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R o b e r t L e s l i e F i e l d i n g
Li f e Wor ks

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Copyright R o b e r t L e s l i e F i e l d i n g
The right of Robert Leslie Fielding to be identified as author of
this work has been asserted by him in accordance with section 77
and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and atents !ct "#88$
!ll rights reser%ed$ &o part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrie%al system, or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the
publishers$
!ny person who commits any unauthori'ed act in relation to this
publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and ci%il claims
for damages$
! C( catalogue record for this title is
a%ailable from the )ritish Library$
ISBN 978 1 84963 145 7
www$austinmacauley$com
First ublished *+,"+-
!ustin . /acauley ublishers Ltd$
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rinted . )ound in 6reat )ritain
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D e d i c a t i o n
This book is dedicated to my wife, &a'an, without whose
support and encouragement it would not ha%e been written$
RLF
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A c k n o wl e d g e m e n t s
( would also like to respectfully dedicate this %olume to the
contributors whose names appear on its pages$ ( ha%e used my
imagination and my creati%ity to write dialogues that ( think
they would appro%e of$ ( ha%e remained true to their spirit and
their beliefs, and ( sincerely hope to be forgi%en by them at
some future time and in some future place if ( ha%e gone
against them in any way at all$ (t is they who ha%e shaped the
world in which we all li%e, and ( pay my great respect,
admiration and sincere gratitude to them in writing this book$
RLF
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Life Works is the lid for andora7s )o8$ (t is the wisdom of the ages
used to effect a remedy for its ills$ (t is mankind alle%iating its own
suffering$
Life Works uses o%er se%enty 1ocratic dialogues to disco%er a better
way to li%e$ (t includes talks on si8teen different aspects of life9:
;!%erting Catastrophe7 < D$=$ Lawrence, !ldo Leopold, Rachel
Carson, Donella /eadows, 3illiam 3ordsworth
;&ature and the 4n%ironment7 < Ralph 3aldo 4merson, Francis
)acon, Charles Darwin, 1tephen >ay 6ould
;The (ndi%idual7 < Touissant L7?u%erture, 3ilbur and ?r%ille
3right, >oseph =eller, !braham /aslow, )ertrand Russell, >oseph
Campbell
;1ociety7 < !rthur /iller, >ohn 1tuart /ill, Dwight D$ 4isenhower,
>ean:>ac2ues Rousseau
;Law and ?rder7 < Crito, !ristotle, 1ocrates, >ohn Ruskin, =enry
Da%id Thoreau, 1ir Robert eel, Frederick Douglass, 4li'abeth Cady
1tanton
;4ducation and @nowledge7 < !lbert 4instein, =oward 6ardner, >ohn
Dewey, Rudolph 1teiner, >ohn Locke, Thomas =urka, !lbert 1'ent:
6yorgyi
;Life and Li%ing7 < !lbert 1chweit'er, >oseph Campbell, >$/$ )arrie,
>ohn /ilton
6
;Rights7 < 6$@$ Chesterton, /ary 3ollstonecraft, /artin Luther
@ing >r$
;3ealth7 < !ndrew Carnegie, !dam 1mith, /ilton and Rose
Friedman, >ohn /aynard @eynes and >ohn @enneth 6albraith, @arl
/ar8 and Frederick 4ngels
;6o%ernment7 < Thomas =obbes, &iccolo /achia%elli, =annah
!rendt, 6eorge ?rwell , Thomas >efferson
;The /ind7 < 4leanor Roose%elt, lato, 1igmund Freud, Carl >ung,
Francis Crick, lato, @aren =orney
;Creati%ity and the Ase of the (magination7 < >ames >oyce, 4dna 1t$
Bincent /illay, Thomas =ardy and >ane !usten, 6usta% /ahler
;=umility and @indness7 : /ohandas @$ 6andhi
;1ensiti%ity and !ltruism7 : Dalai Lama
;>oy7 < @athleen Ferrier and 6racie Fields
;rogress and the Future7 < 4rich Fromm, Robert ?wen, 1amuel
1miles, 3illiam 6odwin
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Preface
(f ( were to write one important letter, ( would write it to e%erybody
on the 4arth$ ( would ha%e it translated into e%ery language, from
those spoken by millions < /andarin Chinese, =indi, 1panish,
!rabic, and ortuguese and, of course, 4nglish$
( would also ha%e it translated into those languages only spoken
by less than ",,,,, people < =uambisa, a language spoken in the
high mountains and Cungles of eru, Beps, spoken by D,E00 people in
Aralic Russia < to e%erybody in e%ery language on 4arth$
The %ery fact that there are thousands of languages spoken by
millions or tens of thousands, or less < spoken by people li%ing in
en%ironments as di%erse as the steppes of Central !sia, or the
rainforests of 1outh !merica, testifies to the fact that we as people
are as di%erse as the flowers that carpet the 4arth in springtime$
!nd each and e%ery one of us has one desire < to li%e happily
and at peace with our neighbours$ 3e all wish to eat and drink, work
and play, li%e and die on our own little part of the surface of the 4arth
( would ask e%eryone to whom it was addressed to remember
this < to constantly ha%e it in mind whene%er we act and whate%er we
do : ( would say9 F>ust stop and think before you do anythingGH
/any of the things we do, we do on a sort of impulse < the
momentum of life takes us along and we do what we did yesterday
and the day before that$ =abit is a necessary part of our li%es < all our
li%es < and we do today what we ha%e done a thousand times before,
almost automatically, with a minimum need for any conscious
thinking$
8
(f we really had to think before we acted, thinking without really
engaging oursel%es, things would either take us fore%er to
accomplish, or we wouldn7t do them$
)ut some things do re2uire us to really think hard < to consider
the conse2uences of our actions, or, alternati%ely, the conse2uences
of not acting$ 3e ha%e to take a lot of things into consideration, we
sometimes ha%e to talk things o%er with our lo%ed ones, but those
types of decisions < the big ones < whether to ha%e children, where to
li%e, etc$ those big ones are the ones we usually gi%e plenty of
thought and consideration to$
3hat comes between the big decisions and the habitual actions
that only re2uire a minimal amount of thought, if any < what about
those decisions in betweenI
)etween the maCor decisions and the minor ones, what ha%e we
gotI 48amine your day < wander through the areas of your e%eryday
life where you decide on something you think is tri%ial and not worth
a second thought < and then try to identify those decisions that are
more important9 that either impact on others or on yourself$ (t is those
types of decisions ( want you to consider thinking more about <
bringing those thoughts and the aspects that impinge on them to the
front of your conscious thought$
)ut that7s not all of it < there7s plenty more to think about than
the things you do, or e%en those things you say$ There are those
thoughts you habitually think before you get round to the act of
thinking about things in a conscious way$
?ur whole life is full of thought$ (t is impossible not to think, we
are told, but it is the nature of this thought, these processes that go on
whether we want them to or notJ our attitudes and our bearing on
e%ery aspect of our li%es, on e%erybody who touches our li%es in any
way at all$ (t is these thoughts that need to be put under the
magnifying glass of our scrutiny, so that we can truly say of oursel%es
that we are self:aware < we understand our ways of thinking and our
moti%ation$
(t is in consciously understanding something that we come to be
able to change whate%er it is that has trapped us$ 3e ha%e mo%ed
what should be conscious decisions back into unconscious ones$ 3e
9
need to re%erse this process$ 3e need to think before we act, and
rethink a lot of the ways we think too$
(t is this mo%ing back of our thoughts < ones that really are
important enough to be at the front of our minds, that we need to
