;411 - conwayhall.org.uk · the General Committee after making a few modifications to it. It has now been accepted, and will come into uSe in January. ... Step. Modern Maurice. ...

Editorial

Off the Record

A Heretic's Vision Winwood Reade

Has Art a Function Today 9 Dr. Helen Rosenau

Humanism and Peace Richard Clements, O.B.E.

Contemporary Theology H. J. Blackham

Samuel Beckett and the Decline of Western Civilisation Dr. John Lewis

To the Editor

Humanist Holiday Centre

South Place News

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SixpenceVol. 69, No. 9

T-4.• -

OCTOBER 1964

..1447\

SOUTH PLACE. ETHICAL SOCIETY

OFFICERS:

Secretary: Dr. D. J. GibsonHon. Registrar: Mrs. T. C. Lindsay

Executive Secretary: Miss E. Palmer Hon. Treasurer: Mr. E. Harris

Editor, "The Monthly Record": Miss Barbara Smoker Address: Conway Hall, Humanist Centre, Red Lion Square, London, W.C.1.

(Tel.: CHAncery 8032)

' SUNDAY MORNING MEETINGS AT ELEVEN O'CLOCK. ..October 4—PROF. T. H. PEAR

Social Aspects of American and English Speech—a Psychological CommentContralto solo by MURIEL DIETERLE (Ole Faro—Gluck)

October 11—DR..1. LEWIS"Lord of the Flies"—Is Man Evil by Nature?Piano solos by Joyce Langley

October 18—RICHARD CLEMENTS, O.B.E.The Dilemma of the ChurchesSoprano solos: Shirley Danger&ld

October 25—DR. STARK MURRAYMorals and Ethics of the New MedicineBase solos: G. C. Dowman ( Widmung—Schumann ; 1th Lithe Dich—Grieg)

CONWAY DISCUSSIONS—TUESDAYS AT 7.30 p.m.October 6—ERIC BATSON

Have the English Any Sense of Humour? (A lecture recital)October I3—REV. T. DALTON

Is Modern Youth Irreligious?October 20—GUILFOYLE WILLIAMS, B.Sc.

Science, Survival and Sentimentoctober 27—Guest speaker from the German Embassy

The Future of Anglo-German Relations

SOUTH PLACE SUNDAY EVENING CONCERTS, 74th SEASON, 1964/65Concerts 6.30 p.m. (Doors open 6 p.m.) Admission 3s.

October 4—LONDON STRLNG QUARTETBeethoven B flat, op. 18, No. 6; E mi., op. 59, No. 2; E flat, op. 127

October II—AEOLIAN STRING QUARTETBeethoven A, op. 18, No. 5; Bartok No. 1; Brahms C mi., op. 51, No. I

October 18—PRO ARTE PIANO QUARTETMozart G mi., K478 and Faure C mi., op. 15 Piano Quartets; SchubertB flat String Trio

October 25—DUMKA PIANO TRIOMozart B flat, 10502; Dvorak G mi., op. 26; Brahms C op. 87

The Objects of the Society are the study and dissemination of ethical principlesand the cultivation of a rational religious sentiment.

Any person in sympathy with these objects is cordially invited to become a Member(minimum annual subscription 12s. 6d.) or Associate (minimum annual subscription7s. 6d.). Associates are not eligible to vote or hold office. A membership applicationform will be found on the back cover.

The Monthly Record is posted free to members and associates. The annual chargeto subscribers is 8s. Matter for publication in the November issue should reach theEditor, Miss Barbara Smoker, 86 Dalmain Road, Forest Hill, S.E.23, by October 15.

TheMONTHLYRECORD

Vol. 69, No. 9 OCTOBER 1964 Sixpence

.CONTENTS

EDITORIAL , .. . 3

OFF THE RECORD .. .. . .. .. .. 4

A HERETIC'S VISION (extract by Winwood Reade) .. .. 5

Ilas ART A FUNCTION TODAY? by Dr. Helen Rosenau • .. 6

HUMANISM AND PEACE, bY Richard Clements, 0.B.E. . . 8.

CONTEMPORARYTHEOLOGY, by H. J. Blackham .. .. .. . .. 10

SAMUEL BECKETT AND THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILISATION,by Dr.• John Lewis .. .. .. . . .. .. 11

To THE EDITOR , .. . ... . . 13.., HUMANIST HOLIDAY CENTRE 14SOUTH PLACE NEWS .. .. 15

The views expressed in this journal are not necessarily those of the Society.

