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The Open Self
An “open self in an open society” is the ideal which Charles Morris sets forth. America’s foremost younger philosopher describes in popular terms how modern philosophy copes with some of the major problems of today. In these pages he explores the main roads to self-knowledge, and the correlation of the individual with society. Not one to rely on mere airy speculation, Dr. Morris polled more than a thousand American university students for expression of preference among possible ways of living. A wide range of choice was allowed, but the alternatives were clearly defined, as the reader will find them given for his own examination. Among other important and interesting results of this polling is a demonstration of the influence of physical types-the endomorphs, ectomorphs, and mesomorphs described in the famous theories of Dr. William H. Sheldon-upon individual personality. This is an affirmative book, to pit against the pessimism, cynicism and despair of our times. In one of the many aphorisms studding the pages, Dr. Morris says that “our problems are the seat of our opportunities.” No one can accuse him of not facing squarely the darker problems of civilization, but he shows that in them can still be found opportunities for a human advance to a much more creative life.
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