Human Science
Register
No edit summary
No edit summary
Line 62: Line 62:
   
 
==Individuality==
 
==Individuality==
 
Manners, Behavior, Character and Personality are attributes one acquires from society, the external environment, what is referred to philosophically as Nature. Nature is the Becoming of the Being (the witness consciousness or ''Purusha'' in Hindu philosophy). Nature is force and therefore is fixed. It is ruled by karma. Manners, Behavior, Character and Personality are attributes developed by evolution from below through life experience, drawing their energy from Nature. The acme of this process is Personality.
 
   
 
Individuality expresses the uniqueness of the person. It is based on self-reliance, self-awareness and self-respect. Those endowed with Personality can act in all fields, while Individuality enables one to act in any field and add the stamp of personal uniqueness to it. Individuality is the personality that expresses uniqueness.
 
Individuality expresses the uniqueness of the person. It is based on self-reliance, self-awareness and self-respect. Those endowed with Personality can act in all fields, while Individuality enables one to act in any field and add the stamp of personal uniqueness to it. Individuality is the personality that expresses uniqueness.
 
Personality can also be shaped from above, by the Being. That Personality which is energized by the Purusha or the Being from above is the Individuality of Man. At the spiritual level it is called the Individual Divine (''Jivatma''). At the level of mind and vital, it is known as Individuality.
 
   
 
For citizens to acquire Individuality in a society, that society should function in freedom. True Individuality cannot be inhibited by religion, social norms, or family. The awakened soul acts in utter freedom. In the absence of freedom it does not awake. In the West, Individuality is formed in a pronounced measure, especially at the physical level as in the USA. Personality drawing its energy from the spirit and expressing the evolutionary energy is Individuality. Freedom, self-reliance and the value of the individual are the urge of the evolutionary energy in our times. One reason why the Americans lead the world today is that their national culture embraces and expresses these values in such great measure, even though it is at the merest physical level.
 
For citizens to acquire Individuality in a society, that society should function in freedom. True Individuality cannot be inhibited by religion, social norms, or family. The awakened soul acts in utter freedom. In the absence of freedom it does not awake. In the West, Individuality is formed in a pronounced measure, especially at the physical level as in the USA. Personality drawing its energy from the spirit and expressing the evolutionary energy is Individuality. Freedom, self-reliance and the value of the individual are the urge of the evolutionary energy in our times. One reason why the Americans lead the world today is that their national culture embraces and expresses these values in such great measure, even though it is at the merest physical level.
   
 
Western psychology which views personality formation strictly in terms of development of a heritary potential from birth in response to upbringing, education and life experience naturally stops with four levels -- Manners, Behavior, Character and Personality -- which are attributes one acquires from society, the external environment, what is referred to philosophically as Nature. Nature is the Becoming of the Being (the witness consciousness or ''Purusha'' in Hindu philosophy). Nature is force and therefore is fixed. It is forged and determined by the experiences it undergoes, i.e. by what Hinduism refers to as ''karma''. Manners, Behavior, Character and Personality are attributes developed by evolution through life experience, drawing their energy from Nature. The acme of this process is Personality.
   
 
An integral conception of human personality recognizes not only the layers that are forged by nature, but also a deeper layer of consciousness that is spiritual in its origin that originates from the Being, the witness consciousness or ''purusha'' as it is known in Hindu psychology. Personality can also be shaped from above, by the Being. That Personality which is energized by the Purusha or the Being from above is the Individuality of Man. At the spiritual level it is called the Individual Divine (''Jivatma''). At the level of mind and vital, it is known as Individuality.
==Five Levels and Five Stages==
 
  +
  +
  +
==Five stages of personal formation==
 
''In principle,'' every person posseses and can give expression to any of the five levels described above. Thus we can refer to their action as an expression of any one of these five levels or depths.In one situation a person responds with the appropriate manners demanded by the occasion. In another context, the person may even violate good manners in order to express a sincere conviction or do what he thinks is right. In a third context, one's conscious intentions or convictions may be over-ridden by deeper aspects of character. [[Jane Bennet (Pride & Prejudice), Jane Bennet]] finally came to recognize that [[Secondary Characters (Pride & Prejudice) | Caroline Bingley]] had consciously schemed to prevent Jane's marriage with her brother, but Jane's character does not permit her to get angry or seek vengence as Caroline would have done in her place. In very demanding or unusual circumstances, such as those which confronted Elizabeth when Lady Catherine sought to impose on her, a deeper strand of personality may find expression.
 