EDITORIALOUR APPEAL fof ideas and designs for a front cover for The Ethical

Record, as this journal is soon to become, elicited a number of suggesti6nsand one complete design. The main features of this design, which waSsubmitted by .Mr. W. Home, were a background of solid colour with thetitle in sloping Rockwell letters in white, the contents being to the rightof centre in black. The Publicity Committee, which had been asked toselect the cover design, recommended the acceptance of Mr. Home's tOthe General Committee after making a few modifications to it. It hasnow been accepted, and will come into uSe in January.

humanist Erophet .Winwood Reade is not usually thought of as a prophet in the H.' G:

Wells:class; and the remaikable, though perhaps somewhat over-optimistic, extract printed in this issue at the request of several memberswho heard it read by. Mr. Clements on June 7 will no doubt come asa Surprise to those who did not hear the reading.. • - • -

The Breeze of Change ,The Catholic Truth Society'x-quarterly publication, Catlwlic Truth, has

been carrying out an investigation into,the causes of the rapid decline inthe number of conversions -to the Church at a time when the popularpontificate of John XXIII, the ecumenical movement, and the establish-ment of Catholic information centrcs might all have been expected tolead to more conversions. The chief reaSon put forward iS "that whatthe prospective ccinvert is tired of in his own denomination is com-promise, 'sitting, on the fence', and failure to state categorically what isright and what is wrong" and now they find all these things in theCatholic Church too. So the Church's increasing flexibility, which mostof uS wthild velèorñe, dOeS riot in fact attract 6onverts, who in-the mainare looking for inflexibility—changelessness, certainty, and rigid dogma.

However, a glance through the pamphlets recently issued by the C.T.S.does not reveal much of the alleged change. Even one with the promisingtitle The Regulation of Births contains the following betrayal of itspromise:

It is a sfriking manifestation of 'God's care for us tliat now, when the need tOregulate is often more urgent, medical research has been able to discover moreaccurately the cycle of fertility and infertility which has always been there as aparCof God's design. •

. Another C.T.S. bamphlet on a controversial subject, Capital Punish-went, concludes as follows:

It must always be understood, however, that even if the use of the death penalty.were to be abolished; the State would still have the right, and in a particular caseeven the duty, to re-introduce the death penalty, if it were to be considered necessaryfor the security and adequate protection of society. •

It really seems id be sCarcely more than a breeze of change that isblowing through thcCatholic Church as yet.

Off the RecordBritish Prisoner in Spain

The news of the arrest in Madrid and subsequent conviction of the 18-year-old Scottish anarchist, Stuart Christie, on charges of carrying explosives andplotting acts of sabotage against the Spanish regime seems to have provokedlittle reaction from the British Government, which has traditionally alwaysmade "strong representations" in such cases, especially when the sentencepassed has been,so much niore severe than,it would have bedn for the sameoffence in this country. There is little doubt that if the scene of the arrest hadbeen Moscow instead of Madrid, all the stops would have been pulled out:One trusts that in the present case something is,being done behind the scenes.

Some of Christie's closest friends in the Committee of 100 have assured methat he would never have resorted to violent means, much as he loathed theFranco regime, and that his story in court—that he did not-know the contentsof the package he had been given—must have been true; others think there islittle, doubt he was guilty. Guilty or not, however, being caught with a fewpounds of explosives that have not been actually used would 'result in thiscountry in a prison sentence of six months, at the most. In Spain, however;the Government feels so insecure and fearful of rebellion, even after more thana quarter of a century in .power, that a small plastie bomb assumes the pro-4

portions of an incipient civil war, so that Christie was sentenced to twentyyears' imprisonment and the Spaniard arrested with him on similar charges tothirty years' imprisonment. Vicious sentences, indeed. When we remember themethods by which Franco came to•power, such excessive reaction to the merepossession of explosives has a bitter irony.

13.5.

A Heretic's VisionThe following extract from The Martyrdom of Man by Winwood Reade(24th edition, pp. 513-516)was read by Richard Clements as a preface tothe lectare summarised on page 8. The book was-first publithed in 1872.

WE can conquer nature only by obeying her laws, and in order to obey her lawswe must first learn what they are. When we have ascertained, fiy means ofscience, the method of nature's operations, we shall be able to take her place andto perform them for ourselves. When .we understand the laws which regulatethe'complex phenomena of life, we shall be able to predict the future.as We arealready able to predict comets and eclipses and the planetary movements.

Three inventions• which perhaps may be long delayed, but which possiblyare near at hand, will give to this overcrowded island the prosperous conditionsof the United States: The first is the discovery of a motive force which willtake the place of steam, with .its cumbrous fuel of oil or coal; secondly, theinvention of aerial locomotion which will transport labour at a trifling Cost ofmoney and of time to any part of the planet, and which, by annihilating distance,will speedily extinguish national distinctions; and thirdly, the manufacture offlesh and flour from the elements by a chemical process in the laboratory,similar to that which is now perfOrmed within the bodies of the animals andplants. Food will then be manufactured in unlimited quantities at a triflingexpense; and our enlightened posterity will look back upon us who eat oxen andsheep just as we look back upon cannibals. Hunger and starVation will then beunknown, and the best part of human life will no longer be wasted in the tediousprocess of cultivating the fields. Population will mightily increase, and the earthwill be a garden. Governments will be conducted with the quietude and regula-rity of club committees. The interest which is now felt in politics will be trans-ferred to science; the latest news from the laboratory of the chemist, or theobservatory of the astronomer, or the experimenting roorit of the biologistwill be eagerly discussed.

Poetry and the fine arts will take the place in the heart which religion nowholds. Luxuries will be cheapened and made common to all; none will be rich,and-none poor. Not only will man sUbdue the forces of evil that are without;he will also subdue those that are within. He will repress the base instinctsand propensities which he has inherited from the animals below; he will obeythe laws that are written on his heart; he will worship the divinity.within.

