晨读英语美文 The Two Drives in Man

The Two Drives in Man

[00:08.38]Man is, at one and the same time, 

[00:14.18]a solitary being and a social being. 

[00:16.79]As a solitary being, 

[00:19.32]he attempts to protect his own existence 

[00:21.72]and that of those who are closest to him, 

[00:23.92]to satisfy his personal desires, 

[00:26.09]and to develop his innate abilities. 

[00:28.50]As a social being, 

[00:31.11]he seeks to gain the recognition and affection 

[00:34.04]of his fellow human beings, 

[00:35.68]to share in their pleasures, 

[00:37.66]to comfort them in their sorrows, 

[00:39.62]and to improve their conditions of life. 

[00:42.15]Only the existence of these varied, 

[00:45.64]frequently conflicting, strivings accounts 

[00:48.29]for the special character of a man, 

[00:50.27]and their specific combination determines the extent 

[00:54.09]to which an individual can achieve 

[00:55.89]and in an inner balance 

[00:58.30]and can contribute to the well-being of society.

[01:00.91]It is quite possible that the relative strength of these two drives is, 

[01:06.61]in the main, fixed by inheritance. 

[01:09.13]But the personality that finally emerges 

[01:12.74]is largely formed by the environment 

[01:15.13]in which a man happens to find himself during his development, 

[01:18.87]by the structure of the society in which he grows up, 

[01:22.03]by the tradition of that society, 

[01:24.34]and by its evaluation of particular types of behavior. 

[01:28.05]The abstract concept society means to the individual human being 

[01:34.40]the sum total of his direct 

[01:36.79]and indirect relations to his contemporaries 

[01:39.65]and to all the people of earlier generations. 

[01:42.04]The individual is able to think, feel, strive, and work by himself; 

[01:49.71]but he depends so much upon society  

[01:53.20]in his physical, intellectual, 

[01:55.59]and emotional existence  

[01:57.24]that it is impossible to think of him, 

[02:00.21]or to understand him, 

[02:01.73]outside the framework of society. 

[02:04.58]It is society which provides man with food, clothing, 

[02:09.84]a home, the tools of work, language, the forms of thought, 

[02:14.98]and most of the content of thought; 

[02:17.36]his life is made possible through the labor 

[02:20.55]and accomplishments of the many millions past and present 

[02:24.16]who are all hidden behind the small word society.