Homo duplex (z problematyki przynależności narodowej i państwowej Josepha Conrada)

The paper aims to interpret the term “homo duplex” used by Joseph Conrad to characterize his personality in the letter to the historian Kazimierz Waliszewski. The author presents various meanings of this duality as Conrad was a citizen of the Russian Empire, and then of Great Britain. His profession was also twofold: first he was a French seaman, then an English seaman to become finally an outstanding representative of English literature. As an English writer, he emphatically emphasized his links with Polish culture, in particular with the literature of the Romantic period.

High on God

Humans are homo duplex, seeking to be individuals but knowing this is only possible in communities. Thus, humans struggle to integrate these two sides of their nature. Megachurches have been enormously successful at resolving this struggle. How do they do it, and what is it about their structure and rituals that makes so many feel as if they are high on God? The affective energies and emotional valences that characterize religious ecstasy are the primary focus of our study of megachurches. Empirically, humans want and desire forms of what Randall Collins calls “emotional energy.” Drawing on extensive qualitative and quantitative data on twelve nationally representative megachurches, we identify six desires that megachurches evoke and meet: acceptance, awe and spiritual stimulation, reliable leadership, deliverance, purpose, and solidarity in a community of like-minded others. Megachurches satisfy these desires through co-presence—being in the presence of other desiring people—a shared mood achieved through powerful musical worship services, a mutual focus of attention on the charismatic senior pastor who acts as an emotional charging agent, transformative altar calls, service opportunities, and small-group participation. This interaction ritual chain solidifies attendees’ commitment and group loyalty, and keeps them coming back to be recharged. Megachurches also have a dark side: they are known for their highly publicized scandals often involving malfeasance of the senior pastor. After examining the positive and negative sides to megachurches, we conclude that they successfully meet the desire of humans to flourish as individuals and to do so in a group.

Conclusion: Havens of Health or Habitats for the Prosperity Gospel?

The dominant assessment of megachurches, in both popular culture and scholarship, is that they tend to be havens of commerce and exploitation, and purveyors of the prosperity gospel. After sifting through the data on members in twelve representative American megachurches, looking at people who were longtime members and leaders, those who were new members, and those that were just visiting, we found something quite different. We found wells of goodness, satisfaction, generosity, and inspiration. We found religious organizations that have a certain genius for meeting the needs of what Durkheim called homo duplex. Megachurches are organizations that meet the desire of humans to flourish as individuals and to do it in a group—an equipoise that is rare but deeply satisfying.

The Problem of Cooperation and Homo Duplex

Humans are homo duplex—they are both individual and social—and they struggle with the coexistence and/or integration of these two sides to their human nature. Given this, what encourages cooperation among strangers? Our claim is that religion is the most effective method of facilitating human cooperation and that megachurches are particularly successful at doing so. Megachurches provide attendees with rituals and opportunities to discipline and increase self-control, selfless behavior, and cooperation. At the same time, they focus on the other side of homo duplex—the need to exert the ego—which is evident in how they lift the individual and nurture each person’s gifts and talents.