. . . The whole world will be united by the same sentiment which united theprimeval clan, and which made its members think, feel, and act as one. Menwill look upon this star as their fatherland; its progress will be their ambition;the gratitude of others their reward .. .

And then, the earth being small, mankind will migrate into space, and willcross the airless Saharas which separate planet from planet, and sun from sun.The earth will become a Holy Land which will be visited by pilgrims from allthe quarters of the universe. Finally, men will master the forces of nature; theywill become themselves architects of systems, manufacturers of worlds. Man thenwill be perfect; he will then be a creator; he will therefore be what the vulgarworship as a God . .

5

Whatever may be the nature of the Deity, and whether there is a. future lifeor not, the great moral laws can be in no way changed. God is purely a scientificquestion. Whether he is personal or impersonal, definable or undefinable, ourduties and responsibilities remain the same. The existence of a heaven and ahell can affect our calculations, but cannot affect our moral liabilities. .

Has Art a Function Today?BY -

D R HELEN ROSENAU

WE LIVE in an age of noise, potted music, pop art, mechaniOal aids in teachingand automation. The machine and the robot have to some extent taken over.We explore the moon and frequently forget human beings as individuals: -

We also live in an age in which we regard the universe as expanding, whenman has been removed from his place in the centre of the cosmos; whendynamism takes the place of symmetry. The Czech artist Kupka gave in 1909a• notable example of this attitude in • his painting, The First Step. Moderncontemporary trends are exemplified by, for instance, the work _of MauriceJadot, in which the medium of abstraction produces significant form. .•

The opera Aniera by the Swedish composer K. B. Blomdahl gives a tellingillustration of .our predicament. The citizens of that city want to emigrate LoMars in a spacecraft and find death on the way. The American Ad Reinhardt,with his monochrome black paintings, anti-anti-art he claims, give an exampleof denudation of content. Architecture also is rationalised or could be. Soonbricklayers may be dying out. In this situation we have to ask ourselves: Hasart still a function, and if so, what is it?

Let us first say what art is not. It is not a frill, a "decoration of construction",in the words of Gilbert Scott, an unnecessary adjunct to life. Art crystallisesthe emotions, both in its creation and in its appreciation. And as 1 have saidbefore in this hall, the eternal verities of life do not change. They are birth,love and death. They lead to the creation of myths. These are the eternal themesof art, or, put in a different way: art stands for the solving of tensions, for aharmony, which is achieved, not pre-ordained. When we admire nature, welook at it as a work of art. For deists, nature is, in fact, as it were, God's artisticcreation.

In the past art has taught, encouraged, raised religious fervour and politicalenthusiasm. We are now discovering a new reality, new freedoms; art may helpto reveal them. A Ministry of Art, allied with recreation, could stimulate allstrata of society and take the arts out of the hands of small fashionable cliques.Art can be allied to progress, by emphasis of function and content, although aperfect work of art is timeless. The language can be abstract or concrete,ritualistic or realistic.

The .arts' of the past are sometimes overvalued, because only the best hasbeen preserved and collected. No doubt, later generations will not be confrontedwith our whole heritage of anti-art or meretricious objects, and .will retain thebest. These facts present a challenge to contemporary taste and cry out for arteducation and appreciation. In the highest sense the arts can enhance thequality of life, and this is why they are, perhaps, more necessary in our mechanicalcivilisation than in more primitive cultures, in order that society may regain anequilibrium and a sense of value. Our society is complex and open. There is noreason for pessimism, but there is reason.for hopes of a wider social contentand a more humane attitude in our environment, including the arts.

(Summary of a lecture given on July 12)

6

Composition in wood by Maurice Jadot—a modern artist mentioned by Dr. Rosenau on the opposite page. Although a septuagenarian, Jadot is "modern" indeed.To quote Paul Reilly in a recent exhibition catalogue: "The older Maurice Jadot grows, the more his imagination drives him to new effects and new methods of producing them. It is as if he is working against time to redeem in his seventies the middle years that

he spent away from his eaSel and bench."

7

Humanism and PeaceBY

RICHARD CLEMENTSTHIS TALK was given in the belief that Britain's major interests, as an industrialand trading nation, are dependent upon the creation of a peaceful, viableand co-operative world order. This is not something that can be brought aboutovernight by a stroke of genius on the part of a statesman or diplomat. Itscoming will depend upon modern man's capacity to live in a universe of changeand to adapt himself, and the society in which he lives, to the imperative de-mands of constant change. The signs and symbols of reality in the Sixties arenew facts, new concepts, new techniques, new weapons, and new economic,political and social relationships.

We who call ourselves Humanists accept the idea that man is the architectof his own destiny; within, of course, the context of his age and social environ-ment. Those who reject this human responsibility and seek salvation from theGods, from traditional rulers, or what Professor Titmus calls "the bureaucraticdespotism of large-scale private as well as public agencies", are of the orthodoxand conformist elements in our society. Their attitude of mind is regrettablebecause, in the first place, it detracts from the zest Of living in dynamic andadventurous ways; and, secondly, it lends support to those who decry man'spower to transform his economic and socio-political conditions in accordancewith his own ideas and ideals.

