Finally man relates with others as "We." This permits the phenomenon of
community and of adult unique contribution. So man becomes through
relating with family, others, and community, like Hesse's onion or a
being who actively moves toward ever more integuments, qualities,
threads, and complexity.[9] Many unique contradictory type beings, then,
have influenced the becoming of each individual human person. In a sense
each unique person might be viewed as a community of the beings with
whom he has meaningfully related in struggle and/or complementariness.
In fact Buber talks of thinking man as a dialogue of internalized
"Thous."
COMMUNITY: NURSING
If each man can be likened to a community of his internalized "Thous,"
logically think of the outcome of many men struggling together
supposedly for a common purpose. Since time began, man in community has
been experienced by man as chaotic. Thus Plato wrote _The Republic_.[10]
This presentation depicted an impossible scheme for developing an ideal
community. As a classic, _The Republic_ continues to be a thought
provoking thesis. Its antiquity makes one realize that this desire to
control, our continued concern with genetic planning, is a part of the
very nature of man. And yet, considering man's ever existing recognition
of the chaos of community how naive we often behave, for example,
enraged at experiencing _another_ communication break.
Plato envisioned regulating and controlling almost every dimension of
the individual's existence in accordance with his particular potential
for development to fulfill the needs of his ideally conceptualized
community. Today Heinlein, a science fiction novelist, still writes of
breeding for longevity in man, as we breed animal stock for the greatest
amount of meat and profit.[11] Giving Plato his due, he recognized at
the end of his book concern and doubt as to whether men so carefully
mated and reared would fulfill their designated responsibilities. He
wondered if things could, would, or would not go in accordance with his
plan. He then logically indicated the process and kinds of community
deteriorations which could ensue. Plato had a concept of an ideal
community, of ideal types of necessary men, and of ideal male-female
breeding relationships. He viewed our present-style family as one that
saps the {46} strength of community and does not support this concept.
He conceived of communal living more like the communal living of our
present-day communes. However, Plato's communes would have been
regulated by the plan as he conceived it. Existence in these communes
was to be predetermined and very determined.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account