in".
Developing a skill to make a living.
The specialised "niche" in the social environment.
Building self-confidence.
The need to develop all faculties harmoniously.
Every individual can develop a few skills "above average".
Personality development, and an unavoidable divergence in skills, talents and social status.
Learning to analyse the many reasons behind diverging personality developments.
The influence of class-divisions upon the outlook of the adolescent personality.
Mobility through the social classes represents a sign of social well-being.
Social mobility preserves the factor of "social status" as a reflection of individual merit.
Problems associated with "over-privileged" youngsters.
The phenomenon of "late maturers".
Youngsters with learning disabilities.
Physically or mentally handicapped people will always need special schooling, as well as a carefully protected niche in society.

Every living organism is a channel for the dissipation of energy, and, it dissipates, at least, a small part of the energy-gradient that has been built-up in the form of high-energy electron bonds by the capture of radiant energy from the sun. These excited electrons provide the energy for the many biochemical reactions upon which the functions of the cellular protoplasm depend.

Animals are living organisms that have abandoned, or lost, the ability to capture this solar energy themselves, while the world of plant-life has retained the ability of photo-synthesis. Animals developed the ability to move their bodies around, and hunt actively for their food. These activities are coordinated by the central nervous system and are carried-out by the muscular and skeletal systems.

We have often looked at this remarkable flow of events, which is initiated when a fertilised egg-cell finds a possibility to exist and unfold its potentials; when it finds, e.g., a secure place in the womb of a mammal. Even, after birth, we see a prolonged period of rapid growth and astonishing developments. This constant flow of energy, which is channeled through a growing organism of living existence, is gradually transformed from a "building" activity to an activity of "energy-dissipation". The latter is represented by movements and all sorts of activities, carried-out by the organism. We all know, how active a healthy child is, and, how it can not sit still for any length of time.

This drive to spend energy is a characteristic shared by all life, and, we know, how each cell, as well as every organism, has to spend a minimum amount of energy to "repair" its fragile biochemical and structural relationships, because this fragility is the inevitable price the living organisation has paid for its capability to react to subtle environmental stimuli, as well as its fluidity to adapt to changes and seek the most optimal circumstances of existence.

Apart from this "maintenance-energy", a surplus of energy is channeled into a variety of activities, such as growth and development, or the behaviour of exploration and aggression, where all sorts of obstacles and features of the environment are examined. Or, we may see a tendency to dominate and manipulate the circumstances in which the organism finds itself. This surplus energy, the "elan vital", is especially marked in the young child, but, there, the energy is absorbed, primarily, by the rapid growth of the body and the maturation of several organ-systems, in particular, the central nervous system. At the onset of puberty, another major development sets in, where the organism undergoes a series of marked anatomical and physiological changes, together with further growth, as it matures sexually and psychologically into an adult member of the species it belongs to.

The "elan vital", or surplus energy, is quite remarkable, provided, the youngster is healthy and well nourished, and is not frustrated in its development by severe physical or psychological handicaps. This abundant vitality is a characteristic colouring the behaviour of adolescents to a remarkable extent. It provides, not only, the physical energy and strength, but, also, the enthousiasm for, and abandonment to, a believed-in Cause. Because the experience background of the adolescent is small, the youngster, or adolescent, is not as easily deterred by negative or caution-inspiring impulses; it has little to lose in the way of "social prestige", and, the abundance of energy at the beginning of what appears to be a long life, makes the young people much less concerned with security and the maintenance of a stable financial or social position. The latter concerns characterise the behavioural attitudes of the mature adult, who is keenly aware of the fact, that his period of expansion and advancement in the social hierarchy, has come to an end.

The attitudes of youthful exuberance, the willingness to take risks and to make commitments, as well as the unconcern with long-term consequences, are characteristics of healthy and normal adolescent behaviour, but, we should remind ourselves, that we can see as many exceptions or apparent exceptions to this general feature, as we can see examples of it. As is the case with all phenomena in society, the variety of phenomena is so great, that we can always "filter" a certain series of data from the pool of sense-impressions representing "the society", depending on the filter we use, or the colour of the glasses we put in front of our eyes.

In many social environments or circumstances, the development of adolescence is not really "normal". There may be a high level of frustration, especially, when we look at the urban ghettos, which are so prevalent in many affluent free-enterprise societies. The contrast between the living standard and opportunities of youngsters coming from under-privileged segments of society, and the glittering consumerist lure so blatantly advertised by the large commercial interests of society, create a high level of anger and frustration distorting the normal development of the human being. Yet, even within such a group of somewhat under-privileged youngsters, we see, that, by and large, youngsters are energetic and enthousiastic, and, they are ready to commit their energies to an ideal, if they are given a chance to do so.

If there is no ideal, or, a realistic goal they can latch onto, then, a period of confusion arises, and the lack of direction, the surplus of youthful energies, together with the mounting resentment and frustration, may explode into violence and rebellion. Large societies, in particular, when they are guided by a free-enterprise, or "laissez-faire" economic and social philosophy, are unable, and unwilling, to cope with these developments of social injustice in a fundamental and definitive manner. All they can do, is react to crises with a measure of concern and anxiety, as well as a band-aid approach to social problems. As soon as the violence has subsided, the public attention shifts to something else, and, the same festering frustrations are allowed to build-up their energies of anger and rebellion for the next round of explosive violence.

It is true, that, all youngsters, even, those who are privileged and have a good chance of obtaining a prominent position in society, have to learn, that the period of "play", of unhampered activities and unbridled fantasies, is coming to an end. A youngster has to learn to "fit-in", somewhere in his or her social environment, and, where a youngster is going to fit-in depends, to a large extent, upon the accidents of birth and the specifics of one's up-bringing. If a normally endowed youngster has the good fortune to have been born into a family with good or satisfactory relationships, and, if such a youngster is sufficiently motivated to develop, at least, a part of his or her potential, this youngster will learn, not only, to speak and behave appropriately for his age, (as well as for the social stratum he or she has been born into), but, he may, also, be fortunate enough to be stimulated into developing a particular skill, which will then function as a pass-port to acceptance and success for the rest of his life.

The most dramatic examples of such a specialised niche in society are, e.g. the development of an artistic or athletic skill, such as singing, playing an instrument, drawing pictures, or the ability to skate or play a sport well. The youngster who develops such an ability will have a certain "edge" over those who do not, because, to excell in a particular area gives an aura of "prestige", which is a strong factor in developing confidence and positive relations with others.

However, this development has to be balanced and the attitudes of confidence should not dominate unduly. If too much emphasis is placed on developing a particular talent, other necessary capabilities may remain under-developed, and the youngster will become extremely dependent upon one particular ability. Such an imbalance in the growth of an individual leads, easily, to a variety of personality deficiencies, and, it leaves the individual more vulnerable compared to a situation, where the "talent" has been blended harmoniously within an overall development of human faculties.

We have argued, before, that, all normally developed, healthy children can develop one, or, even, a few skills "above average", and, therefore, the highly important stimulus of confidence and prestige should be available to all youngsters. True, not everyone can sing or play an instrument, but, those, not gifted artistically, may show a remarkable capability in athletics, handicrafts, the ability to help others, or, some people may just do well in assimilating the subjects that have to be learned at school. Yet, we know, that such a beneficial development for each and every youngster is rarely accomplished in our affluent, free-enterprise societies. In every class-room, we see youngsters who dominate, often, merely on the grounds of having a physical advantage, and, we see a majority of average students, plodding-on, rather indifferently, through a maze of curricular and extra-curricular activities. If we look carefully, we see constant shifts taking place. Fortunes shift often quickly; personalities change, some become more confident and dominant as they finally "bloom", while others may go through periods of doubts and difficulties at home, of contacts with less desirable "elements" in society, etc.

The patterns of dominance shift continuously, and, if one would follow the "career" of each student as he or she goes through the last four or five years of high school, one sees a remarkable process of differentiation taking place. This differentiation is partly due to physical differences. Some children grow rapidly and mature quickly, others seem to be lagging behind; at least, for a while, and, they may suddenly develop somewhat later. Personalities become more accentuated. Some seem to be increasingly more "in tune" with their social environment, as they do well in school, do their best to get good marks, feel comfortable with their teachers and other adults in society, and, are finding, increasingly, the particular "niche" in society in which they are going to function.

Other youngsters have more difficulties. Most often, these difficulties are not intellectual, but psychological. Perhaps, some of these troubled youngsters come from homes where there are strong tensions, preventing the adolescent from concentrating on his work at school. Often, his own emotions and motivations are stimulated in such a way, (primarily, by the contacts of the home environment and the particular stratum of society he comes from), that he or she remains ambiguous about the "society of adults", or, the "straight society" to which the school and its teachers belong.

The awakening sexual interests are also a severe distraction, especially, for those youngsters who are experiencing some difficulties in their loyalties and affinities. However, all through adolescence, youngsters are beginning to look more critically at themselves, and, they are also beginning to look at the larger social surroundings. What they see depends, to a large extent, on their own moods of ambivalence and confusion. In particular, youngsters with ties to a social segment that looks with suspicion at the society at large, will have difficulties relating to the people of the "straight society", especially, since their suspicions and ambivalence are often re-enforced by ignorant and discriminatory attitudes of those who belong to this straight society, and, who have no knowledge of, but only a fear for, the segments of society that come close to the "under-world".

Not all youngsters from the lesser privileged layers of society will fall-back into these layers, because we see many dramatic exceptions, if an intelligent and observant youngster is able to see, early, that the straight society has possibilities for him; that he can, and will, overcome prejudice and discrimination, and, that the straight society is not as hostile as his own environment has always made him believe. We see also the opposite, where privileged youngsters from well-meaning, and, often, well-to-do families, sink into a morass of undisciplined, egocentric and sensual behaviour-patterns, and are unable to maintain their privileged social status.

Their lack of discipline, their chronic sense of failure, their gradual awareness of growing resentment and estrangement from the people of their own social environment, all these factors make them easy targets for the unscrupulous and criminal elements of the social environment, until they become themselves unscrupulous, egocentric and completely amoral personalities, trying to survive, as well as they can, in their private world of dreams, emotional and sensual gratifications, drugs and alcohol. Often, these people were "over-privileged" as youngsters, and, they have been over-protected by anxious and somewhat indecisive parents, who did not have the insight, nor the moral fortitude, to set a good, decisive example and to make their children obey a set of productive, common-sense rules of acceptable behaviour.

It is, indeed, remarkable to see these differences and this large variety of potentials unfold, as youngsters go through their period of adolescence. Some advance beyond expectation, and, they show great promise by the time they graduate and enter university; many of them are well on their way to become ordinary, solid and comfortable citizens, full of the contemporary prejudices of their social class, but, also, capable of sensible and sustained support for their friends, relatives, and those they can communicate and feel comfortable with.

Then, there are always a few, in each class, who remain "problems" to the end of their schooling days. They are often ambivalent and frustrated. Some are highly intelligent, some are rather dull, but, they all share a sense of confusion and non-knowing, and, they have difficulties relating to other people. The intelligent problem-youngsters have always a strong tendency to become, or remain, shy and introvert, and, they become loners, but, they may learn, eventually, how to put-on an acceptable facade. They will, then, find a niche in society, somewhere, but their behaviour is not transparent, and, they are, therefore, easily mistrusted by the people around them. They will never fully identify with other people, and, their behaviour will have secret and hidden corners. They will always be aware of the tensions that exist between them and their social surroundings. These are the "late maturers". They may, eventually, overcome their egocentric orientation, including their fears and anxieties, as they learn, to their surprise, that other people have similar problems and fears. Then, they may bloom into sensitive, artistic people, with a great deal of insight for the problems of human existence, but, most of them remain somewhat frightened and hidden personalities, all their lives.

The less intelligent problem-youngsters remain problems all their lives, because their intellectual abilities and skills are so minimal, that they will not be able to enter the ranks of skilled workers. Yet, many of these youngsters are physically remarkably strong, but not particularly agile, and, if they have the good fortune to find proper guidance, they may be quite happy in an environment that makes good use of their physical strength, and yet, does not abuse or exploit their intellectual slowness and gullible attitudes. Many of these people are not as retarded as they appear, because, often, a fault or hiatus in the educational program, or, the lack of a proper stimulus at the appropriate time, has made their handicap seem worse than it really is.

