ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book is about the connections of public relations (PR) to individuality, and how those connections are changing. Individuality in the book is the measure of the individual's autonomy and consciousness, which changes because of PR. Philosophical, scientific and technical considerations appear only as they seem useful to understanding what PR does to and with the individual. PR is a business but was never just a business activity, if defined by what it actually does instead of what it might be called at any particular time in history. Its methods long predate the needs of business, and it is used by many types of organizations and people. Since PR's business is with humanity it must know what makes humanity tick. It is an unrecorded presence in several academic disciplines.
