Monday, October 22, 2007

The play instinct of the child is as old as the race, or older,



and is a vitally important factor, not only in physical
development, but also in mental development
The play instinct of the child is as old as the race, or older,
and is a vitally important factor, not only in physical
development, but also in mental development. In its destructive
and disorderly activities the child shows the later adult
forces in the formative stage. Old instincts and movements that
were once self-preservative and of serious meaning to a wild
ancestor reappear in the play of children, and, utilized
wisely, may under new form become a valuable possession of the
adult. There is a great big man, in fact, several possible men,
inside every boy. Through his running, jumping, fighting,
swimming, through impulse, instincts and emotions he is seeking
the man that is in him, and it is by this turbulent and
experimental course that he finally comes to the order of
maturity.




Extreme and long-continued fatigue is hostile to the development and



welfare of any nervous system, and especially to that of children
Extreme and long-continued fatigue is hostile to the development and
welfare of any nervous system, and especially to that of children. Not
only does overfatigue hinder growth, but it also results in the
formation of certain _toxins_, or poisons, in the organism, which are
particularly harmful to nervous tissue. It is these fatigue toxins that
account for many of the nervous and mental disorders which accompany
breakdowns from overwork. On the whole, the evil effects from mental
overstrain are more to be feared than from physical overstrain.




The disease called chickenpox, or varicella, has no



relationship to smallpox and does not protect from it, nor does
smallpox protect from chickenpox
The disease called chickenpox, or varicella, has no
relationship to smallpox and does not protect from it, nor does
smallpox protect from chickenpox.




From the point of view of the traffickers in white slaves, it is much



cheaper and safer to procure country girls after they have reached the
city
From the point of view of the traffickers in white slaves, it is much
cheaper and safer to procure country girls after they have reached the
city. Such girls are in constant danger because they are much more
easily secreted than girls procured from the city. A country girl
entering a vicious life quickly feels the disgrace and soon becomes too
broken-spirited and discouraged to make any effort to escape into the
unknown city which she believes to be full of horrors similar to those
she has already encountered. She desires above all things to deceive her
family at home, often sending money to them regularly and writing
letters describing a fictitious life of hard work. Perhaps the most
flagrant case with which the Association ever dealt, was that of two
young girls who had come to Chicago from a village in West Virginia,
hoping to earn large wages in order to help their families. They arrived
in the city penniless, having been robbed en route of their one slender
purse. As they stood in the railway station, utterly bewildered, they
were accosted by a young man who presented the advertising card of a
boarding-house and offered to take them there. They quite innocently
accepted his invitation, but an hour later, finding themselves in a
locked room, they became frightened and realized they had been duped.
Fortunately the two agile country girls had no difficulty in jumping
from a second-story window, but upon the street they were of course much
too frightened to speak to anyone again and wandered about for hours.
The house from which they had escaped bore the sign 'rooms to rent,' and
they therefore carefully avoided all houses whose placards offered
shelter. Finally, when they were desperate with hunger, they went into a
saloon for a 'free lunch,' not in the least realizing that they were
expected to take a drink in order to receive it. A policeman, seeing two
young girls in a saloon 'without escort,' arrested them and took them to
the nearest station where they spent the night in a wretched cell.




Sunday, October 21, 2007

It will be inferred that Brown contends warmly for the existence of



Disinterested Affection, not merely as a present, but as a primitive,
fact of our constitution
It will be inferred that Brown contends warmly for the existence of
Disinterested Affection, not merely as a present, but as a primitive,
fact of our constitution. He does not always keep this distinct from
the Moral Sentiment; he, in fact, mixes the two sentiments together in
his language, a thing almost inevitable, but yet inconsistent with the
advocacy of a distinct moral sentiment.




