The Human Being in The System of Social Relations

The Concept of Personality

The concept of personality is among the most intricate in the study of humanity. In European languages, the term "personality" originates from the Latin word "persona," which denoted an actor's mask in the theater, a social role, and a person as a particular integral entity, especially in a legal context. A slave was not regarded as a persona; one had to be a free person for that designation. The expression "to lose face," found in many languages, signifies the loss of one's place and status within a certain hierarchy.

In Eastern languages, such as Chinese and Japanese, the notion of personality is less about the human face and more about the entirety of the body. In European tradition, the face is viewed in opposition to the body, symbolizing the soul, while in Chinese thought, the concept of "vitality" encompasses both the bodily and spiritual qualities of a person.

It is noteworthy that the Latin term "homo" derives from "humus" (earth, dust), from which humanity emerges, whereas in European languages, "man" is linked to "manus" (hand). In Russian, the word "человек" (chelovek) has the root "чело" (chelo), meaning forehead, the upper part of the human being that brings them closer to the Creator. Thus, even etymologically, the personal characteristics of a human carry different meanings depending on the respective culture or civilization.

The study of personality begins with the term "individual," which literally means an indivisible part of a whole. This unique "social atom," an individual person, is viewed not only as a singular representative of humankind but also as a member of a specific social group. This is the simplest and most abstract characterization of a person, indicating their physical separateness from other individuals. Although such separateness is not an essential characteristic of humanity, it has become the foundation of individualism—a philosophical and ethical concept that posits the primacy of the individual over any form of social unity. In its extreme form, individualism opposes collectivism and the world as a whole. Nevertheless, a positive aspect of individualism is its emphasis on the uniqueness and irreplaceability of each person in the richness of their personal qualities, both sociobiological and social in nature.

This uniqueness and irreplaceability of the individual is encapsulated in the concept of "individuality." Here, a person is not merely a bearer of a set of individual traits; individuality encompasses the entirety of social connections and relationships, requiring an individual reinterpretation of universal, human characteristics. Thus, individuality is not simply the "atomism" of a person, but rather a reflection of their singularity and distinctiveness that transcends this individuality.

At the same time, a person exists not only as a coherent "I" but also as a multiplicity of smaller "I's" (the "external I": the "I that is portrayed," the "I that is perceived"; the "internal I"; the "real I," the "potential I," the "ideal I"; the "physical I"; the "social I"; the "spiritual I"; the "empirical I"; the "transcendental I," and so forth). If for personality the assertion is "I exist," for individuality it is "I am such."

These considerations directly touch upon the genesis of personal characteristics, centered around the question of when personality is born and what facilitates or hinders this process. Clearly, a newborn child is not yet a personality, although every human comes into the world as an individual and an individuality. The latter implies that within each newborn child, both in genotype and phenotype, their entire prehistory is uniquely reflected. This includes innate features such as biochemical reactions, physiological parameters, and the brain's readiness to perceive the external world. Upon birth, all children are not only different but also unique.

In recent years, significant attention has been given to the phenomenon of prenatal communion, which involves the formation of special relationships between the mother and the fetus. Prenatal communion has a limited duration—from conception to birth—encompassing all the real and imagined connections and relationships that the expectant mother has with the world. It should be noted that the boundaries of the prenatal period are defined by the prevailing culture and are not always clearly delineated. In Eastern civilizations, it is believed that a person's "presence" in the world begins a year before their conception. In any case, the overwhelming majority of the prerequisites for personal development are established during the intrauterine period.

Likewise, the process of birth holds not only physiological significance but also determines the parameters of an adult's functioning. In terms of a person's self-determination, it is crucial to emphasize that individuals enter life with the experience of birth and, before birth, with the experience of prenatal communion. Furthermore, recent scientific findings regarding the specificity of the human genome indicate that we share close kinship with both living and inanimate nature, suggesting that the foundations of each person's personality are largely determined by their biological nature.

A newborn child is already a vivid individuality, and each day of their life heightens the need for diverse reactions to the surrounding world. A child's individuality becomes distinctly evident by the second or third year of life, a period during which the first traits of personal behavior emerge, significantly influenced by the child's encounter with situations of free choice. All children of this age are exceptionally talented, and under favorable external circumstances, the formation of personality occurs harmoniously. Crucial "critical" moments, during which vivid impressions are preserved and later shape behavior, are of great importance for one's future. The development of personality is also marked by the passing through various age periods, alongside factors such as age, gender, profession, social circles, ethnocultural environment, and historical era. Life inevitably features both peaks—typically in youth and again at ages 30 to 40—and stagnations (ages 25 to 30, 40 to 45). Key transitional moments in a person's life include separation from the parental family, the creation of one's own family, and the birth of children.

From this, one can speak of a person's openness as a vital factor in the formation of personality, which, alongside uniqueness, forms its inner core, realized through self-knowledge and self-creation.

