| Abstract: | In this article the author revisits human nature in order to present it as a basis for guiding the quest for a working model of “optimal man.” The author postulates that our primordial human nature encompasses the possibilities for both good behavior and evil behavior. Accordingly, the perennial challenge facing guidance workers is helping to establish conditions that will actualize positive potentials while defusing the less beneficent ones. Drawing on the insights of Ruth Benedict and Abraham Maslow in their search for an ethical gauge by which to rate personal-social health, the author proposes “synergistic man” as the desired outcome model for counselors and educators. |
