Some types of character and society
现在已经把读书笔记当成日记来写了。
刚读完《启蒙辩证法》,又来读这本《孤独的人群》。本来期待的是能有同样的启蒙和相见恨晚的一些顿悟,但读到现在,不得不说,确实没有什么特别能够有共鸣或者启发的地方,作者David Riseman的说理论述能力,恕我拙见,也许略逊于《启蒙辩证法》的作者。
而且,由于我本人的性格缺陷,面对作者贯穿全书把美国人的性格分成三个类别,我需要精力与自己去斗争,说服自己这只是一种抽象的分类,不能等同于把个体贴上这三类的标签,但是鉴于作者紧箍咒式的不断重复,让我很容易产生把个体贴上这三类标签的冲动。
这本书作者主要分析的是美国人的性格,所以其中时不时就会涉及到新教徒,黑人(1950年那个时代还是可以用Negro这个词,我看到也是震惊了),南美方,美国(包括英国和欧洲大陆)的一些小说和电影,当然,我这一个中国人读起来的共鸣也是非常有限:)
The three types of social characters triggered in different population growth phase
(行吧,既然generalization,classification,judgement避无可避,那咱就开始吧:),要死一起死)
玩笑归玩笑,这边的social character作者更多强调是在社会组织当中,个体后天习得(learned)的性格部分。
1. Tradition-directed
传统导向型,常出现在high-growth potential的人口增长模型社会中,即出生率和死亡率差不多持平,只不过都维持在高位,中国,埃及,和印度在本书刊印的年代(1950)被贴上了这个标签,当然作者也提到了,工业化渗透程度不深的社会基本都可以看做high-growth potential society,那么如果以这个标准来看,70年后的当今中国也许已经处于high-growth potential向transitional growth社会转型中。中世纪的欧洲,也被认为是high growth potential。
High growth potential 社会的特点:
"...in these societies, where activity of the individual member is determined by characterologically grounded obedience to traditions, the individual may not be highly prized and, in many instances, encouraged to develop his capabilities, his initiative, and, even within very narrow time limits, his aspirations. ”
处在这个社会中的人,需要习得的社会性格就体现为传统导向型。 同时,他日常接触的个体,也会通过传统价值观的视角去评价这个人,如果出现了non-conforming behaviour,个体会觉得耻辱(shame)。这一类型的社会性格,主要需要服从的是权力关系,”... the conformity of the individual tends to be dictated to a very large degree by power relations among the various age and sex groups, the clans, castes, professions, and so forth--“
“Little energy is directed toward finding new solutions of the age-old problems"
“Traditional directed type hardly thinks himself as an individual"
2. Inner-directed
内部导向型,与之对应的人口社会是transitional growth--出生率和死亡率基本持平,作者认为在文艺复兴时期的欧洲(14世纪)和宗教改革(Reformation,16世纪),是该类型社会。
”The source of direction for the individual is 'inner' in the sense that it is implanted early in life by the elders and directed toward generalized but nonetheless inescapably destined goals."
与传统导向型性格不同的是,inner-directed不需要过分关注,外部行为的一致性(external conformity),或者更准确讲,仅仅靠外部行为一致性已经无法满足社会对个体的需求,工业化资本主义的发展造就了各种各样的新型问题和情景,个体面对这样的novelty如何做出选择,传统价值的范式已经无法为他提供答案,他需要从自己内化的目标出发,从而做出选择。
3. Other-directed
外部导向型,与之对应的人口社会被称为incipient decline of population,经过人口增长之后达到了出生率和死亡率的再次平衡,只不过是低位增长,与high growth potential形成对比。
incipient decline society比较明显的特征:大规模机器的布局已经完成,科技积累,人民教育程度高,农业效率高,服务业为主,并且由于大众传媒的普及导致对文字和图片出现大面积消费(这是70年前的话,当今已经是对短视频的大面积消费了)
这种类型的社会性格常出现于美国经济发达的沿海大城市中产阶级中,并且,作者推测,由于当今大城市中产家庭的小孩已经出现了other-directed的性格特征,那么这很有可能会成为美国未来主流的社会性格特征。
如果我用自己的话来形容,这个type很有点兵来将挡,水来土掩的意思,他的目的是得到自己peer group的认同,这个peer group可以是政客所对应的选民们,也可以是学生们之间的同伴圈子,
”This mode of keeping in touch with others permits a close behavioral conformity, not through a drill in behavior itself, as in the tradition-directed character, but rather through an exceptional sensitivity to the actions and wishes of others.
... it matters very much who these 'others' are:" whether they are the individual's immediate circle or a 'higher' circle or the anonymous voices of the mass media; whether the individual fears the hostility of chance acquaintances or only of those who 'count.'
But his need for approval and direction from others-- contemporary others rather than acenstors--goes beyond the reasons that lead most people in any era to care very much what others think of them."
作者在后面还举了冷战时期美国对苏联的外交政策也体现了一种“other directed”的特征,美国的政策更多是对于苏联的政策的responsiveness,instead of having a plan in the first place.
总结来讲,这些性格特征并不是割裂存在的,一个个体的身上在不同的人生时期或者情境下都会体现出或一个或几个或许同时存在的的性格特征。