Book Ninth proceeds without any real break



Book Ninth proceeds without any real break. It may not be always easy
to fix the return to be made for services received. Protagoras, the
sophist, left it to his pupils to settle the amount of fee that he
should receive. When there is no agreement, we must render what is in
our power, for example, to the gods and to our parents (I.). Cases may
arise of conflicting obligation; as, shall we prefer a friend to a
deserving man? shall a person robbed reciprocate to robbers? and
others. [We have here the germs of Casuistry.] (II.) As to the
termination of Friendship; in the case of the useful and the pleasant,
the connexion ceases with the motives. In the case of the good, it may
happen that one party counterfeits the good, but is really acting the
useful or the pleasant; or one party may turn out wicked, and the only
question is, how far hopes of his improvement shall be entertained.
Again, one may continue the same, while the other makes large advances
in mental training; how far shall present disparity operate against old
associations? (III.). There is a sort of illustrative parallelism
between the feelings and acts of friendship, and the feelings and acts
of self-love, or of a good man to himself. The virtuous man wishes what
is good for himself, especially for his highest part--the intellect or
thinking part; he desires to pass his life in the company of his own
thoughts; he sympathizes with his own sorrows. On the other hand, the
bad choose the pleasant, although it be hurtful; they fly from
themselves; their own thoughts are unpleasant companions; they are full
of repentance (IV.). Good-will is different from friendship; it is a
sudden impulse of feeling towards some distinguished or likeable
quality, as in an antagonist. It has not the test of longing in
absence. It may be the prelude to friendship (V.). Unanimity, or
agreement of opinion, is a part of friendship. Not as regards mere
speculation, as about the heavenly bodies; but in practical matters,
where interests are at stake, such as the politics of the day. This
unanimity cannot occur in the bad, from their selfish and grasping
disposition (VI.).




Chapter X



Chapter X. is on Power, Worth, Dignity, Honour, and Worthiness. A man"s
_power_ being his present means to obtain some future apparent good, he
enumerates all the sources of original and acquired power. The _worth_
of a man is what would be given for the use of his power; it is,
therefore, never absolute, but dependent on the need and judgment of
another. _Dignity_ is the value set on a man by the state. _Honour_ and
_dishonour_ are the manifestation of value. He goes through all the
signs of honour and dishonour. _Honourable_ is any possession, action,
or quality that is the sign of power. Where there is the opinion of
power, the justice or injustice of an action does not affect the
honour. He clearly means a universally accepted opinion of power, and
cites the characters of the pagan deities. So, too, before times of
civil order, it was held no dishonour to be a pirate, and even still,
duels, though unlawful, are honourable, and will be till there be
honour ordained for them that refuse. Farther on, he distinguishes
_Worthiness_, (1) from worth, and (2) from merit, or the possession of
a particular ability or desert, which, as will be seen, presupposes a
right to a thing, founded on a promise.




With the rules are associated _sentiments_, the result of the Divine,



or other, command to obey the rules
With the rules are associated _sentiments_, the result of the Divine,
or other, command to obey the rules. It is a gross and flagrant error
to talk of _substituting_ calculation for sentiment; this is to oppose
the rudder to the sail. Sentiment without calculation were capricious;
calculation without sentiment is inert.




It may, then, be claimed for the Massachusetts School Fund, that the



expectations of those by whom it was established have been realized;
that it has given unity and efficiency to the school system; that it has
secured accurate and complete returns from all the towns; that it has,
consequently, promoted a good understanding between the Legislature and
the people; that it has increased local taxation, but has never been a
substitute for it; and that it has enabled the Legislature, at all times
and in every condition of the general finances, to act with freedom in
regard to those agencies which are deemed essential to the prosperity of
the common schools of the state
It may, then, be claimed for the Massachusetts School Fund, that the
expectations of those by whom it was established have been realized;
that it has given unity and efficiency to the school system; that it has
secured accurate and complete returns from all the towns; that it has,
consequently, promoted a good understanding between the Legislature and
the people; that it has increased local taxation, but has never been a
substitute for it; and that it has enabled the Legislature, at all times
and in every condition of the general finances, to act with freedom in
regard to those agencies which are deemed essential to the prosperity of
the common schools of the state.




Hoarded wealth inspires no respect in the Pacific, and indeed,



were it discovered, its possession would justify immediate
confiscation
Hoarded wealth inspires no respect in the Pacific, and indeed,
were it discovered, its possession would justify immediate
confiscation. Yet man must raise idols to satisfy his instinct
to worship things above his acquisition, and thus rank is the
more reverenced because respect for property is low. Even
to-day there is something god-like in the presence of the high
chiefs, and none will cross the shadow of the king"s house.
Even in war did a common man kill a chief he himself was killed
by men of his own tribe.