''In principle,'' every person posseses and can give expression to any of the five levels described above. Thus we can refer to their action as an expression of any one of these five levels or depths.In one situation a person responds with the appropriate manners demanded by the occasion. In another context, the person may even violate good manners in order to express a sincere conviction or do what he thinks is right. In a third context, one's conscious intentions or convictions may be over-ridden by deeper aspects of character. [[Jane Bennet (Pride & Prejudice), Jane Bennet]] finally came to recognize that [[Secondary Characters (Pride & Prejudice) | Caroline Bingley]] had consciously schemed to prevent Jane's marriage with her brother, but Jane's character does not permit her to get angry or seek vengence as Caroline would have done in her place. In very demanding or unusual circumstances, such as those which confronted Elizabeth when Lady Catherine sought to impose on her, a deeper strand of personality may find expression.
  +
 
 
 
However, although in theory everyone possesses all five levels, ''in practice'' people differ significantly in their level of psychological formation. Thus, the same five aspects described above can also be considered as stages of development.
 
However, although in theory everyone possesses all five levels, ''in practice'' people differ significantly in their level of psychological formation. Thus, the same five aspects described above can also be considered as stages of development.
   
*''Unformed:'' Some, like [[Lydia Bennet (Pride & Prejudice), Lydia Bennet]] fail to acquire even the rudiments of formed social manners.
+
*'''Unformed:''' Some, like [[Lydia Bennet (Pride & Prejudice), Lydia Bennet]] fail to acquire even the rudiments of formed social manners.
  +
*''Manners:'' Some, like [[Secondary Characters (Pride & Prejudice), Mary Bennet]], acquire appropriate manners but confine their thoughts and actions to stylized words and actions.
+
*'''Manners:''' Some, like [[Secondary Characters (Pride & Prejudice), Mary Bennet]], acquire appropriate manners but confine their thoughts and actions to stylized words and actions.
*''Behavior:'' Jane Bennet is further developed. Her thoughts and actions arise from and express her own convictions and attitudes, even when they differ from those around her. She refuses to think badly of a person whom everyone else condemns because it is contrary to her personal attitudes and beliefs.
 
  +
*''Character:'' Darcy has an organized, well-formed character, defined values, firmly fixed modes of response that give him the capacity to manage a large estate through a steward while he is away in London or elsewhere. He is generally incapable of lying, even for his advantage. He exhibits the capacity to defy social norms and social pressure when his deeper convictions so compel him -- he proposes to Elizabeth in spite of the social stigma attached to her family, ignores Lady Catherine's objections to his marriage, and breaks all convention of propriety by taking steps to arrange the marriage between Lydia and Wickham.
 
 
*'''Behavior:''' Jane Bennet is further developed. Her thoughts and actions arise from and express her own convictions and attitudes, even when they differ from those around her. She refuses to think badly of a person whom everyone else condemns because it is contrary to her personal attitudes and beliefs.
  +
 
*'''Character:''' Darcy has an organized, well-formed character, defined values, firmly fixed modes of response that give him the capacity to manage a large estate through a steward while he is away in London or elsewhere. He is generally incapable of lying, even for his advantage. He exhibits the capacity to defy social norms and social pressure when his deeper convictions so compel him -- he proposes to Elizabeth in spite of the social stigma attached to her family, ignores Lady Catherine's objections to his marriage, and breaks all convention of propriety by taking steps to arrange the marriage between Lydia and Wickham.
  +
 
*'''Personality:''' One who is developed at the level of Personality exhibits the capacity to respond originally and creatively in a given situation. In [[Pride & Prejudice]] Elizabeth may show some traces of of personality. Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King, and Mikhail Gorbachev exhibited pronounced aspects of personality.
 
