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Feringer Notes - CIRCULATION OF THOUGHT - 1954 54 of 65
1.The academic cycle is analogous to the natural science cycle, the reverse of a cycle that would
establish a viable social life.It investigates things first, then man, then a purpose for our lives.
ERH asks, "What is wrong with being objective? THE ANSWER IS, IT CAN ONLY APPLY IN
A PERIPHERAL WAY TO UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL LIFE. The fact is,we all want to be
judged by the circumstances surrounding our actions, and therefore, to be judged subjectively.
We wish people to make exceptions for us!ERH quotes Shakespeare, "treat everybody according
to his merit, and nobody is safe," and concludes:
...objectivity means to treat everybody as a thing.(p.2)
Of course objectivity has its place because we must have competence in important positions, but
it must be merged with other considerations.
Academic science tries to transform everything into a thing. p.6
2.ERH tells us that suicide means treating ourselves as "things.""Suffering is no reason to take
your life; and joy is no reason to stay in life." (p.3)Otherwise there would be no basis for asking
soldiers to be ready to die for their country, or anyone else to sacrifice for the community, for that
matter.
He points out that, logically, if one believes in the right to judge the world objectively, there is no
reason not to pollute, or set off the bomb.
I have neither the right to blow up created matter, nor have I right to blow up myself. (p.5)
3.It is philosophy that asserts that we rule the world because it believes in the dominance of the
mind. Therefore, the philosopher asserts, we have the power to make these types of unlimited
decisions.
4.The academic community of social scientists tries to turn everybody into a thing and be
objective about it.They call all parts of the universe "natural." But the natural world is constantly
at war.All animal societies are at war.And because human beings are still thought of as the same
(especially minorities), human society has been unceasingly at war. The natural animal world has
no other direction but conflict, and inanimate elements have no direction except the mercy of
other forces of nature.
5.No vital society has ever been created with this type of logic. A fruitful alternative is to view
society as having some direction toward peace, peace in an environment of justice.Objectivity is
when everyone tries to manipulate everyone else - operating between the sexes, social classes,
races, power centers, etc. This prevailing attitude is actually pre-Christian!(p.8)
6.To speak of the scientific attitude leads us also intofactoring (categorizing),finding the common
denominator of people as a basis for thinking of groups;e.g. by age, or socio-economics, or
values. This is called the "naturalistic" method of social scientific thinking. Churches, ERH