The founder of French personalism, Emmanuel Mounier, eloquently states about personality: "Existing everywhere, it is nowhere given in advance," referring to the openness of a person's being and the continuous self-assertion of personality. In it, there is only one given: the absence of any predetermined state. For Mounier, personality emerges as "a living activity of self-creation."

Personality embodies absolute openness to the world. It is a reality we both perceive and simultaneously create. Personality is not something separate, like an object; it is a model of the universe, a microcosm that evolves and develops.

The formation of personality occurs through the assimilation of social experiences and value orientations of a specific society, enabling individuals to become members of that society. This process is termed socialization. A person learns to fulfill particular social roles—ways of behaving expected of them based on their position in society. These social roles are determined by the cultural context and depend on prevailing thought stereotypes. One could thus say that practically every person becomes a personality through the development of their individuality in specific historical conditions. Hence, the formation of personality results from the interaction between the individual and society. Nonetheless, throughout life, one may lose personal traits due to severe illnesses, chronic alcoholism, drug addiction, etc. In principle, personality can "die" within a still living person. This indicates the complex internal structure of this phenomenon, within which several components can be distinguished.

Firstly, the physical personality (the physical self). This refers to the body, or the corporeal organization of a human being— the most stable component of personality, grounded in physical attributes and self-perceptions. The body serves not only as the primary "substance" for knowledge but also as an indispensable element of a person's inner world, aiding and hindering the process of communication. The defense of oneself, one’s body, one’s identity, and one’s immediate environment belongs to the most ancient qualities of human personality, both in the history of society and in the history of the individual.

Secondly, the social personality (the social self) is formed through human interactions. This essentially concerns a system of social roles that an individual inhabits. All forms of self-assertion in professional and societal endeavors, friendship, love, competition, and so forth, create the social structure of the personality.

Thirdly, the spiritual personality (the spiritual self), which acts as an invisible core, the essence of our "self." This encompasses internal emotional states that reflect an orientation toward certain spiritual values and ideals. They may not always be fully conscious, yet the concern for the "soul" is the quintessence of personal development. Human spirituality is not an external phenomenon; it is attained through constant internal self-improvement. Therefore, the need for spiritual development, unlike physical or social needs, can never be wholly satisfied.

The distinction among the physical, social, and spiritual personalities is somewhat arbitrary, as these facets of personality form a unified system, in which each element may gain dominant significance at various stages of an individual’s life. There are known periods of intensified attention to the body, phases of expanding and enriching social connections, and peaks of spiritual activity. Regardless, any trait assumes a system-forming character, significantly defining the essence of personality at a given stage of its evolution. Concurrently, age, severe trials of fate, illness, and so forth can alter the structure of personality, leading to its "splitting" or degradation.

Among the social types of personality observable throughout humanity’s historical development, several prevalent categories can be identified.

The first type is the doers. For this type of personality, action is paramount—transforming the surrounding environment, the world, and other people, including oneself. They are "burning" with work, finding the utmost joy in it, even if the outcomes are not particularly significant. It is evident that "doers" can be found across various eras and social strata. However, the rapid development of capitalist relations and their further enhancement through civil and legal institutions has greatly fostered the mass cultivation of such a personality type.

The second type is the thinkers. These individuals, as Pythagoras observed, come into the world not to compete and trade, but to observe and contemplate. The archetype of the sage embodies the traditions of lineage and its historical memory. Not coincidentally, renowned sages and prophets—Buddha and Zoroaster, Moses and Pythagoras, Solomon and Laozi, Confucius and Mahavira, Christ and Muhammad—were regarded either as messengers of the divine or as divine themselves. Contemplation of the world always necessitates a degree of distancing from the tumult of events. Thus, thinkers hone their sole weapon—words, the Logos. Since biblical times, it has been known that "no prophet is accepted in his own country." Consequently, the fates of many eminent thinkers from both past and present are tragic. Yet, the need for them remains constant, and they eternally live on for their contemporaries and descendants.

The third type encompasses those of feelings and emotions, who acutely sense and experience all unfolding events. Primarily, these are the creators of literature and art, whose brilliant insights often precede the boldest scientific predictions and the prophecies of sages.

The fourth type consists of humanists and ascetics, distinguished by their acute ability to empathize with the emotional states of others. Their strength lies in their belief in their purpose, their love for humanity and all living things, and their active engagement in benevolent deeds. Compassion is the essence of their lives. The Gospel commandment "Love thy neighbor as thyself" finds direct embodiment in their actions.

