An indisputable fact about the work of A. H. Maslow is that it gives off sparks — very nearly all of his writing gives off sparks. An attempt to understand this by thinking of him as simply a psychologist would probably prove futile; he must first be thought of as a man, and then as one who worked very hard at psychology, or rather, who rendered his growth and maturity as a man into a new way of thinking about psychology. This was one of his major accomplishments — he gave psychology a new conceptual language.
While for some, life may be about the balance of forces involved in charting individual courses; for the Moslowans, life may be more about becoming, and that by way of the development of an authentic person (on the inside) and struggle with the world to enjoy that person and the related engagement with, indeed, the external forces of the world.
Of all the books encountered in the life of the BackChannels editor, The Farther Reaches of Human Nature produced the greatest hope and longing and it reset the editor’s personal course — and a great course it has been — entirely.
Readers from every walk in politics and religion may find the journey taken with Maslow perfectly universal in appeal and practicality.
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Filed under: 21st Century Feudal, A Little Wisdom, Books, Conflict - Culture - Language - Psychology, Philosophy, Political Psychology, Psychology Tagged: authentic self, freedom, human development, human performance, humanism, individuation, Maslow, psychology, spirituality, The Farther Reaches of Human Nature