*'''Personality:''' One who is developed at the level of Personality exhibits the capacity to respond originally and creatively in a given situation. In [[Pride & Prejudice]] Elizabeth may show some traces of of personality. Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King, and Mikhail Gorbachev exhibited pronounced aspects of personality.
  +
*''Individuality:'' Uniqueness is a rare endowment. Mahatma Gandhi may be said to have exhibited individuality in his original and unique approach to the fight for Indian freedom.
+
*'''Individuality:''' Uniqueness is a rare endowment. Mahatma Gandhi may be said to have exhibited individuality in his original and unique approach to the fight for Indian freedom.
   
 
==See also==
 
==See also==

Revision as of 15:38, 8 June 2007

Core article: This article has been classified as a core article. Readers are encouraged to comment on and discuss the article on the talk page either in confirmation or criticism of the views expressed rather than directly altering the core content which has been locked to preserve the original statement.


Five layers of depth and five stages of formation of personality

Human personality consists of multiple layers and stages of formation in a chain:

Manners -- Behavior -- Character -- Personality -- Individuality

While these words are commonly used in a variety of ways, when they are used intended on the Human Science wiki in the specialized sense described in this article, the terms appear with an initial letter capitalized. Since psychological concepts remain vague when defined in the abstract, this article uses characters from Pride & Prejudice to illustrate the different levels.

These five aspects represent five different levels or depths in every person and they also represent five different stages or degrees of personality formation, in which people differ according to the extent of formation.

Depth of Personality

Human personality can be conceived as an onion skin with multiple layers stacked one on top of the other and becoming denser as you proceed deeper inside. Manners is the most superficial level. Individuality is at the core.

Manners

Manners are a thin veneer on the surface, a set of formalized patterns of expression, action and response demanded of each of us by the society we live in, regardless of how we actually feel inside, which is often very different from the outward manners we exhibit.

There is an unformed stage of personal development prior to Manners in which a person such as Lydia Bennet in Pride & Prejudice is not even capable of the self-control required to conform socially.

Manners are superficial, external stylized ways of acting that are imparted as training by society but do not necessarily reflect the person's real thoughts and intentions. Manners are socially conditioned. Jane Bennet is depicted as a person of flawless, impeccable Manners. As they are on the surface, they can be altered readily.

Though manners are superficial, perfect conduct even at this level is extremely difficult. We may exhibit good manners on important occasions or with important people, but few are capable of maintaining perfect conduct all the waking hours with close friends, intimate family members, work colleagues, casual acquaintances, servants, etc. The world worships appearances and gives utmost value to good manners, even when they conceal the very opposite inner disposition. Self-restraint, soft speech, humble considerate behavior towards all, thoughtful gestures are extremely difficult to maintain as unvarying conduct. One who is a perfect master of good manners can by virtue of that endowment alone secure international fame and recognition.

At the stage of Manners, self-mastery is acquired at progressively higher levels. Societies differ markedly in the degree of self-restraint or formalized conduct they expect or demand. Here we are referring to the capacity of the person to conform when he so decides, not the actual form of expression or degree required. Even in the most liberal and individualistic modern society, there is a form of outward behavior that can be considered most ideally suited to the circumstances and the sentiments of those present. The capacity to achieve that standard is a measure of personality formation.

Perhaps the greatest test of capacity at this level is presented by the intimate personal relationships that occur between partners in marriage.


Behavior

Behavior refers to the organized ways of thinking and acting that express the person's beliefs, opinions, attitudes and values. Manners reflect social norms and the demands of the social context. Behavior reflects the person's own conscience. As Lady Catherine said of Elizabeth Bennet's Behavior: "Upon my word, you give your opinion very decidedly for so young a person."

Manners are on the surface consciousness. Behavior is on the depth of the surface. Whereas manners reflect conduct that the world expects or demands of us, behavior is conduct expressive of our inner attitudes and beliefs. What the society demands as manners develops into genuine behavior in the individual. Friendly manners may disguise inner anger or anguish because society frowns on their expression, whereas cheerful, warm behavior expresses genuine happy, positive attitudes towards oneself and others.

Character

Character refers to the fixed, repetitive, organized psychological formations determined by the person's values which find expression in and through the surface manners and behavior but cannot be altered by conscious effort. Honesty, ambition, generosity, selfishness, courage and cowardice are formations at the level of character.