changeJ not to imagine that no conscious thought is needed when
acting in ways that, as mentioned earlier, either impact on others or
on oursel%es, directly or indirectly$
(n order to not go against what used to be termed ;our better
Cudgment7, we need to hold this up to moral and intellectual scrutinyJ
Life Works pro%ides ways of doing this < holding our beliefs up
against the wisdom that has informed us for more than two thousand
years$
10
The Contri butors
Chapter 1: Averting Catastrophe
i- D. . !a"ren#e, born in "880, was one of the most well
known and influential no%elists, writing such classics as Women in
Love, Sons and Lovers and the contro%ersial Lady Chatterleys Lover$
=e also wrote poetry, but it is his no%els for which he is chiefly
remembered, as well as for his %iews of the effects of industrialism
upon his nati%e 4ngland$
ii- $i%%ia& $or's"orth, the famous Lakeland poet, was born
in "77,, and was one of those responsible for the emergence of the
Romantic !ge$ This was signalled by his publication, Lyrical Ballads
in "7#8$ =e was )ritain7s oet Laureate for some se%en years until
his death in "80,$
iii- Done%%a (ea'o"s, born in "#5", was an en%ironmental
scientist, writer and teacher from the state of &ew =ampshire, A1!$
=er best known work is The Limits to Growth, which studied long
term trends in population, economics and the en%ironment$
i%- )a#he% Carson was a marine biologist who wrote largely
about nature$ 1he was born in "#,7, and it is claimed that her writings
were responsible for the beginning of the global en%ironment
mo%ement$ =er most well known and well regarded book is entitled
Silent Spring$
%- A%'o !eopo%', the noted !merican ecologist,
en%ironmentalist and forester was born in "887$ =e was a professor at
11
the Ani%ersity of 3isconsin$ =e wrote his most well known book, A
Sand Conty Almanac in "#5#$
Chapter *: Nat+re an' the ,nviron&ent
i- )a%ph $a%'o ,&erson was an !merican poet, essayist, and
lecturer, born in "8,E$ =e led the Transcendentalist /o%ement and
was a champion of indi%idualism$ =e wrote !atre in "8ED, in which
he outlined his %iews on Transcendentalism$
ii- .ran#is Ba#on, the "st Biscount of 1t$ !lban, was born in
"0D"$ =e was an 4nglish philosopher, scientist, lawyer, statesman
and author$ =e ser%ed as !ttorney 6eneral and Lord Chancellor in
4ngland, and his influence on scientific methods of en2uiry earned
him the name of ;Father of 4mpiricism7$
iii- Char%es Dar"in, best remembered for his groundbreaking,
if contro%ersial work on the "rigin of Species, was born in "8,#$ (t
was he who first introduced e%idence for natural selection in his "80#
book, "n the "rigin of Species$
i%- Stephen /a0 1o+%', born in "#5", was a palaeontologist,
science historian and e%olutionary biologist from !merica$ =e spent
most of his working life teaching at =ar%ard Ani%ersity and working
at the !merican /useum of &atural =istory in &ew Kork$
Chapter 3: 2he In'ivi'+a% an' So#iet0
i- 2o+issant !34+vert+re was born in 1aint Dominigue in
"75E$ =is first name means ;all saints7$ =e was the leader of the
=aitian Re%olution, allowing =aiti to gain independence from her
French colonisers$
ii- $i%5+r an' 4rvi%%e $right, born in "8D7 and "87"
respecti%ely, were the first creators of that most modern of man:made
12
phenomena, manned flight$ They de%eloped their ;hea%ier than air7
crafts in the years leading up to "#,E$
iii- /oseph e%%er was responsible for a phrase that has entered
popular use *Catch ++-, as well as for the no%el of the same name,
>oseph =eller, born in "#+E, was an !merican no%elist and short
story writer, who shot to fame with his most famous no%el$
i%- A5raha& (as%o", the founder of the discipline of
humanistic psychology, was born in "#,8$ =e is best remembered for
his #ierarchy of !eeds$ =e was of the opinion that man stri%es to
fulfill all his needs, reaching what he termed ;self:actualisation7 at the
ape8 of the hierarchy$
%- Bertran' Arth+r $i%%ia& )+sse%%, the Erd 4arl Russell, was
born in "87+ and was arguably the most well known )ritish
philosopher$ =e became a supporter of nuclear disarmament before
his death in "#7,$ Russell was a prominent anti:war acti%ist, and
championed free trade and anti:imperialism$
Chapter 4: So#iet0
i- Arth+r (i%%er$ !lthough perhaps best known as one of
/arilyn /onroe7s se%eral husbands, !rthur /iller, born in "#"0, was
arguably !merica7s greatest playwright$ =e was responsible for
masterpieces such as $eath of a Salesman and The Crci%le$ The
former was a criti2ue of the !merican dream, whilst the latter was a
pastiche and criti2ue of the /cCarthy witch:hunts and the un:
!merican !cti%ities Committee$
ii- /ohn St+art (i%%, born in "8,D, was an eminent )ritish
philosopher, and proponent, with )entham, of the concept of
Atilitarianism$ =is most well known work is "n Li%erty, which dealt
with the freedom of the indi%idual in the face of oppressi%e state
control$
13
iii- D"ight D. ,isenho"er was the 1upreme Commander of the
!llied Forces during 3orld 3ar Two$ Dwight D$ 4isenhower, or
;(ke7 as he came to later be known, became E5th resident of the
A1! from "#0E until "#D"$ =e was born in "8#,, and became the
first 1upreme Commander of &!T?$
i%- /ean /a#6+es )o+ssea+ was born in "7"+, and was the
philosopher chiefly remembered for his work The Social Contract, in
which he outlined ways in which man could free himself of his
chains, without encumbering others with them$
Chapter 5: !a" an' 4r'er
i- Crito was a fictional character from The Last $ays of
Socrates by lato$ =e was the man who tried to tempt the imprisoned
1ocrates to escape to freedom$ The well known philosophical and,
one might say, practical discussion they had before 1ocrates took the
hemlock, is named after his friend, and is entitled ;The Crito7$
ii- /ohn )+s7in was born in 4ngland in "8"#, and was an art
critic and thinker, best remembered for his writing$ &nto This Last,
perhaps his best known and re%ered work, was a maCor influence on
the thinking of /ohandas @$ 6handi and =enry Da%id Thoreau$ =e
championed Turner as well as the re:Raphaelite mo%ement$
iii- Aristot%e$ !le8ander the 6reat7s teacher, !ristotle, was born
in E85 )C, and was a student of lato, whose writing co%ered
physics, poetry and metaphysics$ =is %iews on the physical sciences
shaped scholarship thereafter$ =is %iews of what he called ;%irtue
ethics7 continue to be studied today$
i%- Sir )o5ert 8ee%, the founder of the modern olice Force in
4ngland, was born in "788$ =e was =ome 1ecretary, and rime
/inister, with two short terms in office$ =e was responsible for
repealing the Corn Laws and for founding the Conser%ati%e arty$ (t
14
is for his part in founding the olice Force that he is most
remembered$
%- So#rates, born in 5D# )C, was a classical 6reek philosopher,
and known as one of the founders of 3estern philosophy$ =e became
known too, through the writings of lato to Lenophon as well as
through the plays of !ristophanes, one of his contemporaries$ =is
contribution to the field of 4thics is best epitomised in lato7s
Dialogues, which are essentially 1ocratic Dialogues$
%i- .re'eri#7 Do+g%ass, the !merican social reformer, writer,
statesman and orator, was born in "8"8$ =e became a leader of the
abolitionist mo%ement after his escape from sla%ery$
%ii- enr0 Davi' 2horea+ was the author of the famous essay
Civil $iso%edience, an influential te8t proposing non:cooperation as a
means of protest rather than %iolence$ =e was born in "8"7$ =is best
known work was Walden, in which he wrote about his life of self:
imposed isolation near the town of Concorde, /assachusetts$ =e
wrote about natural history and philosophy, and ad%ocated a
lessening of go%ernmental influence in all facets of life$