Others are, indeed, on the borderline between normal and subnormal intelligence, and, they have been very poorly endowed intellectually. Those with physical or mental handicaps of an inborn nature, will always need special schooling, as well as a carefully protected niche in society. This, in a nutshell, is what everyone can see, who wants to look around and observe the younger generations at play, and, at the serious business of growing-up. Let us discuss, in the next chapter, the inter-play between genetic endowment and enviromental stimuli, which produces, eventually, in each and every one of us, this specific mixture of capabilities, tendencies, attitudes and beliefs, which constitutes our particular personality.

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Chapter 3

Content

A remarkable parallel between the mechanisms of natural selection, and the forces that guide the development of a personality.
Adaptations and specialisations in function.
A loss of genetic flexibility, resulting from specialised adaptations.
An infant presents itself to the world with a large variety of potentials.
Some potentials develop, others wither-away.
Normal infants have a complete range of potentials, but, at somewhat differing levels of endowment.
Remarkable similarities and differences between youngsters.
The inter-play between the genetic blue-print and environmental factors in physical and mental developments.
A comparison between physical and psychological mechanisms of unfolding.
Defining the essence of a "talent".
The disastrous consequences of parental "neglect".
When there is an undue stimulation of the defensive pole of the personality.
The undesirable results of "being spoiled".
Stimulating the attitudes of egocentricity and indifference.
Normal parents and ordinary circumstances provide the most natural and healthiest balance between positive and negative stimuli.
There has to be a limit on the amount of attention given or received.
When a society has lost the ability to rely upon natural instincts and normal circumstances.
A highly neurotic attitude that is likely to fall into both traps at once.
No wonder, affluent population groupings show, often, a dismal record in the quality of their off-spring.

There is a remarkable parallel between the mechanisms of natural selection, and the force-fields that guide the development of a personality. The behavioural characteristics, as well as the specific individual abilities which come to the fore as an individual finds his way through life, are very similar to the circumstances that determine, whether or not an individual or a small community will survive.

We have discussed, on a number of occasions, how each generation of a species "presents" itself, so to speak, as a "spectrum", or a range of possibilities and capabilities, to the forces of natural selection. This range or spectrum of genetic potentials is spread over the actualised or living members of a species. If the forces of natural selection are significant, they will exert an influence upon a segment or population of a species, which finds itself under constant selective pressures from the environment. Then, only a fraction of the spectrum of genetic possibilities that is represented by the living generations, participates in the processes of pro-creation, because only the most successful members survive into adulthood and find the possibility to produce off-spring. This means, that, only those members with the most advantageous combination of genetic possibilities transmit their particular genetic endowment to the next generation, which forms, once more, a spectrum from which natural selection "selects" a segment for further pro-creation, etc.

As a result of such naturally selective mechanisms, we visualise, that the genetic make-up of a species is being shaped, because advantageous traits are rewarded with viability and become more prominent in the "gene-pool", while less advantageous traits tend to lose their foot-hold in the genetic make-up of a species, because members with less advantageous traits do not participate, anymore, in forming the next generation. We have also seen, that such a process of "adaptative evolution" can lead to a very high level of specialisation. Then, the gene-pool, (the genetic instructions that form the living generations of a species), is highly selected, and, it forms an organism that is precisely adapted to a specific set of circumstances. However, many traits that were indifferent to the species during the time of this evolutionary adaptation, may have been lost during these selective processes, and, therefore, the gene-pool has become "narrow"; it shows only a small range of variability, and, this means, that such a species will have lost a great deal of its adaptative potential, if it becomes, once more, the subject of intense evolutionary pressures as a result of changing circumstances.

The human infant presents itself to the world with a large variety of capabilities and potentials. We know, how varied man becomes later in life, and, we know, also, that most of the characteristics or capabilities that have been developed, depend on accidental circumstances. This means, that, most people have nearly all capabilities as a potential in them at the time of birth, but, only a small fraction of these capabilities are developed during their life-time, and, the other potentials wither-away. People vary somewhat in the quality and intensity of their genetically endowed capabilities, and, we assume, that a great deal of this variability in talent is due to differences in endowment. However, just as our bodies, limbs and organs vary, if we look for minute details and differences, so is it obvious, that, psychologically, we all differ to some extent, yet, we also know, that each normal and healthy organism, born into a species, comes "completely equipped", each with a slightly different set of anatomical, physiological and psychological potentials.

We have discussed on previous occasions, how difficult it is to answer the question, which capabilities and features in any one particular individual represent a genetic influence, and, what is the result of environmental or accidental circumstances. Here again, we may obtain a significant insight when we look at our body. The remarkable similarity in the body-plan from one individual to the next, indicates, clearly, that the overall organisation of the multi-cellular body has been formed by genetically coded instructions, but, each organ, each limb, each part of the body differs a little from one person to the next. These differences are partly due to this limited range of variability in the spectrum of genetic instructions, and, partly, these differences are due to environmental influences.

For example, some people use their muscles more than others, and, we differ in the environmental or climatological factors we have been exposed to; we eat differently, and, we have a different history of accidents and illnesses. Besides, each and every cell in our body has been built-up from materials or substances that were present in the environment, and, the organisational sequences, coded by our genes, may have been altered or interrupted by an environmental agent, leading to minor or major congenital defects, or deficiencies.

The point is this; the inter-play between genetic blue-print and environmental factors is extremely intricate, as we have discussed many times, but, essentially, the same mechanisms of inter-play are at work, whenever we look at a human infant during its development into a fully mature human being. The infant presents a wide spectrum of psychological potentials as part and parcel of the same genetic code, which organised the building-blocks of the environment into the multi-cellular body of this infant. Physically and psychologically, the infant is going to grow and mature, as well as age and die, in a complex series of changes, which are, in outline, under the control of the genetic code.

At least, we have good reasons to believe, that the process of growth and maturation, which was started by the fertilisation of an egg-cell, continues until a fully grown individual has emerged. If the environment continues to be favourable, the processes of growth and maturation continue to unfold, but, the factors of the environment are continually influencing the content or the constitution of the living organisation. For example, it depends on the molecules available as food, (which are incorporated into the body structures), whether or not the constituents of a cell are "normal", healthy and adequate, or, perhaps, marginal and diseased. If the environment contains insufficient essential building-blocks, or, if dangerous poisons and toxins have become mixed-in with these building-blocks, the health and the existence of the cell and the organism as a whole, are seriously threatened.

The same mechanisms play a role in the contents of awareness or the repertoir of experiences and sensations, which an individual accumulates during his or her life-time. If these experiences and stimuli are good, "just right", or conducive to an active unfolding of various, genetically given potentials, then, such an unfolding is going to take place, but, if the experiences and stimuli are "traumatic" and damaging to the unfolding of normal behaviour-patterns, then, the individual may "shut-down" the process of unfolding and starts to experience problems in his ability, and need, to relate to his social surroundings.

Even, without coming to any judgement about the quality of a particular experience or stimulus, we have good reasons to believe, that the content of our awareness, (of all that we know and believe in, as well as many of our inclinations, trends or behavioural characteristics), are the product of these chance-encounters, contacts, stimuli and experiences, which we have undergone ever since early childhood; after our central nervous system became capable of registering and storing the essential outlines of such experiences and awarenesses.

However, just as the organisation of our cells depends on genetic instructions, so are the mechanisms that process our sensory awarenesses and conscious experiences, largely given by genetic instructions. We do not have to "learn" to be fearful, when we experience a situation or stimulus we interpret as "threatening", and, we do not have to learn to relax and be content, if we are secure and protected, warm and dry. Allready as an infant, we show these basic behavioural reactions, and, it seems justified to consider these primary reactions as "instincts", which are part of the genetic make-up we display in the existence of our body.

Later, we learn to "recognise" and apply a name, or label, to a familiar object or item of awareness. What sort of language we learn, depends, entirely, on the words and concepts our social environment uses, but, the ability to learn to speak, to read and write, to walk and run, to draw pictures, or sing a song, to think and experience sensations, all these capabilities, or potentials, are given to us by the genetic code, and some potentials are given more strongly than others.

If a particular ability is quite strongly endowed genetically, we speak of a "talent", in particular, when such an artistic or athletic ability manifests itself at an early age. However, the way this talent develops; whether it is developed really well, or only haphazardly, and, even, the choice of the abilities and potentials that are stimulated into some sort of prominence, depend, to a large extent, upon the situation and circumstances of the social environment in which a child is growing-up.

Here, we see, clearly, a parallel with the mechanisms of natural selection. If a particular social environment, such as the family in which the child is growing-up, recognises and stimulates, early, a number of potentials and abilities, then, these abilities are likely to emerge, because the child is encouraged to display and develop these abilities and affinities. However, if the environment is indifferent, and, if the child is "neglected", then, even, the most common and certainly the most important potentials, are not fully developed. If a child is neglected and lacks the normal bonds of affection and stimulation between mother and child, the child suffers from an inadequate exposure to the experience of being content, relaxed and secure, and, as a result, such a child becomes tense, irritable, introvert, easily frightened, and, later, unduly aggressive or indifferent in its contacts with other members of the social environment.

If the pole of defensiveness is unduly stimulated by neglect, isolation, or a lack of stability and security, early in life, we may reasonably assume, that, the experience of not being wanted, will have a lasting influence upon a personality. However, let us not jump to the conlusion, that each and every unfortunate experience will have such a disastrous effect on the development of a personality, but, it is undoubtedly true, that a systematic neglect or lack of contact with a normally behaving, affectionate parent, or set of parents and other family members, is definitely going to have a profound effect upon the development of a personality.

We should also avoid the erroneous conclusion, that, the more a child is "molly-coddled", the happier and more brilliant its development is going to be. If a child is "spoiled", meaning, that it does not learn at an early age about limitations to the amount of attention and affection it can get, or, if it fails to learn to share attention and affection with other children, then, we see, also, a severe defect in the development of the personality. The child becomes extremely egocentric, jealous and indifferent towards others. As always, normal parents will provide naturally, without having to study books about child education, a balance between these extremes. Natural instincts are powerful enough, in all mammals, including the human being, to give adequate protection, attention and stimuli to youngsters, but, normal parents will also have sufficient demands upon their time and attention, (by other children as well as other chores), to avoid the danger of giving their children an abnormal amount of attention and protection.

Of course, if a social environment has lost the ability to rely upon its natural instincts, and, if its members are torn between the egocentric desires and pleasures of a life, free from the care for children, and the guilt that comes, when a child is born to them, essentially unwanted, then, we see a highly neurotic attitude, which is likely to fall into both traps at once. On the one hand, the parents may leave their children frequently to hired help without really scrutinising the quality of care given to the children in their absence, and, they may lavish an extra-ordinary degree of emotional and undisciplined affection and freedom on their children, when they take care of their youngsters themselves. This may induce a volatile mix of hidden resentment against a vaguely perceived neglect, and, the spoiled, undisciplined behaviour that has been made possible by ambivalent attitudes and parental guilt-feelings. No wonder, affluent societies or affluent pockets of existence show, often, a dismal record in the quality of parental care for their off-spring.

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Chapter 4

Content

Molding a personality through the mechanisms of "reward" and "correction".
The need for discipline and self-discipline.
Inborn trends and environmental factors form the primary mechanisms of influence for the unfolding personality.
A complex mosaic of influences.
The relativity of being a "stranger".
Discrepancies in judgement and perception between members from different social strata.
Practices that sustain an exploitative upper class.
The need for a congruence in reality perceptions in order to communicate fruitfully.
A subconscious effort to "streamline" reality perceptions.
Living with a high level of anger and resentment.
The accumulation of wealth rests, increasingly, on the gullibility and exploitation of other people.
A baffling range of attitudes, made clear by careful analysis.
A variety of basic personality patterns.
The judgement of normality has to be made within the context of a specific social structure.
The draw-backs of a "laissez-faire" attitude.
Living and working in an atmosphere of diseased behaviour-patterns, abnormal relationships, and unhealthy living conditions.
A watch-dog mentality in a socially conscious environment.
It is impossible to impose the Socialist virtues by force; people have to be ready for them.
The increasing demands of social responsibility.
A happy balance between freedom for personal differentiation, and safeguards for a contract of essential equality.

In essence, a child will respond to its environment in such a way, that behavioural traits, potentials or abilities, which are being "rewarded" with praise, attention or active encouragement, come to the fore, while those behavioural characteristics that are frowned-upon, "corrected" or punished, are suppressed. We see, therefore, clearly, that the education of a child can not take place without, at least, some restrictions to its behavioural range. Certainly, it is wise to recognise, that a stringent suppression of essentially normal traits is a harmful attitude, reflecting, primarily, parental anxieties or social prejudices, but, a philosophy that advocates total freedom for the behaviour of a child, does a dis-service to its personality. Such a philosophy fails to see the benefits of a moderate and carefully shaped pattern of guidance by the mechanisms of discipline and self-discipline.

