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Feringer Notes - CIRCULATION OF THOUGHT - 1954 50 of 65 Natural science method only allows one to look at concrete evidence, that which is outside.In human behavior it can discern actions, but not their meaning. The gauge for learning, whether inside the church, or the classroom or board or factory room is what happens outside these artificial environments. The gauge for learning must therefore be expanded beyond tests and opinion polls toactions in the community that which indicates the true ability of the inner life of people, their thoughts, their courage, their will to act to create a better future. 4.These are some of the misapprehensions about human behavior and community life that lead us astray in the process of thinking about ourselves. When we are treated objectively, we tend to think of ourselves at times as mere "things," as atoms in nature. [R.F. - one is reminded ofB.F. Skinner, the famous Harvard psychologist, who advocated "operant conditioning" as the method for teaching. In his research papers he would refer to his subjects, human or animal, as "organisms."He claimed that psychology was a science in which one must discover how subjects could be "trained" to respond to his imposed manipulation. His method was to work with pigeons, assuming that thiswould give him a clue to the secrets of human behavior. The method never required any intimate communication with the subjects.As <strong>Rosenstock</strong>-<strong>Huessy</strong> averred, "Nature is the universe without speech."That is, humans in this condition would have no past or no future; this would mean that we have an understanding of ourselves based only on our direct experience, having to reinvent reality so to speak, just as do wild animals.] Articulated dreams of a better future are not of interest to the scientific psychologist because these factors lack the concreteness of measurable data.These scientists accept only their observed data. 5.Speech is the essential difference between nature and humankind.Of course, we begin life as dependent animals, but have the potential for growth and change. That growth comes from learning what it is to be human through a history of human events. Great works of art, great sacrifices, biographies of genius tell us how great societies have come into being. And conversely, what destroys community are greed, avarice, hatred, violence. In the other direction of time, we can dream of a better future, then act to attempt to create that future.Speech (language) allows us to enormously expand our understanding of human experience by extending social memory into the past and out to the future. 6.People who can communicate similar beliefs form the bond of culture. Those beliefs represent their "souls," their inner life, beyond the reach of natural scientific analysis. What then is the realm of study directed to our inner life?It cannot be psychology or sociology, for the reasons stated above. It is important here to point out the difference between our concrete experience and the abstract world of our various languages. Our first experiences in life are of movement, hunger, and pain. As a matter of fact, we learn many things about social relationships before abstract symbols like numbers and theories have any meaning for us.Our first experiences in life include commands
Feringer Notes - CIRCULATION OF THOUGHT - 1954 51 of 65 from parents - love, fear, anger, frustration - in short, social relationships. 7.These experiences teach us, however consciously or unconsciously, about "things" and about "social life including our individuality."The historical record tells us of the commonality of social life and the price to be paid for different actions. We can understand war, peace, love, hate, etc. History is meaningful to the degree that we can relate to it from our personal experience. The stories of Jesus, of martyrs burned at the stake, of the accomplishments of genius, and great artists are real events that reflect the existence of a source of inner strength in humankind. We know we have freedom of thought within us whereby we are capable of making a decision, and of being creative, and rising to great heights, and of having the strength to withstand privation, and to sacrifice.WHERE DOES THAT POWER COME FROM? But if you know that the flame that's burning in your heart is the same flame that created the universe and said, "Let there be light," then you suddenly say, "Well, I have a very noble pedigree.I am the son of God." (p.19) This source of inner strength cannot be proven through any method of scientific measurement.But it can be experienced!ERH asserts then that this third element in the universe, the prime mover, the creator, is reflecting the creative power of human beings, and therefore must be part of a different social science. 8.The point of all this is that if we are to come more alive and realize our greater potential, we must realize that we possess withinsomething analogous to creativepowers that formed the universe.A freedom to change, to do new things, to become something more than we are now. WHERE DID THIS POWER COME FROM? We can understand this power precisely because we have experienced it! It cannot be otherwise proven.One cannot prove with any data similar to that of science, the effect of love on us.It can only be experienced. We can thus relate to (understand) all of the great figures in history because we possess similar experience and the same powers as they. 9.We can understand justice, love, peace, war and sin, greatness and avarice when we admit that we are capable of similar heights and depths. (RF - ERH said to me once, "Be humbled by the fact that you are capable of achieving great heights or committing the most heinous crime ever committed, given the right circumstances.") In this way history should affirm some of the characteristics of human beings and empower us to explore further transformation. 10.The difficulties of mere physical survival by itself are considerable. The next step towardmoral and spiritual growth is far more demanding. Languagemaintains vitality only when truth is spoken, yet to speak the truth can be dangerous. Sacrificing individual benefit for the welfare of the community is equally difficult. We are free to decide either way on these issues,
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