Preface - The Cultural Personality

Profound changes are taking place in the cultural complexion of the world. Not only is the world in a state of dynamic and revolutionary flux, but a whole new era is opening up in community, national and international affairs.

At the centre of all this activity is the individual. With all the changes that are taking place in economic and political systems, ethical and religious values, ecological and environmental practices, and social and demographic patterns, now is a propitious moment to be enquiring into the nature, role, and responsibilities of the individual. For it is clear that more and more people around the world are having difficulty coping with the realities of the present and prospects for the future.

It would be foolhardy to contend that The Cultural Personality can deal with either the complexity or the enormity of this situation. What it attempts to do, therefore, is set out a general framework or approach capable of addressing some of the more significant dimensions of it. It does so by postulating an ideal prototype of the human personality against which individuals can measure the reality of their own experience, and to which they can look for guidance in times of adversity. It is a prototype based on the conviction that culture, especially when it is defined cosmologically as a "worldview" in general and "ordered whole" in particular, provides one of the most promising avenues for coming to grips with the types of problems with which individuals are confronted in the modern world.

The monograph is divided into five parts. In part one, an assessment is made of the context within which the contemporary individual is located. The conclusion that is derived from this assessment is that a new prototype is needed to deal with the complexities of the present as well as the uncertainties of the future. In part two, this new prototype is explored as a concept, largely by juxtaposing the two interdependent ideas of "culture" and "personality." What results is the notion of "the cultural personality." In part three, the main characteristics of the cultural personality are elucidated. In part four, the cultivation of the various capabilities, sensitivities and sensibilities that comprise the cultural personality are addressed. And finally, in part five, consideration is given to the way in which the cultural personality functions most effectively in the real world.

Like other monographs in the World Culture Project (see Appendix A), The Cultural Personality is exploratory and illustrative rather than authoritative or definitive in nature. Its purpose is to sketch out the main contours and principal features of the cultural personality and put enough flesh on them so that this particular prototype of the human personality can stand alongside other personality prototypes as a potential guide to human action and behaviour in the future.

It remains to express my gratitude to Jean Elliott, Joy MacFadyen, R. Murray Schafer, Sarah Aston and the members of the International Advisory Council (see Appendix B) for their valuable contributions to this monograph. While recognizing these contributions, I nevertheless assume full responsibility for everything contained in the text.