The outcome of this reactionary teaching can be studied in the serrnons,lectures, articles, pamphlets and books which denigrate human efforts tO bringabout the abolition of war and armaments, to build an international policybased on the United Nations to end the division of our world between the twogreat power blocs of the East and the West, and to pursue a constructive policyof co-operation and aid with the new nations and the economically undevelopedcountries, without political strings attached.

The Humanist confronts the problems of peace and war, as well as theeconomic and social needs of particular communities, believing that there is nomodern world problem which cannot be mastered by the powers of humanreason, courage and leadership. This is, and by the very nature of things mustbe, the living and creative faith of all those who seek by means of thought,discussion and social action, to influenee the march of events. There seems nolimit to what may be achieved by humanity before the close of the twentiethcentury, given the avoidance of a third world war and the willingneSs of thenations to work together on the tasks of economic, social and cultural prOgress.This, then is the faith by which we live and act.

From such a standpoint we must now come to grips with the practical tasksof peace making. The central problem here for British Statesmanship, irrespec-tive of party political affiliations, is the creation amongst the leaders of the greatpowers of a general will to build and keep a global peace. That is why a return toa one-world concept of international relationships is an essential first step inbringing about a detente between the Communist and non-Communist blocs.The achievement of this end would be welcomed by wise and far-sighted Menin the Soviet Union, U.S.A., Britain and the neutral nations; for, as ex-PresidentTruman pointed out years ago, "war is no longer a rational solution of any ofthe world's problems".

And, en passant, let me remind you that it was Norman Angell, the veteranjournalist and author, who became World famous by proclaiming in his brilliantbook, THE GREAT ILLUSION (1910), the disastroUs consequences of modern waron victor and vanquished alike. Time has shown how right he waS. Yet fewwriters have had to contend with so much misunderstanding. Nevertheless,for half a century, this remarkable man has been the voice of humanity andreason in the discussion of international affairs.8

Thus both enlightened thought and bitter experience of two world wars haveshown mankind the folly of inilitarisiti. 'The drily alternative is peaceful co-existence, based on the idea of the unity of modern civilisation. This conceptwould release the constructive energieg Of nations and individuals and enablethem to direct their talents and Skills -to broad huinan and social ends. This,towards the end of his life; Was the view that seerns to have dominated the thoughtand action of the late PreSident Franklin Roosevelt. For, on the day before hedied, he wrote: "Today we are faced with the pre‘einifient fact that if civilisationis to survive, we [mist cidtivate a sense of human relationships—the ability bfall.kinds of people to live together in the same world at peace."

Among the many factors involved in the struggle for peace three are of specialirimortance, namely, (1) the economic; (2) the ideologie, and (3) the psychologic:

The struggle for a place in the markets of the world ig a inatter of ded0cormern to many nations, and to some—Britain and Japan for exarriPleWhielhare dependent upon imporied raw materials and foOdituffs, it iS a life and.deatliissue. This fact is certain to influence the foreign, policy add conduct Of suchnations. Indeed, it is an historical fact that it has done so; both natiOns havingsought to expand outside their own frontiers and,,by conquest, to gain Sciurcesof essential supplies of food and raw materials, and to create for theniselVesmarkets for their industrial and manufacturing enterPriseg.

Racialism, nationaliSt and pOlitiCal ideologY, religious fariatieithd, and thenoStalgic longing of some of the Great POwers to 'maintain (or regain) theircontrol Or prestige, may be cited as dicamPles bf thig second &Min of obstacleS.The tension betivden Israel and the Arab States, the clathes betWeeii negroigand Whites in the United StateS, the apartheid policy in Srmth Africa, caugégra* lOss of life, (Janine to proPérty, Suffering to innodent lieople add intenseUnrest. These evils arise from One, or More, of the factOth which haVe beenmentioned above.

What communities, as well as individuals, think about their siiiidtien inthe World also matters Very much. It operates on both great and sniall natiOds:Take: for example, the situation of China, a great nation, an old civiligatiOn;a brave and talented people, with an acute ConscioUsness Of rheir Power addpurpose in the world. Today Communist China finds herself in Conflict withthe Western Powers, and especially with the United Siateg; she has arse beacini6inVolved in ideological duels with the Soviet Union and other CorriFnuniStcountries.

-. -Here again the causcs are complex. di, witheut WishB ing to ovef-siinplifYmatters, and certainly not to ignore underlying economiC and political interests,is not the exclusion of Mainland China from a rightful place in die UnitedNations one of the major psycholOgical errors in the foreign POlieji Of theWestern Alliance? The confirmed presence of a representative of FOrmosa,a petty American satellite, does but add insult to ifijurY. Ought not a start to bemade at once to bring China back into the world-wide Community of natioriS?

In trying to assess the international problenis of these timeg, when it iS riedes-sary, to avoid rash or ill-advised decisionS, and to lake the king View,: tribute-must be paid to the quiet and_ constructive work Mine by the United Natiodiand its specialised agencies. Public opinion, bOth at home and abroad, Odgfit.tobe better informed abmit the vast programme of humanitarian actiVities. ofW.H.O., I.L.O. and U.N.ES.C.O., which makes such a notable COritributiod tOhealth, working and biting §tandardS, and to social and oulnifal MOOS.The voluntary organithticins in inariY lands ei>OPerate in a VarietY of WaYs add

oWn sPereial knOWledge and skills tO the serViee Of hurndnit. TIMSthese Pioneer enterpriseS May mark the beginning bf an age that dares to thinkand act in terriis of. the glcibal welfare of the Ininian rake.