%iii- ,%i9a5eth Ca'0 Stanton became a leader of the 3oman7s
/o%ement in !merica$ 1he was also an acti%ist on social issues, and
organised the mo%ement for women7s rights$ 1he was born in "8"0$
=er ;Declaration of 1entiments7 was said to be the beginning of the
first women7s rights mo%ement in the A1!$
Chapter 6: ,'+#ation an' :no"%e'ge
i- A%5ert ,instein, born in "87#, and probably the most famous
scientist of the modern age, once asked, F=ow do ( know what ( think
until ( write it downIH =e is, of course, best remembered for his
6eneral Theory of Relati%ity and recei%ed the &obel ri'e for his
work in Theoretical hysics$
15
ii- o"ar' 1ar'ner, born in "#5E, is an !merican
de%elopmental psychologist, and a professor at the =ar%ard 6raduate
1chool of 4ducation at =ar%ard Ani%ersity$ =is most well known
contribution to his field is the theory of multiple intelligences, which
2uestioned the orthodo8y that we ha%e only one form of intelligence$
6ardner has demonstrated that we ha%e many different ways of
learning and processing information$ =e actually lists 8 different
types of intelligence9 linguistic, logical:mathematical, musical,
spatial, kinesthetic, naturalist, interpersonal and intrapersonal$
iii- /ohn De"e0 was an !merican educationalist, reformer,
philosopher and psychologist$ =e was born in "80#$ =e was also
known for his work on ethics, nature and logic$
i%- )+'o%; Steiner was a philosopher from !ustria, and was,
initially, a literary critic, social thinker, and architect$ =e based much
of his work around >ohann 3olfgang 6oethe7s %iew that FThinking is
no more and no less an organ of perception than the eye or the ear$H
%- /ohn !o#7e was an 4nglish philosopher known by many as
the Father of Liberalism$ =is writings influenced people like
Rousseau and Boltaire$ =is Theory of /ind figured later in the works
of =ume, Rousseau and @ant$ =e was most prominent in the !ge of
Reason, the other being Thomas =obbes$
%i- 2ho&as +r7a is rofessor of hilosophy at the Ani%ersity
of Toronto$ =is main area of research is moral and political
philosophy, and he has written se%eral books on the subCect, mostly
about perfectionist moral theories, and is currently writing a book on
things that can make life desirable and worthwhile9 pleasure,
knowledge, achie%ement, %irtue and personal lo%e$
%ii- A%5ert S9ent<10org0i was a psychologist turned
educationalist$ =e was born in "8#E, and won the &obel ri'e$ =e
was credited with ha%ing disco%ered %itamin C$ Later, he de%eloped
research interests in cancer, and then de%eloping theories related to
2uantum mechanics and the biochemistry of cancer$
16
Chapter 7: !i;e an' !iving
i- A%5ert S#h"eit9er, the well known humanitarian, was born in
"870, and was passionate about the 2uest to find a uni%ersal ethical
philosophy anchored in reality$ =e recei%ed the &obel ri'e for his
philosophy, ;Re%erence for Life7$
ii- /oseph Ca&p5e%% was an !merican writer and lecturer, born
in "#,5, whose best known works include comparati%e mythology$
=e is also well known as ha%ing said FFollow your bliss$H =e wrote
A Skeleton 'ey to (innegans Wake, with =enry /orton Robinson,
this te8t being considered a seminal work on the notoriously opa2ue
book by >ames >oyce$
iii- Sir /a&es (athe" Barrie was born in "8D, and was the
1cottish author responsible for that most famous of fictional
characters, eter an < the ;boy who wouldn7t grow up7$ =e was
educated in his nati%e 1cotland, but it was in 4ngland where his
career and fame as a no%elist and playwright blossomed$
i%- /ohn (i%ton, the 4nglish poet, was born in "D,8, is best
known for his epic )aradise Lost, and many others$ =e was a ci%il
ser%ant under ?li%er Cromwell, and thought to be one of 4ngland7s
greatest thinkers$
Chapter 8: )ights
i- 1.:. Chesterton was born in "875$ =e was an 4nglish writer
who produced work ranging from poetry, plays and Cournalism to
biography and detecti%e fiction$ =e made his %iews known in %arious
creati%e ways, turning sayings inside out and adding to them$ 6eorge
)ernard 1haw called him ;a man of colossal genius7$
17
ii- (ar0 $o%%stone#ra;t, born in "70#, was an ad%ocate of
women7s rights as early as the "8th Century$ 1he was married to
3illiam 6odwin, the 4nglish philosopher$ !t times, her
uncon%entional life recei%ed more attention than her writings$
iii- (artin !+ther :ing /r. was born in "#+#$ =e was a
clergyman in !merica, and championed the Ci%il Rights mo%ement
for !frican !mericans$ (n "#D5, @ing became the youngest person
e%er to recei%e the &obel ri'e$ =is famous ;( =a%e a Dream7 speech
outlined his e8pansion of !merican %alues to include his %ision of a
country freed from racial preCudice$
Chapter 9: $ea%th
i- An're" Carnegie was once thought to be the second richest
man in the world, though he came from humble beginnings in
Dunfermline, 1cotland$ =e was born in "8E0, and he e%entually came
to own and run the Carnegie 1teel Company in ittsburgh,
ennsyl%ania$ =e ad%ocated responsibility and obligations of the rich
towards the people who worked to build up their wealth$ =e was a
philanthropist, donating %ast sums of money to the building of public
libraries and the like$
ii- (i%ton an' )ose .rie'&an$ /ilton Friedman, the well
known !merican economist, professor at the Ani%ersity of Chicago
and ad%ocate of ;laisse':faire7 political economics, and proponent of
the %irtues of the free market, was an unofficial ad%isor to resident
Ronald Reagan$ =e was born in "#"+, and recei%ed the &obel ri'e
for his work on monetarism$
Rose Friedman, his wife, is well known in her own right$ 1he
was a professor at the Ani%ersity ?f Chicago Law 1chool, and was
born in Akraine in "#",$ 1he too won the &obel ri'e and, with her
husband, co:wrote (ree To Choose, and their memoirs, Two Lcky
)eople$
18
iii- :ar% (ar= was a 6erman:born philosopher, political
economist, political theorist and Communist re%olutionary$ =e wrote
The Commnist *anifesto in which he outlined his %iews that played
a maCor role in the de%elopment of Communism and socialism$ =e is
well known for claiming that capitalism contained within it internal
tensions that would destroy it$ =e mistakenly belie%ed that socialism
would replace capitalism$
i%- /ohn :enneth 1a%5raith, the @eynesian economist, was
born in "#,8$ =e belie%ed in political liberalism, and was a prolific
author, writing more than forty books$ =e is best known for
American Capitalism, The Afflent Society, and The !ew +ndstrial
State$ 6albraith ser%ed under se%eral administrations in the 3hite
=ouse, led by Franklin Delano Roose%elt, =arry 1$ Truman, >ohn F$
@ennedy and Lyndon )$ >ohnson$
%- A'a& S&ith, the 1cottish moral philosopher and political
economist, was born in "7+E$ =e was one of the main figures of the
1cottish 4nlightenment$ =is best known work is The Wealth of
!ations which is considered to be the first work on economics in
modern times$
Chapter 1>: 1overn&ent
i- 2ho&as o55es was an 4nglish philosopher, born in "088,
and author of Leviathan in which he e8pounded his %iews on what
life would be like ;in a state of &ature7$ Leviathan was an early social
contract theory$
ii- Ni##o%o (a#hiave%%i, born in "5D#, was an (talian
philosopher during the time of the Renaissance$ =is most well known
work was entitled The )rince, which was published after his death in
"0+7$ =is %iew of power was a cynical one, and the adCecti%e
/achia%ellian has negati%e connotations, e%en today$
19
iii- annah Aren't was a 6erman >ew, who fled from
6ermany during the &a'i era in that country$ 1he studied with /artin
=eidegger, who actually supported the &a'i party while Rector of
Freiburg Ani%ersity$ Following the occupation of France, !rendt fled
to the Anited 1tates with her husband, the /ar8ist philosopher,