The "natural selection" of environmental and social pressures upon a developing human being shape the personality characteristics. This is done by accentuating traits, which find favour, and, by discouraging those that cause displeasure. True, many "traits" or behaviour-patterns come through strongly, in spite of parental or social displeasure, and, we only have to look at the many occasions where the behaviour of a child or adolescent goes "beyond" the acceptable norms as "mischief", or in the form of more serious acts of a criminal nature. However, most normal individuals will have a sufficient sense of respect for the social guidelines and mechanisms of authority to stay within the socially acceptable range of behaviour, and, if an individual slides into a more permanent behaviour-pattern of criminal activities, then, we have to look for a different explanation.

The crux of the matter lies in the fact, that a child or adolescent behaves, by and large, in response to the pressures of his social surroundings, but, we should keep in mind, that the social realities may differ markedly from one child to the next, especially, in the large affluent and complex, class-ridden societies of free-enterprise. We, as a member of the "straight" society, may interpret the social realities quite differently from an individual, who has always remained ambivalent and confused about the values and priorities within this large, overall, straight society.

Obviously, if a child grows-up in a slum, or ghetto, where the prevailing judgement towards the rest of society is one of alienation and hostility, it becomes very difficult to deal with people who are considered an "enemy". Every symbol of authority these children are being taught in school, including the teacher, is looked-upon with suspicion, because, very likely, the authority will turn-out to be hostile to the social environment the youngster comes from. When an adolescent tries to break-out of such an environment, he runs continuously into people, who remind him where a came from; who laugh at his manner of speech and behaviour, his ideas and ambitions; who are hostile and prejudiced to every "stranger" and potential competitor for the privileged positions they occupy.

Suspicions linger-on. Both sides of a class-barrier display an attitude of hostile tensions. Loyalty is extended only to those, who come from the same social class. Parents, friends and relatives may be criminals and crooks in the eyes of the "straight society", but they were the protectors and the providers of security, warmth and affection for the individual, who is trying to break-out from his social milieu, and, it is logical, that the adolescent has a difficult time sharing, or, even, comprehending the judgements of the straight society he is trying to join.

The discrepancy in judgement and reality perception between members from different social strata is logical, but, the fact, that members of every layer and segment of society identify, primarily, with their own social environment, and have, necessarily, somewhat suspicious, hostile or envious attitudes towards other groupings, is often overlooked by those, who try to exhort people to be more tolerant towards each other.

Hostility and contempt for the lower social strata shine-through easily, and, often, without inhibitions, crushing any attempt by a member of a lower class to penetrate into a more privileged social milieu, but, the hostility towards the higher strata is usually camouflaged by envy and an attitude of caution. If an individual from a lower or middle class still has the hope and ambition to "make it big", and penetrate this world of lavish spending and luxurious life-styles, the attitude is one of blind admiration for the glamour of wealth and power, and, the individual remains, often, oblivious to the many hidden, and, sometimes, overt criminal practices and attitudes that sustain the privileged position of power and wealth of an exploitative upper class.

In short, we all weave a mosaic of positive and negative stimuli and impulses in the sphere of our reality perceptions, including our judgements about the people around us, and, we reveal, here, our heritage of behavioural flexibility, because the higher, flexible animals also classify their environment into stimuli that have a promise of advantage or a potential for harm. We all vary somewhat in the way we weave this mosaic of conflicting judgements and evaluations, but, a specific layer or stratum in society tends to share roughly the same pattern of sympathies and antipathies. A congruence in such a mosaic of reality perceptions gives us a basis for contact with those, who share our cultural characteristics, while a marked discrepancy in judgement about the phenomena of society make it more difficult, if not impossible, to communicate, and contacts must remain, necessarily, somewhat superficial in order to avoid suspicions and sentiments of hostility.

An animal will accept, by and large, the perceived pattern of obstacles and possibilities "as it exists", and, the animal organism tries to "live wih it", but, man has a strong tendency to manipulate his immediate environment, and, he is, therefore, inclined to try to change obstacles by force, rather than merely going around them.

The cultural code of a society represents a subconscious effort to "stream-line" the reality perceptions of its members, and, to make it possible for each social class to acquiesce in the position it finds itself in. Occasionally, such a code leads to a remarkably rigid stratification in social classes, or "castes", but, on other occasions, the awarenesses and beliefs of a current ideology propagate the notion, that there is nothing sacred or divine about a social stratification, and, that any class-division merely represents an opportunistic attitude of the wealthy, who live off the labours of the poor. Such an interpretation of reality propagates the belief, that the poor work, primarily, to maintain the privileges and positions of power occupied by a wealthy elite. If such views become generally accepted under the working classes, the society becomes inevitably polarised, necessitating an ever more oppressive regime to keep the under-privileged masses, in line. This leads, ultimately, to an armed struggle; a popular up-rising, over-throwing and destroying this privileged, exploitative elite.

However, most of us live in a society that has not developed such a strong conviction that the social order has been divinely ordained; nor, have the tensions and frustrations led to a full polarisation between the social groupings, or, the beginnings of revolutionary war-fare. Most of the under-privileged youngsters and adolescents live with a mixture of anger and resentment towards those segments of society which live a life of luxury and privileges, holding-on to an inherited fortune in assets or power.

However, most people are too busy finding a place in society to realise, fully, how closed these privileged positions remain for those not born into the privileged segments of society. Perhaps, in the more fluid free-enterprise societies, a majority of the people still believes, that it is possible, with luck and determination, to "become a millionaire", but, increasingly, people are beginning to realise, that such notions are becoming completely irrealistic pipe-dreams, and, what is even more important, we are beginning to realise, now, that the accumulation of wealth and assets, must rest on the gullibility and exploitation of others, and, this process can, therefore, not be considered as the fruits of honest and hard work.

Many people will argue, that there is nothing wrong with the exploitation of an opportunity, or a resource, in order to "make money", but, the consequences of an unbridled exploitaton of limited resources and the unabashed appeal to consumerist instincts has disastrous results for the community as a whole. Some of the most ardent free-enterprisers are now beginning to understand, at least, to some extent, the limitations of the philosophy of free-enterprise, and, they are beginning to see the undesirable side-effects of a completely free play of the forces of supply and demand.

However, this is a sideline, which we will not explore, here. We are beginning to see, that, a great variety of behavioural attitudes and responses, as well as the sometimes baffling attitudes of hostility and disbelief towards a society and its "authorities" by under-privileged youngsters who are being given a chance to advance themselves socially, are a result of profoundly differing reality perceptions. What seems an incomprehensible waste of an opportunity given to a youngster to break-out of a vicious cycle of poverty, discrimination and crime, may appear to the youngster as an attempt by a hated enemy to lure him away from his family and friends.

It remains extremely difficult for those, who have found a niche of comfort and easy existence, somewhere in this large and multi-layered fabric of the straight society, to realise, how suspicious and hostile some of the under-privileged groupings remain to anyone, who does not belong to their social class. Under-privileged people do not have an awareness of an overall society. They only differentiate between "us", a small group of people, who are loyal towards each other, and the rest of society, consisting of many different strata of enemies.

Yet, in spite of the apparently strange behaviour of adolescents and people from social strata we are not familiar with, we may state, that, every individual tries to survive as well as he can within this particular mosaic of social obstacles and possibilities of existence. If we want to understand the logic of someone's behaviour, we must, first, understand, what someone's particular reality perception includes. Then, we have to separate the reality perceptions that depend on personal inclinations and peculiarities, from those features, which represent the shared reality perceptions of a particular social stratum. For example, if an individual is very "moody" and swings rapidly between a pessimistic, depressive reality perception and an agitated euphoric or "manic" phase, then, we see a markedly fluctuating pattern of behaviour that is primarily the result of personality characteristics, rather than the social interpretation of the stratum the individual belongs to.

Similarly, strange, secretive and apparently abnormal behaviour-patterns could be the result of the assimilation of peculiar, or, even, outrageous ideas and concepts from a small, secretive, fanatic sect or brotherhood. Then, the behaviour of a member may be actually more "normal" than it appears to the outsider, who sees only the discrepancy between the norm of behaviour of his own social grouping, and, the behaviour of a member of such a secretive and anti-social sect. We are not implying, here, that a behavioural act becomes less criminal, if it can be "explained" by a strong social influence, but it is important to know, how, and why, criminal or anti-social behaviour arises, before we can design a social order that does away with a layering of social strata and makes it impossible for exclusive, elitist, and, often, near-criminal, secretive societies to bloom because of public neglect and indifference, as well as the fallacies of a laissez-faire philosophy.

Once we know something about a particular social environment, as well as the peculiarities or personal characteristics of an individual living in such an environment, we can see the inter-play between these factors more clearly. We see, then, how an individual tries to gain acceptance or entrance to a position of privilege, esteem or power, or, how he or she cleverly avoids the obstacles of social responsibility and exploits the possibilities for personal gain. We see, also, how markedly varied the prevailing social atmosphere may be.

In a laissez-faire, large and complex free-enterprise society, there are few pressures or demands made upon the individual, as long as he or she finds a way to "make a living", and, as long as the individual is able to sustain an accustomed way of life. As long as an individual does not "get caught" by the explicit laws of society, there is a great deal of latitude and freedom; in the way someone wants to live, as well as in the way someone can secure an income. We have discussed, before, why such a laissez-faire attitude invites pockets of hidden and, often, overt criminal activities, and, why large segments of urban populations, eventually, live and work in a diseased atmosphere of abnormal behaviour-patterns, abnormal relationships, and generally unhealthy living conditions.

On the other hand, a society that tries to give each individual a scrupulously equal opportunity and an equal standard of living, has to be continuously on its guard to "chastise" the more egocentric and secretive tendencies that live in us all. Such a society becomes, quickly, burdened with a watch-dog mentality, where ideologically "pure" individuals become the guardians of public attitudes and morality, and, eventually, they become a coercive influence upon the masses, which have to be indoctrinated, constantly, about the virtues of brotherhood and equality.

It is clearly impossible to "impose", by force, the moral virtues of an advanced Socialist ideology, and, the system of enforced Socialist virtues deteriorates, quickly, into the tyranny of an exclusive political Party that dictates its will to the people, in spite of the fact, that the Party-elite tries to adhere genuinely to the precepts of universal equality. It is obvious, that, such a society places a far greater demand for social responsibility on the individual as he or she is growing-up and trying to find a niche in society. These demands to conform to the social ideals of society may, indeed, mold the individual into an enthousiastic believer in an egalitarian social system, in particular, if the individual is helped by such a benevolent social environment and finds a good opportunity to develop an academic, athletic or artistic career.

However, a majority of people will, probably, not find such a harmonious and wholehearted acceptance into the ruling circles of a dominating ideological elite. While most of them acquiesce in a role of minor importance, they remain somewhat suspicious of the Party-elite, and, we see, therefore, essentially similar attitudes of the masses towards any elite, regardless, whether the elite dominates on the basis of wealth and economic power, or, on the basis of ideology and military power.

We have argued, before, that it is, indeed, important to design a social system with a code of ethics that strikes a happy balance between a measure of freedom, or latitude, in personal differentiaion, and, a measure of control that safeguards the social contract of equal opportunity and social justice. However, a social environment should not be obsessed with the manifestations of egocentric concerns. On the other hand, the institutionalised neglect of the laissez-faire attitude, together with the divisive divergence of social classes in a free-enterprise system, do not really form a social system at all. They form only a mass of competing interests and individuals, who are maintaining a semblance of coherence, as long as frustrations can be soothed by a rapidly rising level of consumption and affluence.

We are now beginning to see, that these soothing features are falling-away, and, the free-enterprise societies will have a difficult time to prevent their fragile social structures from falling-apart. They will increasingly feel the need to impose dictatorial rule by a wealthy elite, which can buy its security and power by controling the military and the industries. However, let us go back to the adolescent personality after this digression into social polarisation and the difficulties of finding a viable model for the large-scale, contemporary societies.