Both manners and behavior belong to surface organization of human consciousness. Character refers to a deeper layer of organization in the Substance. As Darcy says of his own character, "I cannot forget the follies and vices of others so soon as I ought, nor their offences against myself...My temper would perhaps be called resentful. My good opinion once lost is lost for ever."

Character is behavior that one has accepted in the very depths of his being, in the substance, and allowed to take root there. The attitudes that express outwardly as behavior can change in an instant or over time, but the formed traits that constitute our character are lasting and extremely resistant to change, regardless of the circumstance. A fair weather friend behaves well in good circumstances, but a person of good character is incapable of conduct that is contrary to his deep-seated convictions. In Hindu psychology, character is Swabhava, the power and nature of the form, Swarupa.

As manners can disguise our real attitudes, outer behavior can either reflect or veil our true character, i.e. what we really are inside. Character expresses most clearly in times of crisis or opportunity, when the surface veneer of manners and superficial behavior is swept aside by an external pressure or lure.

Character is largely inherited from family, community and the nation. It is worthwhile examining oneself in terms of our national character to see to what extent one’s own nature is representative of the collective. The American character is one that seeks a larger rhythm, rises to meet any challenge and perseveres until the work is done. In some countries such as India, the word character is still most commonly used in the traditional sense as a measure of a person's social respectability, such as with reference to honesty or more specifically to honorable conduct with respect to women. On this wiki, the term is used to represent the entire layer of human nature that is deeply rooted and fixed behind our behavior.

Character is associated with capacity. One who accomplishes at any level or in any field relies on a stable capacity for effective action that is an expression of character. Character may express as professional ability in a given field, in which case the endowment is narrowly limited or fixed so that it cannot be transferred to any other field of accomplishment. But the skills and capacities that constitute the essence of Character lie at a deeper level in the plane of Personality. Endowments at the level of Personality are not fixed and can be transferred from one field to another. Successful business executives and high government officials exhibit an administrative personality capable of managing any type of work assigned to them. The able politician who rises to rule a nation often exhibits political Personality.

Personality

The term personality has a wide range of meanings, which undermine its use as a precise term in psychology.

  1. In common parlance it is used to denote the visible aspects of character as it impresses on others.
  2. It is often used in psychology to denote the sum total of an individual's physical, mental, emotional, and social characteristics or the organized pattern of behavioral characteristics.
  3. In other contexts it is applied to the essential characteristics of an individual.

All three usages may be found in articles on this site. Reference to Elizabeth Bennet's lively personality in Pride and Prejudice certainly applies to the visible aspects of her character. Use of phrases such as "expand one's personality" may refer to the second meaning, denoting a general increase in the overall (sum total) of individual capacities. On the Human Science wiki, the term Personality is used in a manner akin to the third definition listed above with reference to a deeper, more essential level of the person which lies beneath the surface manners and behavior and even beyond the fixed aspects of defined character. It is also used with reference to a more advanced stage in psychological development and maturation.

Personality represents the capacity for expansive or creative initiative that transcends the limitations imposed by character, society or personal experience. Personality is a deeper potential beyond the fixed formations of character that lies in the unformed regions of being. Personality is that in a person which is not limited by stylized manners, acquired attitudes and beliefs or fixed psychological habits of response. Personality has the capacity to respond freshly to a situation, to attempt what has not yet been done before, to transfer formed capacities from one field of activity to another. A good manager requires the organized strength of character to function effectively in a well-defined context. A successful entrepreneur or pioneer in any field requires the capacity to act creatively in an undefined context.

Elizabeth displays a strain of personality in her response to the overbearing demands of Lady Catherine that she reject any offer of marriage from Darcy: "Neither duty, nor honour, nor gratitude have any possible claim on me, in the present instance. No principle of either would be violated by my marriage with Mr. Darcy. And with regard to the resentment of his family, or the indignation of the world, if the former were excited by his marrying me, it would not give me one moment's concern..."

