Abstract

This study represents a voyage of inquiry into the domain of human greatness. In elucidating answers to the question: what constitutes human greatness, the study combines qualitative, interview-based exploration with theoretical imagination ignited by the analysis of complex philosophical perspectives on human greatness. The attempt is to bridge the two worlds of philosophical speculation and of empirical investigation. ;In ascertaining the nature of human greatness, the author develops a conceptual portrait of implicit and explicit notions of greatness through seventeen propositions developed from an examination of the work of thirty major philosophers. This is supplemented with a discussion of the theme of greatness as embedded in the intellectual landscape of twentieth century behavioral science. The philosophical and behavioral science conceptions of greatness are explored under seven broad categories greatness through the pursuit of spiritual emancipation, greatness through the pursuit of "right action", greatness through the pursuit of 'history making', greatness through the pursuit of cooperative consciousness, greatness through the pursuit of individual distinctiveness, greatness through the pursuit of hidden treasures and greatness through the pursuit of intellectual discovery. The empirical component is provided by an analysis of twenty interviews that explore the following two themes: What are the images of human greatness that pervade the consciousness of individuals? and what characterizes memorable experiences that people treasure as representative moments of their own greatness? ;The study argues that for the organization sciences to realize their promise as catalysts of individual and social transformation, researchers in the discipline need to explore holistic themes like human greatness that honor the complexity of human beings both as teleological entities seeking to accomplish goals and as spiritually inspired beings rising toward an internalized image of exalted conduct. The theme of greatness is explored as a powerful context shaping discourse that, if employed skillfully, can help enhance pluralism in organizational, societal and international realities by counteracting the monolithic world that is being aggressively created by the virulent outbreak of western capitalism