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Chapter 5

Content

Opportunities for study, when there are identical twins.
Learning to differentiate inborn from acquired characteristics.
The qualities of leadership.
Learning to dominate, when necessary, and to tolerate dominance, when it is appropriate to do so.
A long hierarchical ladder of relationships.
The sliding axes of behaviour.
Enlarging the sphere of individual and collective concerns.
The reasons for extending to each other a package of rights and obligations.
Ethical concerns have a tendency to stretch only to the limits of the social environment we identify with.
Flashes of insight mark the beginnings of reflective thought.
Neglected children learn to survive by their own wits.
Why weak and indecisive parents keep supporting their children in affluent societies.
The lure of excercising a measure of parental control.
Adolescence should be characterised by a gradual but consistent withdrawal of material and psychological support.
Developing a marketable skill.
A remarkable change in social status during adolescence.
Problems with acquiring an extended sphere of reality perceptions.
Why a sharp division of the social environment into friends and enemies is not realistic.
Short-comings in the development of a personality.
Most of us find an acceptable place in the social hierarchy.
Filtering a series of contradictory facts and observations from the pool of social phenomena.
Looking with anxiety at our leaders, because they have the power to do a great deal of harm.
The world of international diplomacy and military posturing seems to be divorced from the concerns and realities of ordinary people.
The need to have "quality control" over our leaderships.
Questioning the arms-race.
The dangers of vacillating too long.

The child is encouraged by its environment to develop certain skills and behavioural traits, while other types of behaviour are frowned-upon and are, therefore, suppressed. Nevertheless, each child differs in its particular affinities and tendencies, and, even, siblings, growing-up under very similar circumstances, show quite different personalities. We have discussed, before, that we should not jump to the conclusion, that these differences are, therefore, due to genetic variations. However, when we look at the development of identical twins, where we know, that they have an identical genetic blue-print, we see, indeed, a remarkable similarity, in physical as well as psychological make-up.

It is fair to say, therefore, that in each trait or skill, we see a combination of the genetic foundation or "anlage" for this skill, as well as a series of environmental stimuli and contacts, which determine to what extent this anlage is being developed, and, how it fits-in with other skills and traits. We have discussed the fact, that children may vary markedly in their attitudes towards other people, ranging from the shy and introvert personality that looks upon others with a mixture of suspicion and uncertainty, to those, who feel comfortable in the presence of others. This last category will, invariably, discover, that it can "manipulate" others, and, these people will use their ability to be popular or attractive as a means to find security and a position of privilege.

Sometimes, the ability to win approval, praise, or, even, admiration, is limited to the development of a particular skill, be it artistic, athletic or intellectual, but, in others, the ability to manipulate and dominate is a function of the entire personality. Here, we see, then, to some extent, the quality of political leadership emerge, when youngsters develop the ability to dominate and lead. Of course, many "fall by the way-side", as they fall into the temptation of manipulating people, primarily, for their own egocentric objectives. Quickly, such an egocentric attitude will be rejected, and the "leader" has then lost his appeal. Often, truly concerned leadership may only come to the fore, later in life, when a personality has become "more mature", and an individual finds himself, rather unexpectedly, in a position, where others look towards him or her for advice, help or leadership.

Most people find a workable or useful balance between the extremes of an exclusive attitude of suspicion and hostility towards others, and, the shameless manipulation of people for personal gain. Fortunately, most people learn, somehow, in the natural wisdom of normal family and social relationships, that the world is neither so harsh, that, every move has to be fought for, nor is it so tolerant and admiring, that, every wish and whim will be granted. Somehow, we all learn, that there is a middle way; that there are people we can trust, or, even, dominate, but, we also learn, that there are people we can not dominate and who may dominate us.

We find ourselves, somewhere, in a long hierarchical ladder of relationships, and, these contrasting factors of cooperation, dominance and submission work together in order to unfold this genetically given, instinctive ability to form satisfying social relationships on a small scale. This means, that we can all slide along the axis of socially acceptable behaviour. This axis functions in addition to the sliding scale between aggressiveness and defensiveness, which we have already discussed. We have seen, how each organism, including human beings, can slide along the axis from a negative, defensive attitude towards a positive, aggressive or ebullient attitude. We can also slide from an attitude of fierce egocentricity, (where we think or concern ourselves, exclusively, about our own well-being), towards an attitude of concern for others.

Certainly, we enlarge the sphere of concern only very gradually, and, we can only feel true concern and sympathy for a few people we truly care about. In addition, we can adopt a more intellectual and ethical attitude, where we know, that we should give a larger number of people, even, those we do not know personally, the opportunity to live a decent life and develop some of their potentials, because we recognise, not only, an inherent justice in an attitude that promotes the sharing of privileges, but, we also know, from experience, that social tensions, such as the emotions of suspicion, jealousy and envy, can only be softened, if we learn to give each other a package of equal rights and obligations

However, let us not forget, that our ethical concerns only stretch to the limits of the social environment we identify with. If we identify only with a small segment of the society at large, and, if we see the remainder of the society as "enemies", we can not expect to behave ethically, nor, can we expect to be concerned about the well-being of all those "strangers". We, as members of a straight society, often forget, that, those in under-privileged strata, see us essentially as enemies, and, we are thoroughly shocked by their hostile and un-ethical attitudes towards us. Yet, we do not find it strange at all, that we "hate" our enemies, and, that we have no inclination to extend our ethical concerns and principles of justice to those, whom we consider to be our enemies.

The basic drive in each one of us, whether we are children, adolescents or adults, is "to survive". We all find ourselves in a particular position within our social environment. As a very young child, we have, of course, no awareness of our own existence, but, as soon as we are three or four years old, we experience "flashes of insight", where we suddenly see ourselves as a person; as an individual, existing somewhere, dependent upon protection and nourishment, from our family or the small group we belong to, and, we feel ourselves to be surrounded by a large world of strange and unknown people.

This large world of people around us presents a mixture of threats and promises, of fear and excitement, of obstacles and opportunities. We remain aware of our dependence upon our family, and, in particular, our parents, and, we experience the fact, that the main source of parental authority comes from the ability to control this sphere of dependence. We can be punished, send to bed without food, or, we can be made to do one thing or another, if we do not behave according to parental instructions, because we have, in essence, nowhere to go. This is the reason, why children, who have no strict or formal home, learn, quickly, how to survive by their own wits, and, they develop, not only, a wisdom and an agility in obtaining what they need, but, they also escape from "adult control" because they do not need, anymore, this sphere of protection. However, in most instances, children survive on their own, because they have become orphaned, or, the family relationships have become extremely fragile, or, the social situation is highly abnormal, e.g., in the refugee-camps of war-torn areas.

We see, here, the main reason, why, in affluent societies, weak and indecisive parents keep supporting, at least, partially, their adolescent children, who often remain somewhat lazy, dull and vague in their goals, just because their parents keep providing them with an easy source of shelter, food and money. The reason, why parents are inclined to do this, (in spite of the fact, that these adolescents, often, behave quite impudently towards them), lies in the remnant of parental control, which these parents are, intuitively, reluctant to give up. Just because they still provide a home, shelter and some pocket-money, the parents retain some control over their off-spring, because the other lines of authority, such as respect for parental advice and opinion, have long since evaporated in an atmosphere of disputes and mutual accusations.

Adolescence should be characterised by a gradual, but steady withdrawal of material, as well as psychological support, because it is important, that these youngsters start to learn to make their own decisions. If they know, that, soon, they will have to make a living with their own skills and efforts, they will take more seriously the task of finding a place in the society at large, as well as the efforts needed to obtain a marketable skill. If parents cling to their vestiges of power and influence by continuing to support their immature adolescents, they will create somewhat weak, vacillating and childish personalities; who miss the most opportune moments in school to provide themselves with a skill. This skill, as well as the unfolding of an all-round personality will give them access to a class of professionals and skilled workers.

Therefore, adolescence is characterised, not only, by the physical and psychological changes that are associatd with the onset of puberty and the maturation processes of the body and the mind, but, adolescence is also characterised by remarkable social changes, where the world is expanded greatly; from the immediate and comfortable social surroundings of the small group, the youngster is required to expand rapidly his or her sphere of knowledge and contacts. While trying to form a new and greatly expanded sphere of reality perceptions, every individual is still guided by this mosaic of interpretations which colours his or her particular reality experiences.

Now, we understand the reasons, why a variety of approaches are used in coping with the problems of an extended sphere of reality. Not only, are obstacles or negative impressions a cause for fear and withdrawal, but, they may be changed into a challenge or an opportunity by a deliberate attempt to alter the perception of their existential value. As confidence grows, and, as the sphere of reality perceptions becomes much larger, intelligent youngsters see, ever more clearly, that they are not so different from the others after all, and, that, even, youngsters, coming from a totally different cultural or social background, share many similar hopes and fears, desires and doubts, ambitions and responsibilties.

The divergence between youngsters going through the final years of high-school, is, perhaps, best characterised by emphasising this critical enlargement of the awareness-sphere, as well as the unfolding of the attitudes of comprehension. Those who become more confident and can relate, better, to a variety of people, are gaining a foot-hold in society, and, with their growing confidence, they will also develop more easily their talents. They will exploit, more thoroughly, the opportunities that arise. These youngsters learn, that the strong divisions in friends and enemies is not realistic, and, that it is possible to overcome suspicions and hostilities with a friendly attitude and an open approach. Yet, even so, disappointments occur, and, even, the most intelligent people learn, that they can be deceived and manipulated by clever entrepreneurs and ruthlessly egocentric personalities, who have also learned the secret of unlocking an attitude of confidence with a facade of trust and friendliness.

Those youngsters, who remain locked into their world of hostilities towards the larger society, as well as the restrictive loyalties towards their own social grouping, and, those, who remain dreamers, absorbed by sensual gratifications and an undisciplined behaviour-pattern, have a much greater chance to be left behind. They keep having diffculties relating to other people, and, their confidence remains bruised by repeated failures. They never develop fully the intellectual capabilities they have, just because these capabilities may be somewhat more difficult to develop compared to those, who learn and grasp easily. Their reality perceptions remain more confused, and, they never learn to articulate their thoughts and feelings appropriately.

This inability to communicate with confidence, and, without a sensation of fear, makes it more difficult for them to approach others, or, to be approached. Frustrations and resentment remain in the fore-front, as chronic tensions are sustained by repeated failures and unresolved short-comings, and, eventually, their reality perceptions develop an aura of chronic suspicion and prejudice for this larger and strange social environment. Here again, let us acknowledge, that, most of us grow-up somewhere in between these extremes; neither do we find a completely happy acceptance by the social environment we belong to, but, neither are we completely frustrated in our attempts to find an acceptable niche, and, therefore, the levels of resentment, frustration and suspicion remain manageable.

Most of us find an acceptable place, somewhere, on the scale of this complex hierarchical ladder of the larger, conglomerate societies. Very few will reach a pinnacle of power or independence, where we have no superiors above us, and command a vast territory and a large number of people, but, neither are we completely at the bottom, trampled upon by everyone around us, completely without power and prestige, only an object of scorn.

The ambivalent moods or feelings in relation to our social performance and the reality perceptions we have built-up, explain, why it seems so extremely difficult to agree amongst ourselves upon a definition of society. The validity of social observations and phenomena, or, the validity of seeing a particular personality in a specific light, can always be questioned, because we have so few criteria to decide, whether or not a particular evaluation has merit. The area of awarenesses and sensations is so vast, and so contradictory, that we can always filter a series of contradictory facts and observations from this overall pool of social phenomena, depending on the type of observation we are looking for, or, the colour of the mood we happen to be in, when trying to evaluate a number of social experiences and awarenesses.

If each one of us lives, at least, to some extent, in a world of our own making, (depending upon the reality perceptions we happen to have adopted), then, we should look, once more, with a great deal of anxiety at our leaders, who claim to act and decide in the name of the "common good of society". If you and I live in a particular world of our own making, why would our leaders, then, not be caught-up in their own particular world of beliefs and opinions? Yet, they have a great deal of power and access to all sorts of weapons. Their particular perceptions and beliefs may influence us a great deal, because they control, by and large, the news-media, and, it may be, that, some day, their particular reality perception will show them a threat that calls for a nuclear strike, or some other disastrous military adventure. Once again, millions of people will die and suffer, because our leaders and military strategists have been misguided in their beliefs, and have made an error of judgement.

The world of international diplomacy and military posturing seems to be so much a world on its own, divorced from the concerns of common people. The world of diplomatic and military posturing seems to be acted-out by the leaders and influential establishments of powerful countries. It looms as a grave danger that hangs over the entire world, and, this chronic threat of a "run-away" reality perception, makes it necessary, that, we, ordinary people, have to concern ourselves, intensely, with the question of "quality control" over our leaderships.