(Summary ot a lecture given on June l)

Contemporary Theology•

. BY •

+I. J. BLACKHAM

THEOLOGIANS 10DAY FACE new difficulties on many fronts. The main featuresof the new,- and not so new, situation in which theological thinking has to bedone are the following. (1) Protestant forms of theology haVe come to termswith science by simply actepting its results, but have lost the massive supportof "natural theology", the assumption that the laws of nature and the axiomsOf reason are a natural revelation of God; neither reason nor nature turnsout to be good evidence for the existence of God. (2) Not only have the resultsof the natural sciences to be accepted, but the secular scientific approach to allmatters, including man and religion itself, has to be aceepted. Michael Argylein Religious Behaviour Makes a statistical analysis Of this kind of behaviour,and goes on to assess various theotieS- which attempt to account for it. (3)Christian theologians are confronted by other world faiths in a new way.- It isno longer enough to leave the study of these faiths to the specialist. The theolo-gian has to come to terms -with thent himself, for such faith's as-Buddhism andCommunism have a strong appeal in the West, and there is an impatience withreligious differences and a demand for religion to lead the way in the pacificationand unification of mankind. (4) Rapid social change at an accelerating pacedemands new thinking and some radical readjustments, if 4heology is,to1ekertany influence and1control. Even within the Church, the rise of native churchesin ex-colonial territories has proved a challenge, pointing IC, a disociation bfthe Christian gospel from the forms .of Western society and Culture with whichit haS been identified. (5) In a world in which-the "peOple" are 6verywhere cominginto their own, their idea and ideal of religion is a forcb with which theologianshave to reckon; the people can no longer be simply instrudted..

The characteristic contemporary theological response Jo these challenges is"radical" rather than "liberal". That is to say; the attempt to iationalise religionis abandoned, the attempt to assimilate it to modern culture and sbcular society.Instead, theology is-prepared le go back into the wilderness and proclaim theGospel from a renewed position of independence. Karl Barth -is one -of theoldest, and perhaps the greatest, of living theologians, and hasMad a tremendousinfluence on Protestant thinking. Fie-is quite radical in dissociating the Gospelfrom culture and society: there ismo natural peint of contaet between God andman, neither in reason nor in "religious experience"; the contact is one-sided,God.. alone acts in histotY and • on man; it is for man to wait, listen,and obey. In general, the many-fronted challenge to the theologians ismet with a 'reaffirmation of the challenge of the. Gospel, rather than witheoncessiOns. At the same time, there is a willingness to sit loos& to-a great dealof the tradition and the dogma, to treat it freely and symbolically, a readiness toplay down the Church as a liabilitY. This means separating the essential frbirn theinessential,-and finding 'a-new language in which to-speak, the truths of the faithintelligibly to modejn man. Contemporary theologians by no means agree onhow thii is to be done, and almost-all the ways in which it is being done areviolently condemned. Nevertheless, most theologians who are exerting atiinfluence are trying to do this in some way. There-is groping and experimenta-tion in preaching the Gospel as in contemporary art. •

One way of finding a new language is to forget the old, to give "God" aholiday, to try to get along with a "religionless" Christianity Or a religionlessGod. Some seniinal words on this were sown by the German paStor DietrichBonhoeffer, executed by the Nazis, in thc letters published as Letters and Papersfront Prison. These words have borne fruit in many strenuous attempts to bringreligion home in terMs whieh are not "religious". The Bishop of Woolwichacknowledged his debt to Bonhoeffer. Of course the supreme language free from

10

religious cant is the life of genuine. service ; and .this model seems to lie behindthe paradoxical words.

Associated with this is. the insistence that the Christian faith cannot -beexpressed in propositional terms: it is not "belief that", but "response to'';it is personal trust, not intellectual assent. "God is addressed, not expressed."The necessary assurance that the one who is trusted is trustworthy comes from.the appeal of the Jesus of the Gospels and the witness of the community• ofbelievers, from the Apostles to the present' day.

The Bible is the foundation of the Christian faith; and today the Church isuncertain how to treat the Bible. In what sense is it "the word of GOd"? Does it"contain" the word .of God; is. it a "witnesS to" the word of God; or is it,touj court, the word of God? Both the old assumption of inerrancy and the"liberal", idea of it as a record of religious experiences are,discountenanced.Revelation, it is said, does not convey true propositions inaccessible to naturalreason. The Jesus of history, of whom the New Testament is a record, is also theChrist of faith, of which the New Testament is a record. The duality of word and"Word" is essential if the Bible is to be saved from lapsing into the generalstream of.world literature. In other words, faith' is a premise, mit a conclusion,of Bible 'study. This circular argurnent is like thc classical'proofs of the existenceOf God. They do not convince an unbeliever, because they do not "prove"God's existence. They help to reinforce the belief of the believer by reassuring hisreason. He has reason to believe, even though reason alone -cannot requirehim to believe. Similarly, the Bible becomes the word of God for those who takeit as the word of God; and God will not 'speak in it to those w'lui clO not.

