Power and Innocence (Paperback)

Paperback. Rollo May defines power as the ability to cause or prevent change; innocence, on the other hand, is the conscious divesting of one's power to make it seem a virtuea form of powerlessness that Dr. May sees as particularly American in nature. From these basic concepts he suggests a new ethic that sees power as the basis for both human goodness and evil.Dr. May discusses five levels of power's potential in each of us: the infant's power to be; self-affirmation, the ability to survive with self-esteem; self-assertion, which develops when self-affirmation is blocked; aggression, a reaction to thwarted assertion; and, finally, violence, when reason and persuasion are ineffective. Stressing the positive, creative aspects of power and innocence, Rollo May offers a way of thinking about the problems of contemporary society. This item is printed on demand. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.