=einrich )lucher, returning to 6ermany after the war$
i%- 2ho&as /e;;erson was the third resident of the Anited
1tates of !merica and one of the principal authors of the Declaration
of (ndependence$ =e was one of the Founding Fathers, known for his
%iews on Republicanism that countered the (mperialism of the )ritish
4mpire$ =e supported the separation of Church and 1tate and
championed the yeoman farmer as an e8emplary member of
Republican society$ =e was a polymath, well %ersed in subCects such
as architecture, archaeology, and paleontology$
%- 1eorge 4r"e%% was the nom de plume of 4ric )lair,
Cournalist and critic of the culture of the twentieth Century$ =is
famous works include, ,-./ < a dystopian no%el, Animal (arm < a
criti2ue of 1o%iet style Communism, and #omage to Catalonia <
chiefly written about his time in the (nternational )rigade during the
1panish Ci%il 3ar$
Chapter 11: 2he (in'
i- ,%eanor )ooseve%t, wife of resident F$D$ Roose%elt, was
born in "885$ 1he was an ardent supporter of her husband7s policies,
especially the &ew Deal$ !fter her husband died, she became an
ad%ocate for ci%il rights, a speaker and politician, who worked
towards the enhancement of women7s rights$
ii- 8%ato writing co%ered physics, poetry and metaphysics$ =is
%iews on the physical sciences shaped scholarship thereafter$ 3hile
his %iews of what he called ;%irtue ethics7 continue to be studied
today$
20
iii- Sig&+n' .re+', the renowned !ustrian neurologist, was
born in "80D$ =e was the founder of the study of psychoanalysis$ =e
is best known for his work on the unconscious and his use of the
interpretation of dreams$
i%- .ran#is Cri#7, who was born in "#"D, was an 4nglish
molecular biologist, neuroscientist and physicist$ =e is best
remembered for his groundbreaking work with >ames D$ 3atson on
the disco%ery of D&!, for which he Cointly recei%ed the &obel ri'e$
%- Car% /+ng, the 1wiss psychiatrist, born in "870, was
responsible for founding analytical psychology and, following Freud,
was one of the most well known pioneers of dream analysis and the
collecti%e unconscious$
%i- :aren orne0 was born in "880, and was a 6erman
psychoanalyst and psychiatrist$ 1he worked in )erlin and later in
&ew Kork and Chicago$ 1he later became the Dean of the !merican
(nstitute of sychoanalysis$
Chapter 1*: Creativit0 an' the ?se o; the I&agination
i- /a&es /o0#e was and still is arguably one of the greatest
no%elists and writers e%er$ =e was born in "88+, and li%ed much of
his life outside his nati%e (reland$ 4ducated at Clongowes >esuit
College and at Ani%ersity College Dublin, he is most well known for
his gigantic no%el of one day in Dublin < &lysses, as well as his
magnum opus, (innegans Wake$
ii- ,'na St. @in#ent (i%%a0 was an !merican poet, playwright
and feminist$ 1he was the first woman to recei%e the ulit'er ri'e for
oetry for her poem ;The )allad of the =arp:3ea%er7, using the
pseudonym &ancy )oyd for her prose$ !ccording to poet Richard
3ilbur, she wrote some of the best sonnets of the time in which she
was writing$
21
iii- 2ho&as ar'0 an' /ane A+sten
Thomas =ardy, the well known no%elist who wanted to be
known for his poetry, rather than his no%els, was born in "85,$ =is
works belong to what is known as the naturalist mo%ement, and
centred upon rural life in the south west of 4ngland, in and around his
nati%e Dorset, named by him as 3esse8$
>ane !usten is one of 4ngland7s most famous no%elists$ =er
well known works include )ride and )re0dice, 1mma and *ansfield
)ark$ 1he was born in "770, and spent most of her life with her
family$ =er writing style was %ery e8act, and hea%ily edited$
=owe%er, she remains one of the best lo%ed writers in the whole
canon of 4nglish Literature$
i%- 1+stav (ah%er was born in "8D, and came from humble
beginnings$ =e became one of the world7s leading conductors,
although today he is remembered more for his great symphonic
works and his song cycles than his conducting$
Chapter 13: /o0
i- :ath%een .errier, born in reston in "#"+ into a working
class en%ironment, rose to fame as a di%a during and after the 1econd
3orld 3ar$ Tragically, she died at the age of 5", lea%ing behind a
repertoire hardly e2ualled today$ 1he e8celled in singing songs from
/ahler, =andel, )ach, 1chubert, 1chumann and )rahms$ 1he ga%e
herself the nickname, ;kle%er @aff7G 1he was as famous as the newly
crowned Mueen 4li'abeth (( when she died in "#0E$
ii- 1ra#ie .ie%'s, born 6race 1tansfield in "8#8, hailed from
Rochdale and ended her life on the island of Capri$ 1he became a
hugely popular singer and entertainer, going into films after her
professional debut in "#",$ 1he was lo%ed for her ;no:airs7 happy go
lucky style, and her ama'ing %oice$
Chapter 14: Sensitivit0 an' A%tr+is&
22
i- 2he Da%ai Lama$ =is =oliness The "5th Dalai Lama is the
leader of Tibetan )uddhism$ Forced into e8ile from his nati%e Tibet
since "#0#, he resides in (ndia, and is still as acti%e as if he had
remained in Tibet$ =e is belie%ed to be a reborn tulku, the 4arthly
manifestation of the bodhisatt%a of compassion, !yalokites%ara,
traditionally, the latest reincarnation of a spiritual leader chosen to be
reborn to enlighten his followers and others$
Chapter 15: +&i%it0 an' :in'ness
i- (ohan'as :. 1an'hi, the (ndian ideological leader who led
his nation to independence from )ritish rule$ =e was assassinated in
"#58$ =e pioneered ;satyagraha7 < resistance to tyranny through non:
%iolent ci%il disobedience$ =e was influenced by the works of =enry
Da%id Thoreau, and the 4nglish thinker and writer >ohn Ruskin$
Chapter 16: 8rogress an' the .+t+re
i- Char%es Di#7ens was one of the most prolific of 4nglish
no%elists, and is well known for his no%els, which include A Tale of
Two Cities, "liver Twist, The "ld Criosity Shop, Great
12pectations and Bleak #ose$ =e was born into penury in "8"+, and
rose, by dint of hard work and intelligence, until he became
e8tremely well known$ =is own readings of e8tracts from his works
were hugely popular$ =e died in "87,$
ii- )o5ert 4"en, the 3elsh social reformer and one of the
original founders of the cooperati%e mo%ement in )ritain, was born in
"7"7$ =e came out on the side of &urture rather than &ature in that
debate, as he said, F&o one was responsible for his will and his own
actions because his whole character is formed independently of
himselfH, adding that, Fpeople are a product of their en%ironment$H
23
iii- $i%%ia& 1o'"in, married to /ary 3ollstonecraft, and born
in "70D, 6odwin was a )ritish Cournalist, no%elist and political
thinker$ =is notion of political Custice was FThe adoption of any
principle of morality and truth into the practice of a communityN,
6odwin wrote the most popular written response to the French
Re%olution, and was influenced by )urke7s writing on the same
subCect$
i%- ,ri#h .ro&&, born in "#,,, was a social psychologist from
6ermany$ =e wrote 1scape from (reedom, with his second work,
*an for #imself3 An +n4iry into the )sychology of 1thics being
published in "#57$
24
Introducti on
The enormity of a task shouldn7t stop us from attempting it, though
we are often deterred by such considerations of scale$ 1omeone once
said that people fail because they gi%e up$ There are some areas of
our life we shouldn7t gi%e up on, areas which demand our tenacity
and determination to succeed and o%ercome obstacles and difficulties$
The plight of the world we all inhabit is one such ;area7 < all our
li%es depend upon our not gi%ing up, on our not refusing to try to
change$ !nd we ha%e always managed to do itJ to change and to
defeat our enemies, whate%er those might happen to be$
/ankind has come to the twenty:first century against seemingly
impossible odds < 3orld 3ars, nuclear arms races, genocide,