Individuality

Individuality expresses the uniqueness of the person. It is based on self-reliance, self-awareness and self-respect. Those endowed with Personality can act in all fields, while Individuality enables one to act in any field and add the stamp of personal uniqueness to it. Individuality is the personality that expresses uniqueness.

For citizens to acquire Individuality in a society, that society should function in freedom. True Individuality cannot be inhibited by religion, social norms, or family. The awakened soul acts in utter freedom. In the absence of freedom it does not awake. In the West, Individuality is formed in a pronounced measure, especially at the physical level as in the USA. Personality drawing its energy from the spirit and expressing the evolutionary energy is Individuality. Freedom, self-reliance and the value of the individual are the urge of the evolutionary energy in our times. One reason why the Americans lead the world today is that their national culture embraces and expresses these values in such great measure, even though it is at the merest physical level.

Western psychology which views personality formation strictly in terms of development of a heritary potential from birth in response to upbringing, education and life experience naturally stops with four levels -- Manners, Behavior, Character and Personality -- which are attributes one acquires from society, the external environment, what is referred to philosophically as Nature. Nature is the Becoming of the Being (the witness consciousness or Purusha in Hindu philosophy). Nature is force and therefore is fixed. It is forged and determined by the experiences it undergoes, i.e. by what Hinduism refers to as karma. Manners, Behavior, Character and Personality are attributes developed by evolution through life experience, drawing their energy from Nature. The acme of this process is Personality.

An integral conception of human personality recognizes not only the layers that are forged by nature, but also a deeper layer of consciousness that is spiritual in its origin that originates from the Being, the witness consciousness or purusha as it is known in Hindu psychology. Personality can also be shaped from above, by the Being. That Personality which is energized by the Purusha or the Being from above is the Individuality of Man. At the spiritual level it is called the Individual Divine (Jivatma). At the level of mind and vital, it is known as Individuality.


Five stages of personal formation

In principle, every person posseses and can give expression to any of the five levels described above. Thus we can refer to their action as an expression of any one of these five levels or depths.In one situation a person responds with the appropriate manners demanded by the occasion. In another context, the person may even violate good manners in order to express a sincere conviction or do what he thinks is right. In a third context, one's conscious intentions or convictions may be over-ridden by deeper aspects of character. Jane Bennet (Pride & Prejudice), Jane Bennet finally came to recognize that Caroline Bingley had consciously schemed to prevent Jane's marriage with her brother, but Jane's character does not permit her to get angry or seek vengence as Caroline would have done in her place. In very demanding or unusual circumstances, such as those which confronted Elizabeth when Lady Catherine sought to impose on her, a deeper strand of personality may find expression.

However, although in theory everyone possesses all five levels, in practice people differ significantly in their level of psychological formation. Thus, the same five aspects described above can also be considered as stages of development.

  • Unformed: Some, like Lydia Bennet (Pride & Prejudice), Lydia Bennet fail to acquire even the rudiments of formed social manners.
  • Manners: Some, like Secondary Characters (Pride & Prejudice), Mary Bennet, acquire appropriate manners but confine their thoughts and actions to stylized words and actions.
  • Behavior: Jane Bennet is further developed. Her thoughts and actions arise from and express her own convictions and attitudes, even when they differ from those around her. She refuses to think badly of a person whom everyone else condemns because it is contrary to her personal attitudes and beliefs.
  • Character: Darcy has an organized, well-formed character, defined values, firmly fixed modes of response that give him the capacity to manage a large estate through a steward while he is away in London or elsewhere. He is generally incapable of lying, even for his advantage. He exhibits the capacity to defy social norms and social pressure when his deeper convictions so compel him -- he proposes to Elizabeth in spite of the social stigma attached to her family, ignores Lady Catherine's objections to his marriage, and breaks all convention of propriety by taking steps to arrange the marriage between Lydia and Wickham.
  • Personality: One who is developed at the level of Personality exhibits the capacity to respond originally and creatively in a given situation. In Pride & Prejudice Elizabeth may show some traces of of personality. Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King, and Mikhail Gorbachev exhibited pronounced aspects of personality.
  • Individuality: Uniqueness is a rare endowment. Mahatma Gandhi may be said to have exhibited individuality in his original and unique approach to the fight for Indian freedom.

See also