Is it really necessary for those privileged and powerful people, who have made it, somehow, to the top, (by lucky accident, by the power of the gun, or, sometimes, by popular support), to sooth their fears about the powers and intentions of other leaders, (who are, after all, their colleagues in different countries), by a frantic manufacture of more and more arms? Our leaders seem to exist far too much in a world of fears, and, they are obsessed by the attributes of power and influence. Such a world is a result of their own reality perceptions, but, as long as they have access to power, their fears and obsessions remain a grave threat to us all. We, ordinary people, do not have easy solutions, nor do we have easy means of preventing our leaders from unleashing another war, because, after all, if we had such compelling and persuasive reasons and arguments to make them dismantle all this weaponry, we would have made our voices heard a long time ago.

Many of us are vacillating, and, we do not know, whether or not we should have those arms, but, while we can not decide to take a stand, the threat of a continuing arms-race and the potential for a nuclear war, are becoming ever more likely, and, they constitute a gloomy reality of mass-destruction and a suicidal conflict for all of us. We may make ourselves extinct by the failure to make a clear move towards safety, just as we may be killed by a rageing forest-fire, if we vacillate too long in our deliberations about the best route for a dash to safety.

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Chapter 6

Content

The evolution of the adolescent personality.
The world of motivations.
The many aspects of manipulative skills.
Being subjected to a large series of chance-happenings.
Becoming a source of influence and guidance for young people.
All communications have a subtle emotional under-current.
The disadvantages of popularising too much.
Commercialism; a communication that is not concerned with "a truth", but with satisfying a need.
Preserving a measure of idealism amongst teachers and young people.
When the cultural code becomes a confusing jungle of contradictory trends and guidelines.
Passing the banner of cultural leadership to more deserving social environments.
The universal lure of affluent luxury and the freedom to indulge.
Effective teaching is not easy in a confused and vacillating society.
Diagnosing the many tensions and frustrations within a social environment.
Education should be centered around the ability to observe honestly and articulate clearly.
Minimising apparent differences in aptitude.
Resisting the temptation to let the more talented pupils dominate the class-room.

Let us return to the evolution of the adolescent personality in the last few years of a high school environment, and, we should look at the way human motivations and abilities develop. We have seen, that, all human beings share the essential drives relating to their existential needs, such as the drives for security, shelter, food and sex. These drives may activate all three existential poles of our behaviour at one time or another, but, as we have outlined before, motivations are much more varied than instinctive drives, because a motivation is a verbalised goal that has been derived from the basic instinctive drives. Certainly, a number of instinctive drives may combine and form a labyrinth of motivations, but we also know, that a professed or articulated motivation can often be referred to a more basic, or "deeper" drive, which is the "real reason" for someone's behaviour.

Let us review, briefly, the world of motivations, in particular, as it plays a role in young adults and adolescents. We resemble each other very much in the instinctive poles of our behaviour, but, the way these instincts are activated and manifest themselves, is remarkably varied. The layer of motivations is far more complex than the basic instinctive drives, because, what we, consciously or subconsciously, select as a worthwhile goal, depends, to a large extent, on the accidents of our personal history.

It depends on the traits and skills that have been selected or activated as a result of various chance-contacts and genetic propensities, and, it depends on the opportunities we perceive, at the present time, in the sphere of our reality perceptions. A mood or motivation may also depend, to quite a large extent, on the way we are being manipulated by others. This form of manipulation may not have an exclusively egocentric motivation, because our parents, guardians or educators may be genuinely inspired by an ideal or ethical attitude, which they hope to transfer to us as a lasting motivation or guiding principle.

This bring us to the observation, that, indeed, we are, as a rule, subjected, not only, to a large series of chance-happenings and events during the period of formal education, but, we are constantly subjected to a variety of influences, as people try to convince us to believe this or that; to adopt such and such an attitude; to guide our efforts and talents in one way or another.

We always have to choose, and, rarely, do we feel, that the people in our environment who are exerting such an "educative" pressure upon us, are entirely familiar with our inclinations, or, understand completely our doubts and hesitations. However, let us acknowledge, that we do not always understand fully, the wisdom or motivations of the people who are trying to influence us. Of course, we will, eventually, do the same. As an adult, we will have developed a well-articulated belief or opinion about the way society should behave or operate, or, what we should or should not do in a particular situation, or, what is good and bad; what is worthwhile accomplishing, and, what is a waste of time and effort.

As soon as we have developed these characteristics of maturity, (sometimes quite early, but, then, often on a fairly narrow basis of traditional acceptance), we, too, become a source of influence and guidance for young people, who are under-going the problems and excitements of facing a large variety of opportunities and possibilities, which is, after all, the hall-mark of adolescence.

Certainly, there is nothing wrong with trying to influence the attitudes and behaviour of other people, but, it depends, entirely, on our motivations and skills of comprehension and insight, whether or not such stimulating influences have a beneficial effect. We are all familiar with examples, where well-meaning people have completely failed in their efforts to persuade someone else, or a group of people, because there was an insufficient measure of real communication and intuitive understanding about the motivations and emotions playing a role. How often is a proponent of a perfectly logical and lucid argument not baffled to find only resistance and disbelief, because he or she fails to appreciate the atmosphere of suspicion and hostility surrounding any uni-lateral attempt to impose a specific point of view?

All our communications and encounters have a subtle aura of emotionality, even, if we try to be objective and calm in the evaluation of our experiences. We can not help, but look upon every new situation, new idea, or new teacher, with a measure of suspicion and mistrust, and, this aura of mistrust is only dispelled with great difficulties.

It is important, that, we, as teachers in charge of educating the younger generation, are aware of these fundamental emotional and motivational mechanisms, and, it is not wise to deny the existence of these mechanisms, nor, is it wise to use a variety of "tricks" to compensate for a situation that is often difficult and discouraging. For example, one temptation is to bring a subject in very "popular terms", but, such a method of over-simplifying the subject-material and creating an exaggerated bias in interpretation and presentation towards the cultural milieu of the students, are unfortunate and short-sighted short-cuts towards an easy and quick acceptance by a suspicious and hostile audience.

The audience of students and adolescents is essentially the loser of such a method, because young people never realise, until much later, that such a simplification and deliberate distortion only impoverishes the possibilities for understanding and learning. In a way, this is an example of "commercialism", because a commercial interest is not concerned with the communication of "a truth". A commercial interest wants to give the audience what it wants, in order to make a profit, and, a commercial interest does not care about the quality of a product, nor about its effects upon people, as long as people like the product and are willing to pay for it.

However, most teachers and people concerned with the guidance and education of young people are not that cynically inclined. There still is, at least, a measure of idealism amongst the members of the teaching profession, because they carry, after all, the main responsibility for the transfer of the cultural code upon which so much of the viability of society rests. However, what happens, if this cultural code has become a confusing jungle of contradictory trends? What happens, if teachers have become themselves confused products of a defectively transmitted cultural code? Then, there is no focus for idealism anymore. Then, the good-willing instincts of confused people only manage to create an even greater confusion. Then, it is not surprising, that the accent shifts towards a purely egocentric attitude, amongst teachers and pupils alike. "I go to school to make a living, or, I go to school to learn something to make money with". This becomes, then, the over-riding, and, perhaps, the only sensible motivation, because, how can one believe in the motivation of learning to become a good citizen, an informed standard-bearer of the cultural code of our times, if we do not know, anymore, what it means to be a good citizen, or, which cultural traits and characteristics are valuable and should be transmitted to the next generation?

You may want to point-out to me, that I am concentrating too much on the confused and chaotic cultural picture of the large and affluent free-enterprise societies, and, you may want to tell me, that, many smaller and ideologically more coherent social environments are not plagued by these problems to the same extent. Somewhat smugly, you may want to point-out, that you have decided, a long time ago, that "the West" was corrupt and decadent, beyond repair, and, that it is inevitable, that, sooner or later, the more vigorous, "younger" nations with a more coherent and socially advanced ideology, will take over the role of leadership in the world. Yes, you may be right, and, it would not be more than historical justice, if the banner of cultural leadership and social justice would pass to more deserving societies.

However, I hope, for your sake, that the infectious contamination of affluent laziness and consumerist expectations will not nibble on this core of moral strength and social resolve, before the younger and more vigorous societies have had a chance to prove their worth as cultural leaders.

One of the most striking features of modern times, seems to be the amazing persuasiveness of a consumerist life-style of affluent luxury, together with the freedom to indulge. In spite of the many difficulties which the older, affluent societies are going through, the lure of egocentric power and wealth seems to be one of the most powerful stimuli for peoples all over the world.

Sure, there is really nothing surprising about it. Only recently, have the peoples of the world seen, be it from a distance, what affluent living is like, and, you can not blame them for wanting a piece of the action, regardless of the problems, the inequities, the pollution and the impoverishments that come with the dubious blessings of affluent entrapment and apparent freedoms. I am not so sure, at the present time, that, those societies, which seem to be poised for a take-over of the affluent West, will be able to do so, before their own strength has been sapped by the same basic temptations of indulgence and affluence. Ironically, the most sobering reactions against the excesses of consumerist affluence come from those, who have experienced, closely, the excesses of a sumptuous life-style and the emptiness of chronic affluence.

No, teaching is not easy in a confused and vacillating social environment, and, the task of teaching is relatively easy, but, perhaps, also somewhat dull, if the society is still firmly in the grip of an absolute Faith, or, an infallible Social Doctrine. Only in a balanced society, with a deliberately created balance between individual freedoms and social guidelines, (between individual rights and privileges on the one hand and social obligations and contributions on the other), only there, can we see an exciting, varied, intellectually stimulating debate emerge about the direction society should take, together with the problems that need to be tackled.

However, before we try our hand at the problems of society, we have to learn to diagnose the problems and short-comings, and, we can only understand the reasons for these problems, conflicts, tensions and frustrations in society, if we learn to diagnose these same tensions and conflicts within ourselves and between ourselves. Perhaps, education should, indeed, be centered around the ability to observe honestly, and articulate clearly, our own motivations and desires, but, we all know how difficult this is, and, how easy such an excercise is dominated by a few individuals, who feel comfortable at this game and like to display their dexterity, while the rest listens and watches in a painful silence, dreading the moment they may be called-upon to articulate some of their thoughts and feelings.

As is so often the case, this apparently so large and unbridgeable gap between students is more apparent than real. We do not really differ that much in our abilities to express ourselves, but, some have had the good fortune, that such an ability has been encouraged from an early age, and, they have come to rely upon this ability, and, they feel confident using it. Others have had the experience that no-one wanted to listen to them, whenever they tried to communicate some of their thoughts and feelings; or, worse, they have been laughed at, brushed-off, or told to "shut-up". As a result, this ability is then suppressed, since the activity of communicating, at least, in a more or less public manner, is associated with feelings of embarrassment and inadequacy.

This is the reason, why some seem to flourish, perhaps, even, wallow, in a dubious effort to become, or remain, a center of attention, while others can not do anything more than mumble a few incoherent words, as they are severely inhibited and shy about the whole situation.

These people like to be left alone, or, they like to engage in activities they feel more comfortable with, and, they like to do something, they know, they can do well. However, if the capability to think and speak clearly would be excercised, systematically, from an early age, and, if teachers would resist the temptation to let those pupils who are good at it, dominate these sessions, then, it should be possible for everyone in the class to learn, at least, a basic skill in communicating and thinking, just as every pupil has to acquire a working knowledge of reading, writing and arithmetic, before he or she can be promoted to the next grade.

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Chapter 7

Content

Eliminating the elements of unfamiliarity and mis-understanding.
Conflicts, due to minor irritants and a lack of privacy.
We want and need contacts.
We are so remarkably similar in our needs and aspirations.
Appreciating the wide variety and range of awarenesses, thoughts and feelings.
A great respect for individual human life.
Sharing the same "body-plan", including the outlines of our personality.
Excercises in thought and communication.
Understanding and insight will not prevent every situation of conflict.
Why should we give-up a position of privilege, when we can fight-off a challenge with relative ease?
Why we need an explicit social contract of essential equality.
Analysing, how, and why, inequalities develop and persist.
A central role for the attitude of trust.
A review of the attitude of trust.
The meaning of "a smile".
A review of early childhood developments.
Egocentric attitudes can be manifested defensively or aggressively.
Normal youngsters experience, from an early age, that they are not the only focus of adult attention.
The need for a "physical correction" on the rear-end.
A child has to learn, how to deal with competitive pressures.
Damage to the development of a growing personality by ambivalent or over-protective attitudes.