Circularity in argument can of course never be conclusive, but it is not con-temptible, when direct support of evidence is not obtainable.In the case ofreligious faith, reason alone will never suffice to ground it. Humhnists, for goodor ill, cannot bring themselves to quit the ground of reason. For Ihem, man,inescapably, is the measure of all things.

(Summary of a lecture given on June 27)

Samuel Beckett and the Decline of•

Western Civilisation

DR. JOHN LEWIS

Some TEN YEARS ago there appeared a new and disturbing figure in the world ofthe theatre: Samuel Beckett, an Irishman long domiciled in France, theanthor:OfWaiting for codot. Today we know him by a whole series of 'equally perPlaingplays and noVels reflecting his own strange universe, permeated by,tmVsieryand bounded by darkness, , •:". His.plays and novels ke designed•to,show how meaningless life is, that dt theiodt of our being there isMOthihgness, that the certitudes and basic asthimpirons'of the age have been swept awa,have been tested and found wanting, disereditedas'childish illusiohs.' As Camus has said:

In a universe that is suddenly deprived of illusions and of light, man feels astranger.:He is an irremediable exile,, because he is deprived of memories of

. a lost homeland as ranch as he lacks the hope of a promised land to come.

Cut off frbm his religious and metaphysical roots, man is lost and all-his actionsbecome senseless, absurd, useless.

This is the blurred and angry vision, the picture of anguish and despair thatis presented in the plays and novels of Samuel Beckett.,

I I

What is our attitude to all this ? What are we to think of Samuel Beckett'sprophetic vision? Is it to be contemptuous derision ? Are we to say that this ismerely some eceentric avant-garde nonsense? By no means. We cannot ignorethe ektent of the intelligent response, the widespread feeling that this doesreflect something many of us uneasily feel. It answers to something in the modernworld.

The force of his imagination, his mastery of language, his technical brilliance;his command of the mirthless laugh, all these are beyOnd dispute. But what aVision of the worldl—a tOriure chamber for incurables. And look at his face aswe see it in the photograph that stares out of the programmes of his currentplays—a face at once aceusing and aghast, as of a man about io be struckby lightning. This is our mOdern prophet, Who cannot help seeing beyond thecOmplaCeney of oUr affluent lociety to the engulfmg grave and the encirclinggloom.

If Beckett sets out looking for something, the laborious search ends in finalbafflement. cerfainly SainuelBeeken succeeds in every play and every book heWrites in Creating ah atmosphere of uncertainty and irredheible confusion; ofc'Ornmunicating one thing quife iridispOfahly: hii sense of bewildermerii andanxiety when confronied-with the human cOndition, and his -despair at being

iunable to find a Meaning n existence.So what'.3 Why should this be true because it is clever? Why should we say:

poor lost, UnhaPpy. humanity? Why noi: poor Mi. Beckett?The despair in which he traffics is a personal misfortune, not a philosophy.

The mddness may be not in the.tiniverse but in himself. We dO.Mcist certainlyget a gripping sense of What ohe sort of psychotic's existence must undoubtedlybe like, the sort Of person who like the poet Thnily Dickinson can say

I like a look of agonyBecause I know it's true.

But, once again, is it the truth about life? True, of course, as revealing thepsychotic's troubled Mind, blit not fOr that reason 'true as a picture of the humansituation.

This is, in fact,,the vision of the kind of man who sees the modern worldfrom a peculiar angle; and it appeals to thOse Of us *who are afflicted with thesame distorted vision. But they are identifying their own subjective vision withreality itself.

And what is that vision? —Living in a world in process of radical change—to use Julian Huxley's phrase,

"living in a revolution"—they trY to see the World in terms of the concepts andprinciples and values and ideas of the age tpat is breaking up. The result is that. . .....they see mere confusion.

When one age is dying and a new one is corning into being this manifests itselfnot Only as the disintegtation of the. once fixed Order of the present' world; butalio in the begiOnings of a neW and better order, WhiCh those wedded to theold cannot see, or if they see it, hate. When fundamental change. arrives, fdrSome, .heaven daWns, .for others, hell' yaWns alien and the maid passes intohysteria. What is wanted is a new philosOphy and a new perspective. Nirieteenth-century rationalism, nineteenth-century ciptiMism, the moral codes of theVictorians, the Edwardians and the Georgians, all these coneepis and principlesare falling to pieces under the onslaught of modern philosophy and modernScience.

But as Shaw said: "If your old religion broke down ycsterday, spend todayin getting a new and better one fOr totrioriow".'We should be learning new thingsevery .day;- thatalways feels at first as if we had lost something. It is all puregain really." We see the outworn pupa case of the dragonfly and not the emerging imagowith its new-formed wings for flight into a new dimension.12

If one could see not only what is decaying outworn, but what is coming intobeing; if we could see not only the pattern of an individualist society but theperspective of a co-operative commonwealth, things would look very different.

The pessimist sees only death and decay because his vision is limited by hisown assumptions and prejudices. The dilemma is not that of man, it is his own.

But see the new perspective, recognise the new forces, the outlines of a newsociety, the new men, the new philosophy, and we see not Beckett's nightmarebut the dawn of a new age.