pandemicsJ e%erything that was an obstacle to our progress as a
species$ 3e faced up to all these challenges and we pre%ailed, as we
always will$
3hether the enemy is a raging tyrant, a %irus that can in%ade the
head of a pin in its thousands, or an ideology that militates against
our freedom, our way forward is clearJ we wage war against the
tyrantJ conduct medical research until we find a cure for a disease, or
mo%e mountains to pre%ent wholesale slaughter$
)ut what if the problems that beset us are of our own making, of
our own conscious desires < what thenI =ow can we fight against
each otherI (f we are all e2ually culpable, how can we effect a
remedyI (f we are all in denial, who dares to stand up and point the
finger < who dares to say how we should mo%e forwardI 3ho is so
blameless that they can suggest remedies for the ills that beset us allI
!re we not all di%ided, in some important dimension or other <
male and female, rich and poor, Catholic or rotestant, black or
whiteI
25
Ket, in the face of the global catastrophe that threatens to engulf
us all, standing still and ignoring the need to change is to make
matters infinitely worse$ (n the face of ideological systems and the
economic ones they spawn, those that are responsible for the nature
of our predicament, who or what can persuade us to changeI 3hen so
many of us imagine our li%es depend upon our not changing, who is
willing to stand up and be heardI 3ho is willing to challenge the
orthodo8y of doom we ha%e so per%asi%ely adopted and which we so
%irulently and so %iolently defendI
The answer to all those 2uestions is thisJ we need to look to
those we ha%e been used to consulting o%er the millennia that man
has li%ed on 4arth in what we call ci%ilisation$ 3e should consult the
wisdom that we ha%e grown from, but at times, seem to ha%e grown
out of$ 3e should stop and remember that no catastrophe we face is
entirely new9 tyrannical regimes, once seemingly impregnable, ha%e
tumbled and turned to dust before us, scourges that once de%astated
whole populations ha%e been tamed, contained and made harmless by
the ad%ent of modern medicine, and wholly abhorrent ideologies ha%e
collapsed e%en as they appeared to us as infallible$
redicted calamity < ?rwell7s image of a totalitarian future < of
a boot pressing down on a human face fore%er, has not occurred,
although there is nothing to say it might not happen somewhere, as it
surely has already done in some poor, benighted countries$
(f tardiness is one of our main enemies, complacency is surely
another$ )elie%ing nothing can be done is arguably as disastrous as
belie%ing nothing needs to be done$
)ra%e people the world o%er are standing up to tyranny$ Doctors
are fighting disease, freedom fighters are defending homes, but is that
enoughI 1urely, the scale of the problem : impending global
catastrophe and the ways of li%ing that sustain the ine%itability of its
onset should be tackled head:on$
Triumph < consisting of ;try7 and ;umph7 will only be ours if we
start to use what 6od has gi%en us in abundance < imagination and
creati%ity, the ability to look forward, and the desire to look back$ (n
looking back, we can do no better than look to those who helped us to
o%ercome our past challenges$ Life Works will help us to make a start
26
finding answers from those who found them earlier in our long and
fruitful history$
Robert L$ Fielding
27
1
Averti ng Catastrophe
!rguably the most important issue of the new millennium is the
threat presented by the effects of our woeful treatment of our home,
4arth$ !s climate change alters the conditions that sustain us, we
must change too, or perish$
!s the world changes, as people7s tastes change, the things they
do, their ambitions, so our world is threatened$ Change is always
threatening$ (t is the changes that threaten the en%ironment that pose
our biggest challenge and our biggest threatJ the 4arth sustains us, but
we are undermining its ability to continue to do so$
Dri%es to modernity are usually considered desirable$ &obody
wants to go back to a world without running water or electricity,
without automobiles or tele%ision sets$ )ut li%ing in the present, with
all its pitfalls and drawbacks, broken dreams and unrealised
ambitions, can lead us to desire a future that, although sounding and
seeming desirable, would not necessarily be in our best interests to
attain$
Right away, ( can hear dissenting %oices, F?h, so you know
what is best for us, do youIH$ /y answer is, F&o, ( do notGH$ ( am
li%ing here, in the present, now, with you$ The difference lies not in
my being here, now, at this %ery same moment with you, but in my
starting point and in my route to the present$ The routes we take to
the here and now are all different$ There are broad similaritiesJ we all
went to school, we either passed or failed, went to Ani%ersity or got a
Cob, or did not work, but we all e8isted in the same time and were
e8posed to the same things, broadly speaking$
!s D$=$ Lawrence e8plains to his interlocutor in What we have
Lost, the opportunities for the working man < in his case, the coal
miner of his day, to mo%e out of the picture, e%en for a few fleeting
28
moments on his way home from the pit, were and still are steadily
being remo%ed$ The brook he knew as a lad, the banks he sat on with
his sweetheart, those few opportunities to hear birds singing rather
than the continual din and hum of machinery < at the pithead, or in
the car park and on the roads, are being taken from him$
(t is in the systematic remo%al from life of alternati%es to the
reality of the here and now that we are being robbed of life as we
indi%idually desire it$ 6reater than that, we are e%en being
programmed to wish this remo%al to crash on, taking our alternati%e
%iew of what life is or can be away from our minds$ Life is easier
without ha%ing to continually think about what we are missing, what,
in our heart of hearts, as we say, we most desire$ (f there is no
possibility of our ha%ing what we most desire, better for our psyche,
our sense of well being, if e%en that desire is remo%ed as well$
/odernity does not Cust consist of impro%ing e%er 2uicker
gadgetryJ it in%ol%es changes of the mind, to keep pace with the
change of the modern$ (t is no accident that we talk about ;the shock
of the new7, for it would be a shock were our minds not programmed
to be ready for it, and when ( say ;programmed7 ( do not mean
anything as sinister as ;dystopian7 writers like ?rwell or =u8ley ha%e
outlined in their no%els$ ( mean the systematic manipulation of our
tastes and our desires, not through terror, as ?rwell thought and
depicted, or e%en though genetic manipulation as in !ldous =u8ley7s
Brave !ew World$
3riters like =erbert /arcuse and >ean:FranOois Lyotard, and
others, all outline the totalitarianism of the here and now < we are not
forced into submission by the threat of pain or death, we are coa8ed
into submission by ha%ing our egos massaged until they become such
a si'e that they take us o%er, gi%e us ambitions and dri%es that a- we
cannot hope to attain, and b- we wouldn7t know what to do if we did
attain them$
!s far as the 4arth7s continuing ability to sustain us and our e%er
escalating demands upon it, we would be right in thinking that this
dri%e to be rich, to consume what the rich consume, are the main
threats to the planet$ (t is this ha%ing and being that is costing the
4arth and its ability to sustain us that is being constantly and
continually threatened$ Lawrence dwelt upon some of the symptoms
29
of our malaise, alerting some to the possibilities of a life spent doing
rather than ha%ing or being$
This life of ha%ing and being, rather than doing has come to
mean that many put more store in the things they consume and the