Let us not come to the somewhat facile and irrealistic conclusion, that a vastly enlarged ability to communicate with each other, and, hopefully, understand each other's position, ambitions, fears and hopes, will, automatically, lead to the development of friendship and brotherly love. Many conflicts still occur and erupt into bloodshed, in spite of the fact, that the participants are perfectly well aware of each other's motivations and intentions. Then, the elements of unfamiliarity and mis-understanding do not play a signficant role. There are often circumstances in which we decide, deliberately, to attack a competitor, we know, quite well. Knowing something or someone quite well, does not necessarily mean to love and appreciate. Indeed, the most violent quarrels between human beings occur, when people, who know each other well, have to live at close quarters and are constantly irritated by each other's peculiarities.

True, such conflicts burst-out as an emotional explosion, whenever a limit has been reached in the tolerance for each other's annoying habits, and, rarely, is the violence based on a coolly calculated opportunity to gain an advantage, or to eliminate a competitor. This points-out, of course, the very important factor of adequate housing and living conditions, so that people, in particular, the adolescent generation, has a shelter of privacy, a place to study, read or think, or, a place to get-away from other people for a while. We need privacy, in order to digest the many sensations, emotions and impressions that follow each other so rapidly in a vast and changing world of growing-up and adolescent relationships. However, we also need and want contact with each other, but, we need to learn to talk to each other honestly and sensibly, and, we need the guidance of a teacher, who really understands the overall objectives of such an excercise.

The primary objective is to learn to see our own emotions, fears, hopes, aspirations and dreams, and, we need to learn, that other people have similar fears, hopes, dreams and aspirations. We only learn this by exchanging information about ourselves; what we would like to become, do, learn or be involved with; by telling each other, what we hope for, or fear the most, what we are puzzled by, and, what sort of judgements we have already formed, or, have taken-over from our parents and the environment we come from, without giving them much thought. We learn, then, not only, a good deal about our own personality, but, we also learn, to our surprise, that others have a remarkably similar personality-structure. We learn, that other people have similar fears, hopes, aspirations and overall objectives, in spite of the many differences in ability or perception we can see to exist between us.

In short; what we should learn from these excercises in communication, is the fact, that we are much more alike than we thought, and, that, many, if not most of our fears and private thoughts, trends and inclinations, turn-out to be quite common motivations or instinctive drives. At the same time, we will begin to appreciate the enormously varied spectrum of human awarenesses, and, we may get a feeling for the large variety and diversity of reality perceptions that occur between the members of a social environment.

Perhaps, this is, indeed, one of the most important fruits of the development of the capability to communicate meaningfully; nl., that we learn to appreciate the remarkable psychological similarities that exist between people, just as we will always marvel at the remarkably similar construction of our physical existence. At the same time, we also learn to see the enormous variety of awarenesses and sense-impressions, thoughts and feelings, each individual is capable of.

We should learn, therefore, to have a great deal of respect for each individual existence, because we all share this remarkable ability to be consciously aware, and to behave with care and concern for other people. At the same time, we may learn to appreciate the fact, that each one of us is unique in the content of his or her experiences, feelings, thoughts and beliefs. We are all unique, but, in essence, we are all similar, because we share the same "body-plan". We share the same structures of the central nervous system which make our conscious awarenesses possible, and, we share the same instinctive drives and existential needs. We are so similar in wants and needs, and, yet, in all the aspects and features which I believe to be true and which form my particular sphere of reality perception, I see that no-one is exactly identical to me, and, no other person perceives reality in exactly the same way I do.

These excercises in thought and communication should teach us a great deal of understanding about ourselves. It will make us aware about this great experiment by nature with the possibilities of the living organisation, as well as the remarkable capabilities that result from nature's experiment with behavioural flexibility. We become especially aware of the ability to represent numerous awarenesses and abstractions, common denominators and classifying principles with the help of a symbol, a gesture, a sound or a written sign. These experiences should teach us, together with this entire fabric of knowledge, information and experiences that forms the curriculum of a broadly based education, how we function, what we need, what the reasons are for our feelings, fears, goals and dreams; where we resemble each other, and, why we can also consider each human being a unique entity.

Certainly, all these capabilities and insights still do not prevent us from clashing with each other, from time to time, but, I believe, that the behaviour of man, in particular, in small transparent groupings, is perfectly capable to accept the compromise of a scrupulously adhered-to principle of equal opportunity and equal standards of living, especially, when such a choice is appreciated as an alternative to the effort of combat and the risk of losing everything.

Perhaps, the most difficult situation for sharing with those around us, and behaving rationally and reasonably, occurs, when we find ourselves in a position of power and privilege. If we know, that we can fight-off a challenge with relative ease, why should we give-up our position of privilege? Why should we do so, if we do not trust those around us? If we have become so dependent upon this position of power and privilege, that we do not know how to function without it, why, then, should we give it up voluntarily?

Indeed, the temptation, as well as the genuine need to cling to a position of privilege and power, will be a major topic for discussion and debate, because we see, here, on the one hand, the most primitive traits of our biologically inherited trends and behaviour-patterns come to the fore, and, on the other hand, we have, here, the crucial problem and temptation that is present in us all. This dilemma requires careful understanding, before it can be solved by an intellectually explicit and finely detailed contract of social relationships.

We have discussed, before, how the larger society evolved from a much smaller unit of social integration, and, what sort of cultural development had to take place, before a viable cultural code could supplement an increasingly inadequate genetic code. The supplementary cultural code was necessary, before the larger societies could find a measure of viability. Perhaps, it is one of the most important educational tasks of the future, to show the younger generations the need for such a social contract of essential equality, spelled-out in a set of explicit rules and regulations. We have to show people, that we need an explicit social contract of essential equality in order to establish and maintain the conditions of equality in standards of living, justice in privileges, and rights under the law, as well as essential equality in the burdens, responsibilities and contributions exacted from the members of a large and complex society.

At the same time, it will be a difficult but necessary task to analyse, how, and why, inequalities develop and persist, and, how pockets of exploitation, injustice and a dependence upon privileged positions can be dismantled without bloodshed, and, without causing its own particular brand of injustice and resentment.

Central in these discussions and excercises in communication, and, a main-stay in our educational efforts to encourage desirable character traits, will be the attitude of trust. We have traced, before, the development of trust, and, we have seen, how the infant is so completely dependent upon its social environment for survival, primarily the mother, that there is a "blind trust". Of course, the infant is not consciously aware of being trustful. It will cry, when something is wrong, but, it can not even indicate a difference between being hungry or being wet. As soon as its needs have been fulfilled, it will relax and fall contently asleep. After a few weeks, it starts to "look around" and smile occasionally.

The smile is a reflex contraction of some of the facial muscles, and, it is part of a pattern of grimacing that is already visible in the pre-human, anthropoid species'. It is difficult to relate the smile of an infant to any particular emotional expression, because the infant is still such a "blank"; a reflex-organism, without any specific awarenesses or relationships. However, it would be erroneous to come to the conclusion, that the infant is not aware at all, because it certainly will react to an unpleasant stimulus, such as a sudden loud noise, a sudden drop of its body, etc. These reactions are a reflex response. These reactions represent stereotyped, inborn responses that are nearly identical for every stimulus "startling" the infant, and, such a repsonse is, therefore, aptly called a "startle response".

The smile is a different sort of reflex, however, because it is not a reaction to being startled; on the contrary, it is, probably, a manifestation of comfort and relaxation, and, it seems to be triggered by the vague awareness or recognition, that a particular stimulus is "promising" or comforting, or, that it is indicative of a beneficial event in the immediate future, such as being fed or given a clean diaper.

The smile may, eventually, become a more specific response of recognition, when the infant recognises a familiar face or voice, or, a familiar situation or happening. The main point we want to emphasise, here, is the fact, that, each and every human being only survives, if it is surrounded during infancy and early childhood by an environment of shelter, nourishment and care, and, every one of us, regardless, how suspicious, misanthropic or defensive our behaviour may have become at a later age, we all started by trusting, blindly, the surroundings and the social environment we were born into.

The awareness of the importance of this unbroken sphere of shelter and atmosphere of trustful reliance, has led, naturally, to the concept, that severe defects of the personality, which may show-up during childhood and adolescence, are due to deficiencies in the quality or the constancy of this umbrella of shelter and care. Indeed, a child that is "dumped" from one set of circumstances to the next, and, who experiences a confusing variety of conditions upon which it has to rely for its security and nourishment, may become highly tense, irritable, defensive and introvert, but, others, who go through essentially a similar set of circumstances, may develop an early knack of making use of the variety of circumstances that are offered.

I mean this; some children grow-up quickly, and they learn how to exploit the situation of having a number of different people as their guardians or providers, and, they learn to manipulate, for their own benefit, of course, the fluctuating and often inconsistent conditions of their childhood environment. Other children become confused, withdrawn, defensive and full of mistrust under similar conditions. These behavioural reactions appear to be a complete opposite of each other, brought-out by essentially similar conditions. Are these different adaptations due to subtle differences in the genetic endowment, or, do we have to look for slight differences in evaluations and initial choices of reaction-patterns to explain these different modes of adaptation to difficult and confusing circumstances?

A marked accentuation of a shy, introvert, defensiveness, as well as a marked, early development of the ability to manipulate other people, show, both, a strong egocentric component. However, this egocentric trait is manifested, either, defensively, or, in a more aggressive, manipulative mode of behaviour. In short, a defective, inconsistent, fluctuating and psychologically inept behaviour-pattern of the adults towards the young child, has a tendency to activate egocentric traits and tends to suppress the attitudes of a trustful reliance, which is so much the hall-mark of the well-protected child.

However, the normally developing child in a normal family experiences, not only, the interested, intelligent, encouraging and protective attitudes of concerned parents and guardians, but, it will also experience the competitive drive and instincts of other children, siblings, friends and play-mates, who are competing with each other for the attention and the privileges of the adults, or, for the possession of toys, or, for a chance to play a leading role.

Normal youngsters experience, therefore, from an early age, that they are not the only focus of attention. They experience that there is a limit to what they can get, and, that there is a limit to the behaviour that is tolerated by the social environment. The normal child realises, at least, intuitively, that other children may be more powerful and may dominate the situation, at least, from time to time, and, a normally developing child learns, that he or she may be forced to share toys, or, that one may become the target of a physical attack, if jealousy, anger or frustration lead to an expression of violence.

Certainly, a world-wise child learns to retaliate at an early age, but, wise parental guidance, or the influence of prudent adult guardians, will quickly intervene and show the quarreling youngsters, the negative results and consequences of such violent ways of trying to obtain the desired results. Quickly, both parties to a fight are being subdued by a "physical correction" on their rear-end, and, they are shown, that, by cooperating and controling their tempers, they can get much more sympathy and attention from their environment than by a persistent attitude of quarreling and whining. In every normal and common-sense family, a child is shown, from an early age, that it has to deal with competition; that it has to learn to control its temper, and, that the rewards of an attitude of cooperation are far more desirable than the negative results that come with a stubborn persistence in egocentric attitudes.

Certainly, for one reason or another, some children find it much more difficult to learn to cooperate than others, and, we may postulate, that we see, then, already a certain "damage" of the personality development, where the egocentric pole is being stimulated unduly by an insecurity and inconsistency of the parental environment, while children who face little competition from others, are invariably "spoiled".

If the parents are stable and intelligent adults, they will do their best to provide a lonely child with play-mates, so that it can learn, from an early age, the social skills and attitudes that are so necessary for a normal personality development, but, if the parents are not so intelligent and give-in to the temptation to shelter their children from the hardships they had to struggle with themselves, then, we see, by and large, a disastrous personality development. The children become selfish and undisciplined, and, while their school years will correct, to some extent, these defects, there is a strong likelyhood, that these parents will keep providing their children with "protection" against the "wrongs" perpetrated by other children and teachers against their own flesh and blood, who, of course, "never do anything wrong".

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Chapter 8

Content

The variable factors of parental protection and social stability.
Absorbing the prejudices and traditional views of the social environment.
How to enlarge the cultural basis of the well-integrated members of a social unit or sub-grouping.
Minimising the differences between "we and they"; friends and strangers"; good and evil.
We always seem to hanker for the experiences of combat and victory.
Mankind will soon have its combative hands full with a never-ending battle against pollution and environmental deterioration.
A shifting threat.
Social cohesion was promoted, in the past, by focussing the attention upon a "common enemy".
Attitudes of cooperation and respect are based on an enlargement of the sphere of mutual trust and concern.

Let us be aware of the fact, that, in real life, we rarely see "pure" examples of one sort of social environment or another. Most children grow-up in a parental atmosphere that is less than perfect. While most parents certainly try to provide a good home for their children, and, while they usually do not lack in affection for their offspring, parental behaviour is often punctuated by serious errors, lapses in discipline, marital discord with fights and frightening, or, even, dangerous, rifts in the atmosphere of shelter and stability, which the child relies upon to such a large extent.

