Reinterpreting individualism and collectivism. Their religious roots and monologic versus dialogic person-other relationship.
Examining the religious roots of individualism and collectivism and seeing them as defining alternative conceptions of the person-other relationship reveal a close link between Christianity and the former and between rabbinic Judaism and the latter. Comparisons between these 2 religious formations in the Western world expose a relationship between Christian individualism and an instrumental and monologic understanding of the person-other relationship and a contrasting rabbinic view that offers a formative and dialogic understanding of that relationship. Because the Christian view has been dominant, its understandings have framed the debates on individualism-collectivism and defined the options available for the person-other relationship, providing a somewhat distorted picture of the possibilities for humankind. The dialogic and formative perspective of the rabbinic tradition introduces an alternative portrait of human nature.
Department of Psychology, California State University, Northridge, USA. eesampson@mindspring.com
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Sampson
D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002835:Christianity; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D007207:Individuation; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007599:Judaism; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D012938:Social Perception; D012945:Social Values