The dominant personality types in a given society depend on cultural and civilizational characteristics, which vividly reflect the divergences between East and West. For instance, in the European model, as opposed to the Eastern one, personality is perceived as a cohesive whole that operates similarly across different situations while maintaining its essential "core." For the Japanese, a more characteristic perception is that of personality and its actions as a collection of several "circles of obligation"—toward the emperor, parents, friends, oneself, and so forth. Each sphere possesses its own "code" of conduct. Here, the individual is neither autonomous nor independent, and their realization occurs only in connection with various communities. The European emerges as a "solid personality," akin to an egg in a shell, while the Japanese are more concerned with preserving their "soft" identity, establishing and maintaining ties with their surroundings.

The particularities of perceiving individuality in different cultures are also determined by the number of words available to express individual traits. For example, the Russian language offers around two thousand such words, the German language four thousand, and English up to seventeen thousand.

Lastly, existing world religions have developed their normative ideals of personality. The Christian ideal is grounded in love for God and love for one's neighbor, which are inextricably linked. The closer one is to God, the closer one is to other people. Personal development is understood as the flourishing of all God-given talents, alongside a constant preparation for eternal life, an awareness of one's sinfulness, and the redemptive mission of Christ. Thus, at the core of Christian teachings about personality lies the notion of the convergence of the universal (God) with the individual (humanity), encapsulated in the mystery of the phenomenon of the God-Man (Christ), wherein the divine and human natures are united.

It is crucial to emphasize that, unlike other religions, Christianity is distinctly personalistic. The focus is on the person of Christ and the Church established by Him as a communion of believers into a single body, with Him as the head. A hallmark of the Christian worldview, particularly impacting the type of personality, is love—not merely for those who love you, but love for one’s enemies.

In the Islamic model of personality, the paramount concern is the strict adherence to the will of Allah. God’s rights are viewed by Sharia as primary and preceding all others. A Muslim must profess absolute monotheism, faith in the Prophet Muhammad, submit to Allah, and worship Him. All of this must be executed first and foremost at the expense of one’s own rights and obligations. However, Islam emphasizes balance and moderation, following the principle that a personality must incur lesser losses to avert greater ones. Specifically, Islam denounces senseless bloodshed and calls for combat only against those who have risen to fight.

For Muslims, the world is distinctly divided into the faithful and the infidels, with respect to the latter, there are possibilities of either holy war or voluntary submission to Islam. Sharia prohibits anything that might threaten the physical, mental, or moral development of a person. At the same time, it welcomes and encourages the "right" enjoyment of life’s pleasures while forbidding self-denial, asceticism, and so forth. Gender roles are clearly defined and established: the man is the head of the family, its provider and protector, while the woman dedicates herself to domestic affairs and child-rearing.

The state of personality within society is determined by the will of Allah, which prohibits satisfying one person's desires at the expense of another. A Muslim must actively accumulate knowledge and skills, employing them for the common good. Imitating the culture and way of life of others is categorically forbidden, as it may have catastrophic consequences for the development of the nation.

Moreover, Islam holds that all living beings possess certain rights over humanity and thus prohibits inflicting senseless harm upon them. This pertains to all types of resources, including plant, water, mineral, and others.

For a personality nurtured within the Buddhist paradigm, the primary concern is the awareness of the four "noble" truths and the readiness to adhere to the "eightfold" path toward enlightenment. The guiding idea lies in the first truth, which asserts that suffering is a fundamental characteristic of human existence. "To live is to suffer," a consequence of the impermanence of life and its eternal flux in the cycle of births and deaths (samsara). This cannot be logically proven, and the maturity of a personality is determined by its capacity to grasp this truth through direct insight.

The cause of suffering is the "thirst" for life, wherein the human "self" seeks to endlessly satisfy its desires, remaining perpetually bound to people, objects, and circumstances. Although Buddhism denies the existence of a soul in the European sense, the individual exhibits an egocentric attitude towards the world, distorting the perception of reality. This represents the second truth.

Next, it is asserted that the "truth of overcoming suffering" lies in shedding illusory subjective constructs. An individual must "open their eyes" to the inevitability of their existence within the circle of samsara, thus eliminating ignorance and daring to achieve nirvana—the absence of the "web" of desires that bind one life to another.

The fourth "truth of the path" contains a description of the eight stages, where control over the realm of knowledge and actions is successively implemented, ultimately laying the groundwork for Buddhist psychotechnology (samadhi).

It is essential to note that the understanding of suffering in the Christian tradition and in Buddhism is fundamentally different. In the former case, suffering is a guarantee of salvation for the individual, whereas in the latter, it manifests within the realm of empirical existence. The solution for Christianity is rooted in the person of Christ, whereas for Buddhism, it lies in the individual’s realization of their own spiritual identity.

The synthesis of ideas concerning personality and their normative aspects will require defining and specifying the characteristics of each of its types within a singularly accepted framework, which will account for the most essential traits found in each culture and religion. These concepts would allow for deep reflection on one’s own personality while also offering a pathway for genuine spiritual transformation.