‘Doubtless there are necessary conditions for joy or happiness if one searched them out, but when it comes to our particular rainbow – transcendent work – we at least have a head start in that we know we need to look at three factors. So shall we begin by exploring what all groups and all individuals have in common, namely human nature?’
‘Globally? Surely the fact that people live in different cultures and have lived at different periods in history will alter the picture?’
‘Yes, hence the distinctiveness and variety of mankind – none of us is the same. But let us assume for the moment that underlying all these individual and social variations there is a common human nature, something we all share. What would you pick out as its salient feature?’
‘Obviously we all have bodies and therefore a set of needs: for food and drink, for shelter, for safety and self-preservation, for health. We are all born, grow up – or the fortunate do – grow old and die. We have minds as well as bodies.’
‘We share too a double nature as being both social beings – our tribal legacy – and yet individuals. The word person best expresses our dual citizenship, for we only become persons in relation to each other. The word derives from persona, the mask that Greek actors wore in a drama and hence the role or character they played. It came to be used in Roman law for those who were recognized in the courts as having legal entity and thus being the subject of rights and duties. So we all have personality – the quality or state of being a person.
‘That must – or I should say ought – to transcend the differences of race, colour, gender, disability, wealth and age,’ I continued. ‘All individual human beings are persons and, however much they act to forfeit their birthright by doing despicable or evil things, they remain entitled to be treated with respect as they have the dignity of being persons.’
‘That is the case, though it is sometimes terribly hard for the parents of a child murdered by a violent paedophile to abide by this principle when their feelings or emotions are taking them in the opposite direction,’ said the young chief executive. ‘Human emotions can be so immensely strong. I suppose human nature is a compound of body, mind and heart, physical needs or instincts, reason and emotions. The speaker in New York told us, I remember now, that management is about the mind, while leadership deals with the emotions.’