Publisher comments
"The reason for the misery of the world lies in the misery of the soul." This is the basic premise of Claudio Naranjo's fundamental work on mapping out personality types according to the Enneagram and its application for the study of the individual and collective consciousness. Dr. Naranjo, a pioneer of the Human Potential Movement and of transpersonal psychology analyzes in these pages the correspondence between disorders of personality and social pathologies, between cardinal sins of the individual--pride, anger, envy, vanity...--and those of humanity--authoritarianism, repression, corruption, violence.... The miseries of the world and our incapacity to maintain healthy relationships can only be resolved if we know and understand that the miseries of the soul have to be remedied first in order to remedy the illnesses of society. "If we consider it to be difficult for a healthy society to be able to exist without the underlying fundament of healthy individuals, it becomes imperative to recognize the political value of individual transformation..."
Inside Flap copy
I read recently that when he was young, with the desire to contribute with struggles, not just with words, to the progress of humanity, Wittgenstein left the city, moved to a small mining village, and founded a primary school there for adults. "What I want is to improve," said one of his pupils. "So start by improving yourself," the philosopher replied. Dr. Claudio Naranjo says the same on the last page of his book: "If we consider it difficult for a healthy society to exist without the foundation of healthy individuals, it becomes imperative to recognize the political value of individual transformation." Even though this, he adds, is so badly aided in so many cases by official institutions. With great intellectual finesse, exquisite sensitivity, and an extensive display of knowledge, such is the aim the author seeks in this book. He very clearly tells us: "...think about all that will be added unto us if we first of all occupy the kingdom that is to be found within our heart." I sincerely join him in his wish.
--Pedro Laín Entralgo, Member, Spanish Royal Academy