Yet, at the same time, these problems of the adults, their fights and reconciliations, the variable quality of protection and stability, the varying contacts with other children and other people, all these factors provide this curious mix of beneficial and adverse stimuli, which most people seem to need in order to become sensible adults themselves.

Certainly, there is no evidence, that we can raise children in an experimental setting, where all the apparently needed factors are put-together, artificially, in what seems to be optimal proportions. We need ordinary families with their ordinary faults and short-comings, and, we need the common play of emotions and tensions in order to provide the average, ordinary child with the best possibilities to become an average, but well-integrated member of society. Then, we see people, who fit-in well with the social surroundings into which they have been born, and, in which they grew-up, but, they also absorb from their culture all the prejudices and traditional views and attitudes about their "common enemies", and, we know, now, that a lack of identification with a much larger social grouping is a severe handicap to establishing a larger and viable society.

How are we going to enlarge the cultural basis of average, ordinary and well-integrated members of a particular social environment or sub-grouping? This is an important question, because we can only expect the emergence of a viable social structure on a much larger scale, (eventually, a global scale), if people from different social strata, ethnic or cultural sub-groupings, and with greatly varying cultural and educational backgrounds, are able to identify with each other, in spite of the fact, that they remain complete strangers.

Perhaps, it is somewhat ironic or contradictory to expect people to identify with other people they do not know personally, but, we see an analogous situation, here, because it is possible to identify with our own society and national compatriots, even, without knowing everyone personally. Yet, we have to know about people, and, we have to know about them as a group. We have to come genuinely to the conclusion that they are people "just like ourselves", before we can identify with people we do not know personally, and, before we can support their aspirations and struggles for a just and fair objective.

How are we going to accomplish such a broadening of the sphere of concern and our social horizons, especially, if we come to the conclusion, that the normal and natural development of adolescents into adults makes them heirs to local cultural traditions and prejudices? As we have seen, this means, invariably, that a large part of mankind is considered to be "strange", hostile or "evil", and, such a division between friends and enemies is a dominant factor in the emergence of acts of violence.

We have discussed before, that, indeed, our "biological heritage", or, rather, this package of biologically given and genetically encoded behavioural instructions has prepared us fairly well for a harmonious existence within a small social grouping, but, we are, invariably, drawn into a situation of savage conflict, as soon as we come into a close, competitive contact with each other.

We have discussed, before, the paradox, that man can sacrifice his life for his buddy in a war, while busily engaged in the "lofty" ideal of eliminating his enemies. The killing and the sacrifice; the acts of all-out combat and brutal force, exist side by side with the ability to care for a friend; to be deeply anguished by his sufferings, and to mourn his death intensely. The attitudes of trust and compassion are never completely absent, even, if man is at war, unless we are dealing with abnormal, psychopathic behaviour. On the other hand, man is never without his enemies, or, at least, he is never without a large number of people he hates or fears.

We seem to need the stimulus of combat and victory in order to thrive; at least, this is the impression we get, if we look at human history in a broad perspective, because, even, if we profess to love our neighbours and try to enlarge the sphere of compassion to mankind as a whole, we still need to find an outlet for our aggressive instincts, and, we still experience a need to spend our energies in a strenuous battle against the ever-pesent enemy of Evil. Look at the strongly combative over-tones of the major monotheistic religions, and see, how we always want to do battle against one thing or another. How can we mitigate man's readiness to do battle? Or, is it unnecessary to concern ourselves about the bridling of man's combative instincts, because, soon, the whole of mankind will have its combative hands full with the chronic, and, perhaps, never-ending battle against pollution and environmental deterioration?

Man's most serious enemy was, for a long time in the evolution of its personality structure, another human being. Man has been locked into a competitive strife with other human beings for such a long time during the final "finishing touches" of man's personality make-up, that, fighting another human being has become a strongly instinctive pattern of behaviour. However, soon, this era may pass, and, man's most persistent and dangerous enemy will then be the man-made contaminants and toxins that have found their way into the terrestial environment, as a result of unbridled industrial growth, the short-sighted practice of dumping haphazardly a variety of dangerous waste-products, or a sudden accidental or deliberate nuclear explosion, or, perhaps, an act of chemical warfare.

Indeed, social cohesion seems to be promoted, most readily, by delineating the common enemy as the over-riding common interest of a socially integrated grouping, and, probably, the rapid growth of our most common enemy, pollution, may forge the global unity with a speed and an urgency no educational process would be able to bring-about. But, what a price to pay for Peace on Earth, and, what a dismal cause for a lasting harmony amongst the peoples of mankind. What an impoverishment in the quality of life!

Let us see, whether we can advance the cause of mutual cooperation, interest in each other's affairs, respect for each other's varying cultural backgrounds and common existential needs, without the drastic necessity of pooling our energies and resources into a desperate, communal fight against toxins and poisons that threaten to exterminate us all. A study to see, whether or not we can become more cooperative and respectful of each other, is, at the same time, a study to see, whether or not we can enlarge the sphere of mutual concern and trust.

.......

Chapter 9

Content

A boundless trust in a limited world.
Laying the foundations for a widening of social and cultural horizons.
The willingness to communicate and trust has to be nurtured carefully.
A significant effort and intelligent coaching is needed to bridge the barriers of suspicion and mistrust.
A harmonious society is only possible, if a large majority feels that it is treated justly by its leaders and fellow citizens.
We can not eradicate the instinctive tendencies of our personality.
When attitudes of trust and cooperation are strengthened.
Maintaining scrupulously the conditions of justice and essential equality.
Are we already living in a global society without knowing it?
The need to make the practical reality of global inter-dependence more viable.
The virtues of a frugal and globally justified life-style.
Re-discovering the values of discipline and self-discipline.
Only, if we manage to fuse into a global society that is lean and flexible, just and transparent, firm and self-disciplined, only, then, will we be able to carry-out the measured and flexible responses needed to preserve viability for the species of mankind.

As an infant and child, our trust is "boundless", but, of course, our "world" is limited to the immediate family. By the time we reach the level of the secondary school, co-inciding, approximately, with the onset of adolescence, our world has enlarged somewhat, but, it is still, primarily, made-up of our relatives and friends, the family we come from, as well as the social contacts of our parents and relatives. By this time, we have become much more selective in giving our trust and loyalty. We have experienced the fact, that some individuals can not be trusted, because they will abuse this trust and exploit us, and, if we are completely honest with ourselves, we will have to acknowledge, that we feel, occasionally, the temptation to abuse the trust others have given us. We may exploit and, we may be exploited, and, these fluctuating relationships become an integral part of the sense-impressions we receive and classify.

From our parents, as well as the social environment, we learn our language and manner of speech, our concepts, ideas, beliefs and disbeliefs, and, we take-over their prejudices and pre-conceptions without much thought. The knowledge about people who fall outside our sphere of contact and concern, is scanty and superficial. Here, especially, we are likely to accept superficial, and, often, totally erroneous concepts and judgements without knowing, of course, that they are wrong. Eventually, our sphere of trustful relationships has more or less formed, and, generally, we have learned to look upon each new situation and contact with a measure of skepticism and mistrust, especially, if it involves people from the "outside".

Yet, during our period in high-school, we will experience, perhaps, the most intensive contacts with people that are somewhat outside the local cultural sphere. We are thinking, here, about a well-integrated urban or sub-urban school-system, where a large variety of cultural and ethnic groupings live closely together. However, even, if the society, represented at a particular high-school, is fairly homogeneous, the sphere of contacts for most adolescents will still be larger than their home and immediate social enviroment. Here, lies a major chance to broaden the social and cultural horizon, because, rather than providing, merely, a curriculum of knowledge and information, which each student can assimilate while sitting oblivious besides each other, education could be an experiment in communicating the impressions and experiences of our existence, while being exposed to a lecture or a presentation in one subject or another.

Certainly, it is important to learn the contents of an educational program, but, it is even more important to discover, that, strange people, strange kids coming from families or social groupings we know very little about, seem to have much more in common with us than we thought. The basis for such a "widening" and confidence-inspiring experience has to be laid carefully, because merely to promote contacts by assuring a physical togetherness, may not spark any contact at all; only an accentuation of suspicions and prejudices.

The ability to communicate, and, in particular, the willingness to communicate, and the awareness of the importance to do so, has to be cultivated and nurtured carefully, because it rarely occurs spontaneously, and, if we want to promote contacts on a truly wide scale, and not just between those who have a natural affinity to do so, we have to spend a lot of effort and intelligent coaching, in order to bridge these barriers of suspicion and mistrust. Besides, let us not under-estimate the patient efforts needed to communicate with people who are strangers to us, in spite of a mutual willingness to listen to each other.

Let us also guard against an overly optimistic expectation, that the development of the ability to communicate will solve all our problems, and will spontaneously lead to a community of people with a boundless enthousiasm and reservoir of good-will, ready to lead the nations of the world into a peaceful harmony of global justice. However, the ability to communicate is a start, and, while we have a lot to learn about understanding each other, we may safely state, that, without such an effort, the possibilities to come to a global harmony and integration of the many peoples and populations of the earth, are just not there.

In our efforts to make our youngsters and adolescents less susipicious and prejudicial, we should avoid the temptation to try to form a group of "uniform minds" who all think and react alike. The goal of all education, as well as true viability and stability in a social environment, is based on the ability of a sufficient number of people to support, willingly and knowingly, the institutions and functions of their society. True, a tyrant or a dictator can suppress, temporarily, a people and subdue them with force into an apparently obedient and compliant unit, but, justice is always lost in the process, and the forces of fear and rebellion multiply. The leadership has to resort to ever more oppressive measures and violations of basic human rights, in order to maintain its power with a reign of terror.

A harmonious society is only possible, if a large majority of people feel that they are being treated justly by their leaders and their fellow citizens, and, that it is worthwhile to belong to, and to contribute to their social environment. We can only have an informed and educated electorate, if we encourage debate and scrutiny; if we are willing to discuss, openly and honestly, all sorts of questions; if we, as leaders, are not afraid to be questioned and scrutinised, or, even, criticised and reprimanded, and, to be thrown-out of elected office, if we lose popular support.

We can not hope to conquer the temptations of egocentric exploitation, or the abuse of a position of trust and privilege, by denouncing all such tendencies as a "bourgeois evil", or, as reactionary attitudes, but, we should learn to acknowledge, that, each one of us is always liable to revert to egocentric attitudes and anti-social activities. We have to know, and understand, what factors and circumstances will bring-out these tendencies in our personality, and, we have to know, what sort of conditions and circumstances of social justice, essential equality and honest relationships have to be present, in order to make it possible for most of us to "trust society", and, to "trust the system".

By trusting the system, we trust, that our rights will be respected, and, that we are not exploited in one way or another, but, we can only maintain a sense of trust in the society at large, (which is so difficult for each of us to oversee in its entirety), if we can trust the overall social leadership, as well as all the other people who occupy positions of responsibility. We have to trust, that these people will act quickly and decisively, whenever they see that a situation of injustice needs a correction.

My attitudes of trust are strengthened, whenever I experience that my superiors, or fellow citizens, refrain from harming my rights or exploiting my position, and, my attitudes of trust are even stronger, if I experience the fact, that the leadership of my society is firm in correcting a situation of injustice, wherever it may develop, and, that it will not hesitate to tackle, even, a powerful force, including myself, if someone or some grouping has succumbed to the temptation of behaving unjustly or anti-socially.

Indeed, we do not have to curb our instincts of combativeness completely, because there will be ample opportunities to tackle aggressively the many pollution problems which will confront us as time goes by. In addition, we will always have to adjust or correct situations of injustice, then, here, then, there, because it is irrealistic to expect, that, even, at the pinnacle of global social success, the society will be so pure, so free of injustice and crime, so full of angelic attitudes and motivations, that there is no need for improvements, or corrections of unjust situations.

Nor is it realistic to expect, that, living in an essentially just and harmonious society, means, a life free from tensions, difficult decisions or the problems of mistakes and regrettable set-backs. We should not expect to live in an atmosphere of blissful happiness, experiencing a Socialist Haven on earth. Far from it, because there will always be problems and tensions; not only, social problems and tensions that require attention and remedial action for the sake of restoring justice, but, there will always be some friction and some suspicions between people. There will always be a tendency towards exploitation and a development of unjustified pockets of privileged existence, as well as a tendency to secrecy and conspirational activities.

We should not expect, that we all will believe the same, to act the same, or, even, to have the same ideals. Even, at the time when, in retrospect, a society will be judged to have reached its zenith of success and cohesion, even, then, some people will have voiced severe doubts about this same society, and, these people may have thought society to be at its nadir, rather than at its pinnacle of success.

