The author of this work highlights and explores the ways in which culture acts as framework organizing our experience. He emphasizes the differences across and between cultures and examines the depths to which these can go. He also analyzes the functions of culture, including: mediation; meaning-making; and forming a repertory of values and principles. Finally, he considers some of the challenges raised by taking a cultural perspective and examines how these may be addressed in society.

This special issue provides a set of articles written by former colleagues and friends of Jan Hawkins--a member of a talented group of graduate students who participated in the weekly seminars held in what was then referred to as the Institute for Comparative Development during the mid-1970s. The single theme that brought together this diverse group of scholars and that dominates the papers in this issue is the belief in the value of human diversity not only as a resource for understanding human nature, but as a necessity for continued human development. The articles and commentaries testify...