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Feringer Notes - CIRCULATION OF THOUGHT - 1954 42 of 65
salutary relations.
3.From 1100 to 1500 we lived in an era where theology dominated thought; from 1500 to 1900
we lived in an era dominated by natural science (knowledge about things).Since 1900 we live in
an era of social science, but the method remains that of natural science applied to mankind -
treating individuals as things. (p.7)
4.In science no universal is valid permanently; knowledge changes constantly. ONE
THEREFORE CANNOT BE EITHER A NOMINALIST OR A REALIST ONLY, ONE MUST
ASSUME THERE IS SOME TRUTH IN BOTH CONCEPTS.Lying (falsifying) is using words
with no truth behind them!The question is, "How are we to address each other so that our
relations might be civil and engender mutuality?"
5.If God is merely an arbitrary name with no meaning, no manifestation in reality, then He
doesn't exist. In life, in social relations it is important that we use universals, i.e. titles such as
teacher, or boss, or president, and when appropriate, personal identification, e.g. Mr. Smith, or
George. We need the options of both modes of identification in order to speak properly.
6.This question of proper addressing of others also relates to the powers we invoke. By what
authority do we speak, by authority of the president, or of the law, or of "my mother?"The next
question is, "Who is speaking?" and the next, "Who is being spoken to, and what authority do
they possess?"A criminal has certain rights before the law, for instance.
ERH goes on, "...in 1500, there was a declining interest in realism - and an ascending interest in
the world of things." p.15/19Today we tend to be completely dominated by thinking of
everybody in nominalist terms.
7.The question of the universal for God is to be used quite differently than with people or things.
Initially, both people and things were named arbitrarily.But the power of the creator can never be
used or thought of arbitrarily. "God is the problem to have one name through all ages." (p.17)
8.One can of course reject God,reflecting the assumption of a cynic, or skeptic, or atheist.This
ERH calls a de-generate, "...a man who lives only in his own generation without connection with
the past and the future." (p.18)This is a person who is unconscious of the creative powers in life.
9.THESE ARE THE QUESTIONS WE MUST ABSOLUTELY ASK AND FIND ANSWERS
TO if we are to make available to ourselves the power of language to make critical distinctions
between the most fundamental experiences of living,i.e. how to deal with the divine, how to deal
with things, and how to deal with humankind.
a.Universals have three methods, of the nominalist, of the realist, and of the "mutualist" (one who
utilizes either of the two methods, or a mixture thereof, in each situation). To invoke the divine,
one is dedicated to serving the truth, such as the Trinity. Only this power unifies the three
different elements of life.