Two conceptions of power are defined, analyzed, compared and evaluated. unilateral power is the capacity to influence another, to control or manipulate the human or natural environment, in order to realize one's purpose. this is the conception of power that has dominated western thought and practice from the beginning. science is the hand-maid of this kind of power. relational power, which involves the capacity both to influence and to be influenced, is the ability to sustain an internal relation. the practice (...) of relational power requires greater stature than the life of relational power. (shrink)