The reply to the prophet of gloom is

You would rather be ruined than changed,You would rather die in your dreadThan climb the cross of the moment ..And let your illusions die.

(Summary of a lecture given on July 5)

To the EditorThe Affluent Society

Mr. Clements' address on the above, published in your issue of September,is an undisguised essay in electioneering and many of his statements are soslanted That I am constrained to take issue with him.

If I rightly recall, the foundations of social insurance were laid by the LiberalGovernment at the turn of the century, whilst the present Act was an agreedmeasure drawn up .by the Coalition Government in 1944. Yet we are left withthe impression that the concept of the- Welfare State was entirely the productof the Attlee Government.

Again, for nearly twenty years the liquidation of the British Empire hascontinued under successive governments: Yet all that Mr. Clements choosestosee is the granting of independence to India:Burma and Ceylon.

With -the evolution of economic theory ,following Keynes, full employmentis today accepted policy in all parties: Are we seriously invited to believe thatonly Mr. Attlee and his team have shown any concern for this since the war?, In advanced industrial countries the rise in the standard of living has beenphenomenal in recent years. Yet it seems That in our capitalist society this is allan illusion fostered by advertising, the ,popular Press and the B.B.C. in theinterests of hire purchase and building societies. So be it, but May E suggestthat the victims may prefer such mythical affluence to the real poverty of formertimes? It is too bad that so many of us must w6rk for wages and we cannot allhave our hands on the steering wheel, but I fear that this is likely to be so whicIFever party comes t6 power.

Lest I appear as a dyed-in-the-wool Tory, I hasten to mention that, despiteMr. Clements' •doctrinaire -excursions and preposterous misrepresentations, Ipropose to give my vote to Labour in the forthcoming election.. a AN DREWS

Oxfordshire

•What is a Humanist?••No definition can be adequate for long because everything changes in the

world of ideas. When speaking-to non-Humanist audiences I use the followingdefinition of Humanism so that what I have to say thereafter falls within certain'broadly defined terms of reference.

In the absence of convincing evidence for the existence of a supernaturalauthority or of its intervention in earthly affairs, Humanism is a rational'outgoing response to the growing capacity for empathy in -human beingswho are determined- to•comprehend life, using the knowledge gained to

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control their condition now and prePare mankind and hB environmentfor the future. A Humanist takes account of the effects of his needs, Uri'pulses and limitations upon the optimum wellbeing of everything withwhich he enters into relationship. He imposes restraint upon his aims withrespect to life now and in the foreseeable time to come.

However, to adopt any kind of hard and fast definition would be a very badthing: I think the definition gradually forms itself in the mind when people readthe literature of Humanism. Everything contributes, but the whole is alwaySdeveloping.

Berkhamsted, Herts.(Mrs.) D. I. BENTLEY

A Humanist is one who believes that man's future (and present too, for thatmatter) lies in his own hands, without recourse to supernatural aid, real orimagined.

LESLIE JOHNSONTunbridge Wells, Kent.

Humanist Holiday CentreIt is a pleasure to report that the pioneer ventufe, at Coniston,'August 15-29,

1964, was successful and obviously enjoyed by those Who were there. A numberof factors contributed, including the distinctive features of the locality. Thepremises, with their Ruskin relics, are beautifully situated on a hill at the eastside of the lake. The .Warden, Stanley Jeeves, a mountaineering photographer,was able to show som6 splendid slides and moving pictures that he had madelocally and in various parts of the world. These and other films were projectedin a comfortable and well-equinpéd common-room 'in the house.

By Lakeland standards the weather was very good.There were boating and swimming in thelake, and a variety of walks, long

and short, within reach. Several Fells were scaled; local craftsmen were visited,and a barbecue and sing-song were held on each Thursday night on the privatemeadow at the water's edge. On both occasions a small boat loomed up silentlyfrom the opposite side of the.lake and an unknown guitarist came ashore andcontributed Irish and "pop" songs. Three or four verses were written for a"Humanist Holiday Centre Theme Song" (to the tune of "The Darkics' SundaySchool") and it is hoped that further verse's will be added at subsequent centres.

Several indoor musical evenings were held, and discussions, on "Religion inSchools", "Positive Humanism" and other subjects. During the period a numberof friends came on short visits, including several from Manchester HumanistSociety, and an actor and his family from the Century Theatre on Wheelswhich we had visited several times at Keswick.

And ultimately it was the people who'counted. The resident staff and theirstudent helpers catered excellently for meat-eaters and vegetarians alike, andthey and our own visitors were always ready to give a helping hand with un-failing cheerfulness.

Of the forty participants each week, ten were children (two of them babies)and the rest assorted in ages and interests but equally determined to enjoythemselves. By thesecond day the hubbub 'at Mealtimes 'showed that everyonefelt at home. When a third of the number left at the end of the first week, therewas a quieter patch until the newcomers were assimilated. As these includedyoung jazz and classical musicians, the pattern of entertainment changed alittle,-but zest for discusSions 'remained, and participants broke up into groups,which on the last evening reported some of their finding's. The preponderanceof -people from the South of England was Undoubtedly due to their knowledgeof the venture through .contact with SuttOn Humanist Group, but there were

one family from Scotland and several from the •Midlands. Clearly, twice asmany might be attracted were the activity better krioivn. However, instead ofthinking in terms of centres twice as large, it was suggested in a discussion onthe last evening that it would be better to try to arrange two a year, in differentparts of the country, for forty to fifty people each.•It was strongly felt that therelatively intimate nature of the centre at "Brantwood" contributed greatly toits success. .

