Duration
25 Aug 2014 - 30 Aug 2014
What are the determinates of individual accomplish and social evolution? Our actions and their consequences appear to be the outcome of myriad contributing, conflicting and contradictory forces – chance and necessity, human nature and character, personality and individuality, family and upbringing, personal aspirations and attitudes, social conditioning and culture, leadership and conformity, changing ideas and values, social resistance and social evolution. History, biography, sociology, psychology, literature, religion and the arts reflect on the contribution of different dimensions of this complex nexus of forces.
This trans-disciplinary inquiry searches for underlying principles governing the interaction between the individual, society and life for insights into the process that governs human initiatives and their consequences. Drawing on research in literature, biography, history, psychology and philosophy, it looks for common processes and patterns governing different types and levels of human accomplishment.
The course will explore a variety of themes including –
• Characteristics of high achieving individuals
• The tension between social evolution, social revolution and the status quo
• The role of human relationships and networking in individual and social development
• The role of power and status in society and the power of empowerment
• Social construction of knowledge and reality
• Expressions of social aspirations and attitudes in the lives of individuals
• Individuality as pioneer and catalyst for social change
• Interactions between inheritance, family, environment and experience in character formation
• Power of values in social accomplishment and psychological fulfillment
• The construction of personal selves
• The power of socio-cultural and individual narratives
• Behavior, character, personality and individuality
• Biological, social, psychological and spiritual dimensions of society and individual life
• Human nature in culture, society and family life
• The character of life
• Public opinion and individual achievement
• Personal achievement and self-realization