"Perhaps", you may say to me,"we are, probably, already in a global society without really knowing it, and, perhaps, we have already reached this pinnacle". Indeed, we have rapidly become more integrated as nations, in particular, when we look at the economic ties and inter-dependencies that have formed over the last number of decades, but, in our attitudes; in the suspicious behaviour of our leaderships vis a vis each other's intentions and motivations, and, in particular, when we look at the enormous disparities in social justice and living standards that still exist between the various nations on earth, we realise, that we still have a long way to go, before we can be somewhat confident, that these tentative steps towards an economic integration will be followed by an equalisation of political systems, living standards, human rights and social justice.

How far we have to go, can be seen, if we look at the long list of nations, where the leaderships occupy their position of power by military might. How many nations and leaderships are able to discuss freely their problems, and, in how many nations are people allowed to think aloud and question the wisdom or competence of their leaderships? Too many dictatorial leaderships only know, how to counter-act criticisms with force; with exile or executions. It seems hardly a viable method of government, if the people have to suffer under one sort of dictatorship or another, and, we can be sure, that it will be impossible to rule the entire globe by the methods of dictatorship.

Have we already reached a pinnacle of social integration on a global scale? If, from now one, the course of events is only down-hill, or, if we have the misfortune to experience a nuclear war, or some other devastating military adventure, it may well be, that the problems of staying alive will become so acute, that a frantic and undisciplined scramble takes place to reach and occupy the few territories on earth, where life may be lived for a few more precarious moments. However, let us hope, that the future is not that bleak, and, let us hope, that the rapidly rising tensions between people and their environment will lead to adequate attempts to cope with these increasing problems of environmental deterioration and social injustice.

We may be sure, that a truly effective change into the direction of a more frugal and globally just life-style, is only going to happen, if large numbers of privileged people are going to develop the insight, and the confidence, that is necessary to initiate, more or less voluntarily, a change towards a life-style of frugality. Only, if we manage to discipline ourselves and curb the powers of those, who are trying to manipulate public opinion and taste for their own egocentric benefits, only, then, will it be possible to shake ourselves loose from this pernicious pre-occupation with affluence and all the problems affluent entrapment brings.

We will have to re-discover the values of discipline and in particular, self-discipline, where we make an honest distinction between the minimum requirements we need to live a healthy but frugal life-style, and, the many luxuries that are nice to have, and a pleasure to consume, but, which may prevent us from spreading an equitable living standard and an informed attitude of responsibility all around the globe.

Anyone, who thinks, that a majority of people will always remain gullible fools who can be exploited at will, perhaps, under the guise of providing "employment", is a criminal at heart, and, such a person should be dealt with as such, because the time is rapidly approaching, that global stability and viability will force upon us a standard of living that is austere and frugal, especially, when compared to our soft existence and undisciplined notions, which are so prevalent in our contemporary, affluent societies. Only, if we manage to fuse into a global society that is lean and flexible, just and transparent, firm and self-disciplined, only, then, will we be able to carry-out the measured and flexible responses that are needed to preserve viability for the species of mankind.

.......

Summary

1. The adolescent personality; a separate entity?
   A metamorphosis.
   A matter of definition.
   A common bond of youthful exuberance.
   Various ways of looking at the realities of adolescent existence.
   An inexorable process of divergence between adolescents.
   A look at the purpose of acquiring intellectual skills.
   Physical growth and sexual awakening.
   A turbulent time.
   There is no coherent and generally agreed-upon imagey about the human personality.
   Difficulties for a common-sense discussion about the adolescent personality.
   A bold attempt.
   An emphasis on the common features of adolescence; their origins in childhood, and the evolutionary background of our mammalian heritage.
   
   
   
2. Every living organism represents a channel for the dissipation of an energy-gradient.
   High-energy electron-bonds, formed by the capture of solar energy.
   A synopsis of the evolution of the living organisation.
   The need to spend energy is a characteristic shared by all life-forms.
   A constant expenditure of "maintenance energy".
   "Elan vital"; a measure of surplus energy.
   A remarkable surplus energy at the onset of healthy adolescence.
   The need for guidance, and the likelyhood of experiencing frustrations.
   A willingness to take risks.
   Data selection, according to the "filter" of our mood or outlook.
   Socially determined deviations from a well-accepted "norm".
   Anger and frustrations, based on sharp disparities in living conditions.
   Young people are ready to commit their youthful energies to an ideal.
   An increased emphasis on the realities of social conditions.
   Learning to "fit-in".
   Developing a skill to make a living.
   The specialised "niche" in the social environment.
   Building self-confidence.
   The need to develop all faculties harmoniously.
   Every individual can develop a few skills "above average".
   Personality development, and an unavoidable divergence in skills, talents and social status.
   Learning to analyse the many reasons behind diverging personality developments.
   The influence of class-divisions upon the outlook of the adolescent personality.
   Mobility through the social classes represents a sign of social well-being.
   Social mobility preserves the factor of "social status" as a reflection of individual merit.
   Problems associated with "over-privileged" youngsters.
   The phenomenon of "late maturers".
   Youngsters with learning disabilities.
   Physically or mentally handicapped people will always need special schooling, as well as a carefully protected niche in society.
   
   
   
3. A remarkable parallel between the mechanisms of natural selection, and the forces that guide the development of a personality.
   Adaptations and specialisations in function.
   A loss of genetic flexibility, resulting from specialised adaptations.
   An infant presents itself to the world with a large variety of potentials.
   Some potentials develop, others wither-away.
   Normal infants have a complete range of potentials, but, at somewhat differing levels of endowment.
   Remarkable similarities and differences between youngsters.
   The inter-play between the genetic blue-print and environmental factors in physical and mental developments.
   A comparison between physical and psychological mechanisms of unfolding.
   Defining the essence of a "talent".
   The disastrous consequences of parental "neglect".
   When there is an undue stimulation of the defensive pole of the personality.
   The undesirable results of "being spoiled".
   Stimulating the attitudes of egocentricity and indifference.
   Normal parents and ordinary circumstances provide the most natural and healthiest balance between positive and negative stimuli.
   There has to be a limit on the amount of attention given or received.
   When a society has lost the ability to rely upon natural instincts and normal circumstances.
   A highly neurotic attitude that is likely to fall into both traps at once.
   No wonder, affluent population groupings show, often, a dismal record in the quality of their off-spring.
   
   
   
4. Molding a personality through the mechanisms of "reward" and "correction".
   The need for discipline and self-discipline.
   Inborn trends and environmental factors form the primary mechanisms of influence for the unfolding personality.
   A complex mosaic of influences.
   The relativity of being a "stranger".
   Discrepancies in judgement and perception between members from different social strata.
   Practices that sustain an exploitative upper class.
   The need for a congruence in reality perceptions in order to communicate fruitfully.
   A subconscious effort to "streamline" reality perceptions.
   Living with a high level of anger and resentment.
   The accumulation of wealth rests, increasingly, on the gullability and exploitation of other people.
   A baffling range of attitudes, made clear by careful analysis.
   A variety of basic personality patterns.
   The judgement of normality has to be made within the context of a specific social structure.
   The draw-backs of a "laissez-faire" attitude.
   Living and working in an atmosphere of diseased behaviour-patterns, abnormal relationships, and unhealthy living conditions.
   A watch-dog mentality in a socially conscious environment.
   It is impossible to impose the Socialist virtues by force; people have to be ready for them.
   The increasing demands of social responsibility.
   A happy balance between freedom for personal differentiation, and safeguards for a contract of essential equality.
   
   
   
5. Opportunities for study, when there are identical twins.
   Learning to differentiate inborn from acquired characteristics.
   The qualities of leadership.
   Learning to dominate, when necessary, and to tolerate dominance, when it is appropriate to do so.
   A long hierarchical ladder of relationships.
   The sliding axes of behaviour.
   Enlarging the sphere of individual and collective concerns.
   The reasons for extending to each other a package of rights and obligations.
   Ethical concerns have a tendency to stretch only to the limits of the social environment we identify with.
   Flashes of insight mark the beginnings of reflective thought.
   Neglected children learn to survive by their own wits.
   Why weak and indecisive parents keep supporting their children in affluent societies.
   The lure of excercising a measure of parental control.
   Adolescence should be characterised by a gradual but consistent withdrawal of material and psychological support.
   Developing a marketable skill.
   A remarkable change in social status during adolescence.
   Problems with acquiring an extended sphere of reality perceptions.
   Why a sharp division of the social environment into friends and enemies is not realistic.
   Short-comings in the development of a personality.
   Most of us find an acceptable place in the social hierarchy.
   Filtering a series of contradictory facts and observations from the pool of social phenomena.
   Looking with anxiety at our leaders, because they have the power to do a great deal of harm.
   The world of international diplomacy and military posturing seems to be divorced from the concerns and realities of ordinary people.
   The need to have "quality control" over our leaderships.
   Questioning the arms-race.
   The dangers of vacillating too long.
   
   
   
6. The evolution of the adolescent personality.
   The world of motivations.
   The many aspects of manipulative skills.
   Being subjected to a large series of chance-happenings.
   Becoming a source of influence and guidance for young people.
   All communications have a subtle emotional under-current.
   The disadvantages of popularising too much.
   Commercialism; a communication that is not concerned with "a truth", but with satisfying a need.
   Preserving a measure of idealism amongst teachers and young people.
   When the cultural code becomes a confusing jungle of contradictory trends and guidelines.
   Passing the banner of cultural leadership to more deserving social environments.
   The universal lure of affluent luxury and the freedom to indulge.
   Effective teaching is not easy in a confused and vacillating society.
   Diagnosing the many tensions and frustrations within a social environment.
   Education should be centered around the ability to observe honestly and articulate clearly.
   Minimising apparent differences in aptitude.
   Resisting the temptation to let the more talented pupils dominate the class-room.
   
   
   
7. Eliminating the elements of unfamiliarity and mis-understanding.
   Conflicts, due to minor irritants and a lack of privacy.
   We want and need contacts.
   We are so remarkably similar in our needs and aspirations.
   Appreciating the wide variety and range of awarenesses, thoughts and feelings.
   A great respect for individual human life.
   Sharing the same "body-plan", including the outlines of our personality.
   Excercises in thought and communication.
   Understanding and insight will not prevent every situation of conflict.
   Why should we give-up a position of privilege, when we can fight-off a challenge with relative ease?
   Why we need an explicit social contract of essential equality.
   Analysing, how, and why, inequalities develop and persist.
   A central role for the attitude of trust.
   A review of the attitude of trust.
   The meaning of "a smile".
   A review of early childhood developments.
   Egocentric attitudes can be manifested defensively or aggressively.
   Normal youngsters experience, from an early age, that they are not the only focus of adult attention.
   The need for a "physical correction" on the rear-end.
   A child has to learn, how to deal with competitive pressures.
   Damage to the development of a growing personality by ambivalent or over-protective attitudes.
   
   
   
8. The variable factors of parental protection and social stability.
   Absorbing the prejudices and traditional views of the social environment.
   How to enlarge the cultural basis of the well-integrated members of a social unit or sub-grouping.
   Minimising the differences between "we and they"; friends and strangers"; good and evil.
   We always seem to hanker for the experiences of combat and victory.
   Mankind will soon have its combative hands full with a never-ending battle against pollution and environmental deterioration.
   A shifting threat.
   Social cohesion was promoted, in the past, by focussing the attention upon a "common enemy".
   Attitudes of cooperation and respect are based on an enlargement of the sphere of mutual trust and concern.
   
   
   
9. A boundless trust in a limited world.
   Laying the foundations for a widening of social and cultural horizons.
   The willingness to communicate and trust has to be nurtured carefully.
   A significant effort and intelligent coaching is needed to bridge the barriers of suspicion and mistrust.
   A harmonious society is only possible, if a large majority feels that it is treated justly by its leaders and fellow citizens.
   We can not eradicate the instinctive tendencies of our personality.
   When attitudes of trust and cooperation are strengthened.
   Maintaining scrupulously the conditions of justice and essential equality.
   Are we already living in a global society without knowing it?
   The need to make the practical reality of global inter-dependence more viable.
   The virtues of a frugal and globally justified life-style.
   Re-discovering the values of discipline and self-discipline.
   Only, if we manage to fuse into a global society that is lean and flexible, just and transparent, firm and self-disciplined, only, then, will we be able to carry-out the measured and flexible responses needed to preserve viability for the species of mankind.

.......