Saturday, October 20, 2007

PRACTICAL NATURE OF IMAGINATION



PRACTICAL NATURE OF IMAGINATION.--Imagination is not a process of
thought which must deal chiefly with unrealities and impossibilities,
and which has for its chief end our amusement when we have nothing
better to do than to follow its wanderings. It is, rather, a
commonplace, necessary process which illumines the way for our everyday
thinking and acting--a process without which we think and act by
haphazard chance or blind imitation. It is the process by which the
images from our past experiences are marshaled, and made to serve our
present. Imagination looks into the future and constructs our patterns
and lays our plans. It sets up our ideals and pictures us in the acts of
achieving them. It enables us to live our joys and our sorrows, our
victories and our defeats before we reach them. It looks into the past
and allows us to live with the kings and seers of old, or it goes back
to the beginning and we see things in the process of the making. It
comes into our present and plays a part in every act from the simplest
to the most complex. It is to the mental stream what the light is to the
traveler who carries it as he passes through the darkness, while it
casts its beams in all directions around him, lighting up what otherwise
would be intolerable gloom.




The Legislature of 1834 acted with wisdom and energy



The Legislature of 1834 acted with wisdom and energy. The school fund
having been established, the towns were next required to furnish answers
to certain questions that were substituted for the requisition of the
statute of 1826, and any town whose committee failed to make the return
was to be deprived of its share of the income of the school fund,
whenever it should be first distributed. (Res. 1834, chap. 78.)




(2) But farther, the real simplicity lies on the side of independent



and disinterested benevolence
(2) But farther, the real simplicity lies on the side of independent
and disinterested benevolence. There are bodily appetites that carry us
to their objects before sensual enjoyment; hunger and thirst have
eating and drinking for their end; the gratification follows, and
becomes a secondary desire. [A very questionable analysis.] So there
are mental passions, as fame, power, vengeance, that urge us to act, in
the first instance; and when the end is attained, the pleasure follows.
Now, as vengeance may be so pursued as to make us neglect ease,
interest, and safety, why may we not allow to humanity and friendship
the same privileges? [This is Butler, improved in the statement.]




Although imagination enters every field of human experience, and busies



itself with every line of human interest, yet all its activities can be
classed under two different types
Although imagination enters every field of human experience, and busies
itself with every line of human interest, yet all its activities can be
classed under two different types. These are (1) _reproductive_, and (2)
_creative_ imagination.




KANT



KANT. Distinguishes between the empirical and the rational mode of
treating Ethics. Nothing properly good, except _Will_. Subjection of
Will to Reason. An action done from natural inclination is worthless
morally. Duty is respect for Law; conformity to Law is the one
principle of volition. Moral Law not ascertainable empirically, it
must originate _a priori_ in pure (practical) Reason. The Hypothetical
and Categorical Imperatives. Imperative of Prudence. Imperative of
Morality. The formula of Morality. The ends of Morality. The Rational
nature of man is an end-in-itself. The Will the source of its own
laws--the Autonomy of the Will. The Reason of Ends. Morality alone has
intrinsic Worth or Dignity. Principles founded on the Heteronomy of
the Will--Happiness, Perfection. Duty legitimized by the conception of
the Freedom of the Will, properly understood. Postulates of the pure
Practical Reason--Freedom, Immortality, God. Summary.




Phelps, Edward Bunnell: _The Mortality from Alcohol in the United



States_, Proceedings of the Fifteenth International Congress on Hygiene
and Demography, Washington, 1912, Vol
Phelps, Edward Bunnell: _The Mortality from Alcohol in the United
States_, Proceedings of the Fifteenth International Congress on Hygiene
and Demography, Washington, 1912, Vol. I, p. 813.