items they purchase, rather than in the life they lead and the things
they do$
(t is in ha%ing < getting and spending < 3illiam 3ordsworth
belie%es, that we find oursel%es < perhaps not our true sel%es, but
those facets of our personality that others react to and %alue and
which represent us in those balance sheets of our worth$
?f course, those balance sheets and ledgers do not really
represent our true inner sel%es, but to the world at large, they are the
only way our worth is gauged, and there is almost no other way$ (f we
can pay our wayJ if we can buy the durables, li%e in the houses, dri%e
the cars, all the things that are acceptable coinage, then we are
accounted to be of some worth$ 4%en the language ( ha%e used
indicates the ubi2uity of the materialist mentality that grips the
3estern world and that people in de%eloping worlds aspire to$
(t is in consuming, which is not necessarily the same thing as
doing, that we define oursel%es to others, maybe e%en to oursel%es,
and we are acti%ely encouraged to do so$ Bested interest, working
with us, against us, and for us, compels us to li%e our li%es in ways
that increase those rows of numbers, the foot soldiers of the economy$
)ut it is those armies that are attacking rather than defending our
li%elihoods and the en%ironment that sustains us$
Donella /eadows 2uestions in 5st so *ch and no *ore
whether what we refer to as the ;laws7 of economics, are laws, when
compared with, for e8ample, the laws of the physical sciences$ 1he
goes furtherJ attempting to find the point at which these ;laws7 began
to be regarded as such and adhered to$
The laws of economics do seem to laws that define absolutely
how we should and do act$ They seem to many, perhaps to all of us,
to be the most important laws that go%ern how we li%e$ (f as
/eadows suggests, howe%er, they lead us to act at %ariance with
other, ;higher7 laws < the laws that determine 4arth7s sur%i%al and
our place on it, then we should e8amine the precepts that underscore
30
those laws and determine which assumptions about how we conduct
our beha%iour are working against the laws of nature$
Rachel Carson urges us in !atre (ights Back to consider the
world in which we all li%e in ways that challenge our normal ways of
thinking about subCects like economics, philosophy, theology, law
and geography$ ! specific e8ample within the subCect of economics is
that factors such as plant, machinery and capital are not factored into
e2uations that include labourJ that being what we would call, in other
subCects, humanity$
Realising that we are wholly connected with our en%ironment
and are actually a part of it, Carson claims is %ital if we are to begin
to %iew our world in more holistic ways, rather than, as is more
usually the case, to %iew e%erything in our world as a part of
oursel%es and that what has passed still e8ists in an altered form$ This
would e2uate with the laws that state that matter can neither be
created nor destroyed$
The root of the catastrophe many are intent on a%erting is due to
man < man7s acti%ities on this 4arth and man inter%ening in a
balanced world, whose organising principles are those of nature$ !nd
whether it is habitat, species or a broader en%ironment, it is man and
what he does, what he consumes and trashes, what he uses and does
not consider, that makes the 4arth suffer, life suffer$
!ldo Leopold *'illing the wolf- relates the simple series of
e%ents that lead to en%ironmental destruction$ !lthough the story
represents a microcosm of our world, it is precisely because of its
representati%e nature that it points to our error in thinking that we are
the centre of the uni%erse, and, somewhat e8traordinarily, man taking
that %iew of himself, imagines, 2uite ignorantly, that what he does
has no conse2uences for other forms of life$
(n Land 1thic, Leopold decries our disdain of land and our
abuse and misuse of it as little more than a resource to be s2uandered$
=e speaks of the integrity of the land and its %ital role in sustaining
us$
(t is in our de%aluing of land as merely a commodity to be used
as anyone sees fit, as a means only to make commercial gain that we
31
err$ !ll land is capable of contributing to the whole, and to imagine
otherwise is at the root of our inability to respect and %alue all land$
(n Land 1thic, Leopold bemoans our apparent inability to
include land in the reckoning in anything like the same consideration
as religious beliefs, for e8ample$ )eing un2uantifiable, Leopold finds
that land is not included in any e2uation more notable than an
economic one in which other factors are gi%en as much, if not more
prominence than so %ital a commodity as land$ 4%en the use of the
word ;commodity7 smacks of thinking of land in economic terms
rather than a broader, holistic way as the source from which all life
springs$
(n 4ducation < trading awareness for things of lesser %alue < the
writer del%es into why certain subCects like 6eography, for e8ample,
are taughtJ he sees that it is the teaching of geography, and all
subCects that are not peculiarly %ocational, that we are brought to
realise our place in the uni%erse < as real a place as any mountain,
stream, ant or eagle, as he says$ To merely train people to fit into a
world of trade and commerce, he says, would be to only half educate
peopleJ that education does not end with our schooling, but continues
throughout our li%es, and thus we are able to treat all things as ends in
themsel%es$ Thinking of e%erything as a means to be utilised to
further our own ends is at the heart of our difficulty in forming a land
ethicJ education leads us along the path to that realisation and to that
position where we can truly feel a part of nature, a part of the world
in which we dwell$
D. . !a"ren#e A $hat "e have %ost
The well known 1nglish novelist, $6 #6 Lawrence, talks to his
lifelong friend, Thomas Widdowson, in this constrcted dialoge6
They regret the passing of certain aspects of 1nglish life with the
advent of indstrialism6
2ho&as $i''ison9 !re you talking about industry encroaching
on countryside < the loss of natural habitatsI
D.. !a"ren#e9 artly, yes, of course, we ha%e most certainly
lost the places where plant and bird can thri%e, but we ha%e lost the
habitat of the human spirit < with the loss of our wild places, our
natural forests, heaths and the land that has always traditionally been
32
thought of as wasteland < that between urban and what is now merely
less urban, that we seem to think we can throw away, discard, as if it
wasn7t part of 4ngland because of its non:usefulness to us < it isn7t
arable land, it isn7t wide enough or long enough or fertile enough to
be %iable for that$ (t isn7t within the factory gates and so it is nothing
to anybody, and so it is used up, with rusting piles of debris, cast off
from the mines and the factories$
2.$.9 )ut if it doesn7t belong to anyone and it doesn7t ser%e any
purpose, what is its %alueI
D..!.9 (ts %alue is that it is a part of 4ngland, and if some isn7t
preser%ed, there7ll be no 4ngland left$ 4%en in the beginning, when
the colliers coming up from the little pits scattered on the green fields
like so many open sores, needed short cuts home to their homes, they
used to use those bits of land no use to anyone, as we say, to get
through without their way being go%erned by concrete, tarmac and
stone$ They could wander free and sit and smoke, listening to the
little streams tinkling out the old tunes that they heard when they
were lads bringing their wenches out here in the first flush of lo%e <
the streams Cingling bells reminded them of that time and they felt
glad, e%en through the tiredness and the dirt and the grime of a day