The idea of a "Chrisimas-New Year" centre at, say, Brighton, Sussex, wassuggested, and is being followed up, bUt it is doubtful whether premises will befound in time for this year. We would consider doing our own catering anddomestic work if fifteen or more participants were willing to give a half to athird of a day's work daily, in exchange for free accommodation, providedpremises without service could be found. •

An invitation from Dutch Humanists, to join them at their own centre, "DeArk", near the Polderzee, for a fortnight, August 14-28 next (1965), has beenaccepted, and particulars will be announced shortly.

Meanwhile, the search for suitable premises, for 1966 onwards, will contirthe.They need to be sought two years in advance, and even then it is difficult to findthose really suitable for family holidays, and reasonably accessible. Suggestionswill be welcomed. MARJORIE MEPHAM •

South Place NewsNew Members• We are pleased to welcome the following new members in the Society: Mr.D. E. Bradford (Upminster), Miss M. R. Budd (Rainham), Mr. S. S. Budhai(Blackheath), Mr. D. I. Katz (Denver, U.S.A.), Mrs. D. C. Stocker (MercuryBay, New Zealand).

SocialsThere will be a Social in the Library on the third Sunday afternoon of each

month this season, except in December when it will be on the second Sunday.Whist Drives on the third Thursday of each month.

October 15—Whist Drive in the Library at 7 p.m.; light refreshments.October 18—Sunday Social in the Library, 3 p.m., with a talk by Richard

Clements, 0.B.E., on "Voltaire and Shaw: the role of a laughing philosopher".Tea will be served at 3.45 p.m. All members and friends are welcome.

OutingsSunday, October 11. Visit to Exhibition: Meet at 2.30 p.m. outside the Geffrye

Museum, Kingsland Road, Shoreditch, E.2. Exhibition of Furniture. Under-ground to Liverpool Street, then bus 22, 35, or 47. Refreshments after visit.Leader: Miss W. L. George.

Saturday, November 14. Newspaper Conducted Tour: Arrangements havebeen made to visit the Sunday Titnes:Thomson House, 200 Gray's Inn Road,W.C.1. Meet outside at 7.45 p.m. As attendance is limited, please advise Mrs.L. L. Booker, 152 Old Oak Road, East Acton, W.3, by October 14 if you wishto be included.. •

Young HumanistsSaturday, October 3.. "Humanism for Youth Today": a day conference for

under-thirty-fives. General and group discussion of some brief papers with aview-to forming working groups. At Conway Hall, 10.30 a.m. to 6 p.m.; socialevening if response sufficient. Admission 3s. 6d. including light refreshments.Lunch at nearby cafés or bring sandwiches. Write or phone Paul Crellin,35 Stainforth Road, Newbury Park, Ilford, Essex; GOOdmayes 4014.

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South Place Ethical SocietyFOUNDED in 1793, the Society is a progressive movement which today advocates anethical humanism, the study and dissemination of ethical principles based on humanismand the cultivation of a rational religious sentiment free from all theological dogma.

We invite to membership all those who have abandoned supernatural creeds andfind themselves in sympathy with our views.

At Conway Hall there are opportunities for participation in many kinds of culturalactivities, including Discussions, Lectures, Concerts, Dances, Rambles and Socials. ALibrary is available and all members receive the Society's journal, The Monthly Record,free. The Sunday Evening Chamber Music Concerts founded in 1887 have achievedinternational renown.

• •The minimum subscriptions are: Members, .12s. 6d. p.a.; Associates (ineligible

to vote or hold office), 7s. 6d. p.a.; Life Members, £13 2s. 6d.

Services available to Members and Associates include: The Naming Ceremony ofWelcome to Children, the Solemnisation of Marriage, Memorial and Funeral Services.

The Story of South Place, by S. K. Ratcliffe (2s. from Conway Hall), is a history ofthe Society and its interesting development within liberal thought.

It helps the Society's officers if members pay their subscriptions by Bankers' Order,and it is of further financial benefit to the Society if Deeds of Covenant are entered into.Members and Associates are urged to pay more than the minimum subscription when-ever possible, as the present amount is not sufficient to cover the cost of this journal.

A suitable form of bequest for those wishing to benefit the Society by their wills is tobe found in the Annual Report.

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION FORM

To THE HON. REGISTRAR, SOUTH PLACE EMICAL SociErY,CONWAY HALL HUMANIST CENTRE, RED LION SQUARE, LONDON W.C.1.

I desire to become a *Member/Associate of South Place Ethical Society and

enclose entitling me (according to the Rules of the Society) to

membership for one year from the date of enrolment.

NAME (BLOCK LETTERS PLEASE)

ADDRESS

DATE

*Cross out where inapplicable.

Printed by Farleigh Press Ltd. (T.U.), Watford, Herts.