According to Sullivan, who we are is determined in large part by the interpersonal settings in which we find ourselves—or more precisely by the nature of the interpersonal relationships in which we engage. Our personality shifts as a function of the people with whom we relate. Thus, for Sullivan, there is no enduring, independently situated personality; rather there are “enduring patterns of recurrent interpersonal situations.” If we take Sullivan seriously, there has always been “multiphrenia”—for we have always been different when relating to various people. Only today, the people with whom we interact are even more diverse—hence we are even more multiphrenic! Through his original Johari Window, Joe Luft suggests that we remain sane in a multiphrenic world by engaging in authentic, richly textured relationships with other people. The feedback we receive provides us with a compass. The disclosure provides us with companionship on our difficult postmodern journey.