spent four hundred yards underground$
2.$.9 The trouble is that it isn7t 2uantifiable < it can7t be
con%erted into pounds, shillings and pence, can itI
D..!.9 &ot at all, e8cept as so much land to build more on, to
fill up, as if there wasn7t enough land taken o%er by pa%ing stones
and brick walls$ 3e aren7t lea%ing them their memories, until all
there is left is a name < /iddleton, but nothing anyone can recall as
being the place they grew up in, the place they found themsel%es, and
the place they could always go to recount the days when school
holidays were endless, it ne%er rained, and /um was waiting at home
with something sweet and warm to drink on cold days when snow
hurt the ends of fingers$
2.$.9 !nd the rest, what of thatI
D..!.9 Kou mean the broader sweeps of land between the
towns < surrounding them, ( remember$ ( know it7s gone, it already
had when my knees were blackened from falling down, being chased
by gamekeepers whose only Cob, or so it seemed to us, was to protect
33
something that didn7t belong to them$ They ran us off, but there was
nothing left, e%en then$
2.$.9 (t7s easy to become o%er nostalgic about the past and the
space that has gone$
D..!.9 (7m not talking about monks passing by on asses, a way
of life nobody now ali%e e%er knew, but rather of %ales where you
couldn7t see much e%idence of man7s hand$ &ow, the trees ha%e all
been replanted after being cut for pit props or the trenches on the
1omme, but still, a tree is a tree, it7s a shoot of life that takes an age
to grow, through the life of a child who knows its secrets, those
hollows in its trunk where a tanner might be left for a special time < a
mother7s birthday present or suchlike$
2.$.9 Did you know of such placesI
D..!.9 4%ery child did < we could see the difference in
tussocks of grass, in the bushes that had been folded as men had
pushed past them on their way home < crouching after their shift had
taken all they had$ 3e knew what plants meant < where burdock and
bracken grew and which birds would fly out of oaks and which out of
sycamores$
2.$.9 (sn7t that side of the country still thereI
D..!.9 (t might be there, but instead of kids in their hiding
places in trees, those people that look out of patio doors and shiny
aluminum framed windows can see them in their play, their make
belie%e world of redskins, and lariats, dry:gulches and makeshift
butes and buffalo drinking in long ri%er %alleys$ The noise of a radio
and a lawnmower has done for them Cust as surely as growing up too
2uickly did$
2.$.9 (s that the habitat of the spirit you were talking aboutI
D..!.9 That and places folk could go to remind them of who
they were and something to measure the simulacrum of reality < the
copy without a model, against that which they had known and
imagined would always be there for them to go back to$ That7s what (
mean$
2.$.9 Do we still need those placesI
D..!.9 ( would say now more than e%er, e%en more than
formerly$ )ack in the days when space wasn7t at such a premium, it
was probably taken for granted, and now time has gone the same
34
way, those places would ha%e come in useful < places to escape <
there7s no escape now, and that7s why people take to drink in ways
they ne%er used to$
2.$.9 )ut ha%en7t people around here always liked a drinkI
=ow has that changedI
D..!.9 (t isn7t the social e%ent that it was, isn7t drinking$
Taprooms were Coyous places where men who had sweated together
and washed each other7s backs in the cold shower blocks at the pit
head could laugh and be free for an hour or two$
>ust for that time, they could forget what they had to do to earn a
crust$ (7%e seen them straggling back after a 1unday afternoon7s
drink, and they7d come across an old pile of pit props < concrete and
steel now there7s no wood left, and laughing they7d kick them as if
their use was entirely unknown to them, e%en as they ducked their
helmets under them on their way to the coal face e%ery day of their
li%es underground$
They wouldn7t e%en let themsel%es be reminded of the labour
they were tied to year after year until the mine boss told them that
was that and they had no Cob to go to$
The pits swallowed them up and spat them out with a ten:hour
shift between, but then it7d spit them out one last time, either when
they were getting too old to swing a picka8e fast enough, or else the
coal had gone$ Forgi%ing men are colliers, and when they come up
into all that light, they don7t say anything e%en when their tracks are
co%ered o%er with somebody7s dri%eway or garden path$
)ut there7s a wound to the soul beginning to make itself felt like
a bruise, which only deepens its terrible ache until it fills the entire
psyche$ 1paces were for sal%ing that ache and those bruises, so that
the iron ne%er entered the soul, and they could still find it in
themsel%es to forgi%e$
3hat ha%e you got now in its stead < lads working stacking
supermarket shel%es, ne%er ha%ing to get black as a fireback, scraping
their lower spine on shining wet unhewn coal, and yet they ha%e no
forgi%eness in them < no camaraderie < Cust catch them drinking and
it7s not difficult to feel the hate they feel for ha%ing the best of their
youth taken away from them, Cust as the lads that used to work down
the mine had theirs taken from them < their daylight too, but let them
35
once get their feet cooling in some little brook that tippled and
tripped across their path on their way home and they found something
to take away the ills of the day, made their hearts swell again < back
to its normal si'e after being shut up down there for so long$
3orkers get in their cars and find more of what they7%e had all
day < push and sho%e, waiting in 2ueues to get home$ &o dangling
their feet for them, no birdsong to whistle to as a shower of rain tip:
taps against their hot faces < nothing of that sort left for them to make
them smile and be glad to be ali%e$
3hat we ha%e lost
2.$.9 )ut man works this way, he must eat and to eat he must
earn, to earn he must work < whate%er his actions are called or what
they represent$
D..!.9 )ut don7t you see that his labour is usurped, the best
taken from it until it is mere acti%ity, de%oid of any worth < real
worth$
2.$.9 )ut he chooses to do this paid work, does he notI
D..!.9 Does he choose < is it not =obson who chooses, there
being no alternati%e but to do or star%e < what choice is there in thatI
2.$.9 (t is the way of the world$ This world here and now, that
is important, isn7t itI
D..!.9 That is so, but in making his own bed, man has gone
ways that he would ha%e been better not to take$
2.$.9 The rational course chosen by his intellect, you meanI
D..!.9 48actly so$ (n using his intellect, and in so going
against his blood, he has founded his own chains, which he is now
powerless to escape or throw off$ ( belie%e the flesh to be wiser than
the intellect < that we can go wrong in our minds, and do, but what
our blood feels and belie%es is always true$
2.$.9 )ut he chose this way and now he must follow < what is
to be doneI
D..!.9 Kou are talking from here, rather than listening to your
flesh < to your blood, which will ne%er err$ Kour Cudgment cannot
concede anything to your heart < a thousand years < more < ha%e seen
to that, put paid to any hope of letting your intellect be subordinate to
your blood$
2.$.9 !nd you canI
36
D..!.9 3hen lea%ing thought behind and keeping to my own
true self:belief, ( can make my heart rule my head, or as we now say,
work from a gut feeling$ (t is more than that, but now it is so
subterranean that it feels somehow pagan and irrational to think this
way and to feel this way$ Feeling and thinking are now separated by
rationality, the triumph of 6reek ci%ilisation, to sub%ert feeling to