Friday, October 19, 2007

There are only two kinds of social structure conceivable--



personal government and impersonal government
There are only two kinds of social structure conceivable--
personal government and impersonal government. If my
anarchic friends will not have rules--they will have rulers.
Preferring personal government, with its tact and flexibility,
is called Royalism. Preferring impersonal government,
with its dogmas and definitions, is called Republicanism.
Objecting broadmindedly both to kings and creeds is called Bosh;
at least, I know no more philosophic word for it. You can
be guided by the shrewdness or presence of mind of one ruler,
or by the equality and ascertained justice of one rule; but you must
have one or the other, or you are not a nation, but a nasty mess.
Now men in their aspect of equality and debate adore the idea
of rules; they develop and complicate them greatly to excess.
A man finds far more regulations and definitions in his club,
where there are rules, than in his home, where there is a ruler.
A deliberate assembly, the House of Commons, for instance,
carries this mummery to the point of a methodical madness.
The whole system is stiff with rigid unreason;
like the Royal Court in Lewis Carroll. You would think
the Speaker would speak; therefore he is mostly silent.
You would think a man would take off his hat to stop and put
it on to go away; therefore he takes off his hat to walk out
and puts in on to stop in. Names are forbidden, and a man
must call his own father 'my right honorable friend the member
for West Birmingham.' These are, perhaps, fantasies of decay:
but fundamentally they answer a masculine appetite.
Men feel that rules, even if irrational, are universal;
men feel that law is equal, even when it is not equitable.
There is a wild fairness in the thing--as there is in tossing up.




Of the other Laws of Nature, treated in Chap



Of the other Laws of Nature, treated in Chap. XV., the third, _that men
perform their covenants made_, opens up the discussion of _Justice_.
Till rights have been transferred and covenants made there is no
justice or injustice; injustice is no other than the non-performance of
covenants. Further, justice (and also property) begins only where a
regular coercive power is constituted, because otherwise there is cause
for fear, and fear, as has been seen, makes covenants invalid. Even the
scholastic definition of justice recognizes as much; for there can be
no constant will of giving to every man his own, when, as in the state
of nature, there is no _own_. He argues at length against the idea that
justice, _i.e._, the keeping of covenants, is contrary to reason;
repelling three different arguments. (1) He demonstrates that it cannot
be reasonable to break or keep covenants according to benefit supposed
to be gained in each case, because this would be a subversion of the
principles whereon society is founded, and must end by depriving the
individual of its benefits, whereby he would be left perfectly
helpless. (2) He considers it frivolous to talk of securing the
happiness of heaven by any kind of injustice, when there is but one
possible way of attaining it, viz., the keeping of covenants. (3) He
warns men (he means his contemporaries) against resorting to the mode
of injustice known as rebellion to gain sovereignty, from the
hopelessness of gaining it and the uncertainty of keeping it. Hence he
concludes that justice is a rule of reason, the keeping of covenants
being the surest way to preserve our life, and therefore a law of
nature. He rejects the notion that laws of nature are to be supposed
conducive, not to the preservation of life on earth, but to the
attainment of eternal felicity; whereto such breach of covenant as
rebellion may sometimes be supposed a means. For that, the knowledge of
the future life is too uncertain. Finally, he consistently holds that
faith is to be kept with heretics and with all that it has once been
pledged to.




He commences by quoting Hutcheson"s doctrine of a Moral Sense, which he



describes as an _implanted_ and _arbitrary_ principle, imparting a
relish or disrelish for actions, like the sensibilities of the various
senses
He commences by quoting Hutcheson"s doctrine of a Moral Sense, which he
describes as an _implanted_ and _arbitrary_ principle, imparting a
relish or disrelish for actions, like the sensibilities of the various
senses. On this doctrine, he remarks, the Creator might have annexed
the same sentiments to the opposite actions. Other schemes of morality,
such as Self-love, Positive Laws and Compacts, the Will of the Deity,
he dismisses as not meeting the true question.




Thursday, October 18, 2007

The old notion that our bodies are changed every seven years, science



has long since exploded
The old notion that our bodies are changed every seven years, science
has long since exploded. 'The matter,' said Mr. John Goodsir, 'of the
organized frame to its minutest parts is in a continual flux.' Our
bodies are never the same for any two successive days. The feet that
Mary shall dance with next Christmas Eve will not be the same feet
that bore her triumphantly through the previous Christmas holidays.
The brain that she learns German with to-day does not contain a cell
in its convolutions that was spent in studying French one year ago.
Whether her present feet can dance better or worse than those of a
year ago, and whether her present brain can _do_ more or less German
and French than the one of the year before, depends upon how she has
used her feet and brain during the intervening time, that is, upon the
metamorphosis of her tissue.