logic, as if one mattered without the other, for is not that how logic
worksI
2.$.9 Logic is what 3illiam of ?ccam concei%ed it to beJ
bound to the structures of the mind only, not to the structures of the
mind, language and reality, as concei%ed by !ristotle$
D..!.9 4nough of this talk of the structures of the mind and
their link or otherwise to reality and to language$ There is another
way < the logic, if we can call it such < ( prefer not to use it, the
blood instinct$
2.$.9 3hat is thatI =ow does it differ from rational,
intellectual thought, unclouded by superstitionI
D..!.9 Let us first start by demystifying what ( am talking
about and what ( am not$ To think of the blood instinct, as ( will call
it, and which is relationally opposite, or at least somewhere other than
in the mind, has nothing to do with the mumbo:Cumbo you seem to be
suggesting < that is a derogatory schools of thought operating to
remo%e the threat posed to 3estern modes of thinking$
(nstead, be more aware of your feelings and then follow where
they take you, retiring rationality for as long as you can bear it$ !s (
ha%e said, we ha%e all of us been trained in this rather than that way
of looking at the world, ha%e been goaded and chided into thinking
that this way is superior in its power to any other way, and yet look
where it has led us < into total warfare, nation against nation, when in
fact what we refer to as the nation:state, is really nothing more than
rationality applied to the ruling of people < an umbrella of rationality
that instructs and informs us of where our best interests lie < with at
its heart, this logic, this good reason to inform$
&ation states are inanimate obCects, but those we call statesmen
and defer to as if they were the font of all knowledge where our best
interests lie, are only really gatekeepers on paths of irrationality,
posing as rational self:interest$ 3e are deluded into thinking our
37
interests coincide with theirs, when the re%erse is the case < ours are
sub%erted to their dominant ideologies, pouring out as pure reason$
2.$.9 !nd how could anyone argue with that < is that what you
are sayingI
D..!.9 48actly, when one frame of mind is so all per%asi%e,
any other appears folly indeed, but again, ( say look where it has
brought us, stooping to what depths as man, so inclined, is capable of$
(s not the e8ploitation of labour a thing so inhuman as to be
inconcei%able without the ubi2uitous reason to deli%er it to us in
forms that are entirely and easily palatable, for us to swallow wholeI
2.$.9 1peaking of the e8ploitation of labour < is it so if wages
commensurate with the amount of labour done are paidI
D..!.9 (t sounds so, or at least ( am reassured that you think it
thus$ =ow is human dignity laid low, almost made non:e8istent but
by a payment in coin only redeemable at the bank of the hirerI
2.$.9 (t doesn7t ha%e to be the same bank$
D..!.9 ( am speaking metaphorically, paid in kind, if you
prefer, will that doI
2.$.9 )ut in what other way could it be paidI
D..!.9 /y point entirely$ (t is in the contract drawn up
between employee and employer that we assume the hired can be
asked to do anything, and it will be done$
2.$.9 )ut if he is being paid, and if he agreed to it in the first
place, is it not fairI
D..!.9 Kou think soI 3ould you consider me a friend to ask
you to go down that hole in the ground for ten hours e%ery day and
not come up for air, for sustenance of any kind < would youI
2.$.9 ( hope you would pay me for it$
D..!.9 recisely, you are willing to put yourself through any
indignity ( care to name so long as you are paid in coinage, isn7t that
trueI
2.$.9 (t is$
D..!.9 )ut would you go down that hole %oluntarilyI
2.$.9 &e%er$
D..!.9 Then why ha%e ( the right to ask you, and ha%ing once
gained your consent, to force you to go down itI
38
2.$.9 3hy because ( ha%e said ( would, ha%e agreed and signed
a contract binding me to go down$
D..!.9 1o it is that contract, drawn up by my hand that is
making you go down, is it notI
2.$.9 Kes, my contractual obligations to you as my employer$
D..!.9 !nd how does that s2uare with your dignity as a free
man, a human being, the same as meI Do you feel in any way inferior
to me in signing something that ( ha%e framed, for the e8press
purpose of ensla%ing you in my name for the re2uired number of
hours paid at the hourly rate ( set, not you, notice, but me, the
employerI
2.$.9 (f ( signed it, ( must ha%e thought it worth it, mustn7t (I
D..!.9 )ut is that trueI Don7t the straightened circumstances
you and your lo%ed ones find yoursel%es in make it e8pedient to
agreeI )ut before you answer that 2uestion, answer the one ( asked
earlier < about how going down a hole in the ground s2uares with
your dignity as a human being < a man < can it be s2uaredI
2.$.9 1ince you put it that way, ( suppose it is beneath my
dignity to go down that hole, particularly since you do not ha%e to
follow me$ )ut what has this to do with blood instinctI
D..!.9 (t has to do with that instinct being dri%en out by a
manufactured need, shortages engineered and tailored to constrain
you, my good friend, to agree to ha%ing to do something that
compromises your dignity < to do something not e%en a dog would
do$ 1hall ( go on < shall ( talk about how the principles of rationality
and reason, with e8ploitation mas2uerading in those names, comes to
taint all relationships and render lo%e as something countableI 1hall (
go onI
2.$.9 Do, please, ( seem to ha%e fallen to your argumentJ
though ( am surely with the maCority in thinking your logic is flawed$
D..!.9 3hat you say is the best sign that you ha%e been
entirely won o%er by reason, lea%ing yourself %ulnerable to its power,
not being able to see that there could be a way that takes another,
entirely different route to that taken by the lords of the rational <
engineers and lawyers, and e%eryone that is subsumed beneath its
flat, uniform surface$
39
2.$.9 )ut how do the forces, if that is what you say they are <
how do the forces of reason work against man, as you seem to be
implyingI =ow can that beI 3e know that since the philosophical
side of man tends to the rational, that in acting rationally, he is acting
in his own best interest < surelyI
D..!.9 ?ne man, ( forget who it was now, said he could mo%e
the world with a le%er and a fulcrum, if he had somewhere to stand$
That is your problem < that you ha%e nowhere to stand to attempt to
put the world off course$ (n arguing for the predominance of rational
thought o%er any other mode, let us call it, you are stuck in your own
mould as a product of it < of rational man and what he has made of
the world$ Kou ha%e no place to stand < e%en if you possessed a big
enough le%er, and that all important fulcrum from which to mo%e the
planet and e%eryone on it$
2.$.9 3hat then can ( argue, and what can you put to me that
will con%ince me that what you say is right, for Cust as surely, if (
ha%e no standpoint, as you are saying, ( cannot accept the truth of any
argument you can put forward against what ( belie%e in my heart of
hearts to be true$
D..!.9 That is the mountain ( ha%e to climb < you are right,
and it is one that many shrink from attempting to climb, being content
finally not to rock the boat of normality$
$i%%ia& $or's"orth < 1etting an' spen'ing
Walking throgh their native hills and vales, William
Wordsworth and 7alph Leonard (reeman, a fellow poet, discss how
the spending of money in order to ac4ire is at the heart of or
losing something invala%le to or well8%eing as hman %eings6
Wordsworth wrote a poem entitled The World is Too *ch With &s,
in which the second line is 9Getting and spending, we lay waste or
powers, and in this illstrative dialoge, which is offered here, they
e2pand pon this notion6
)a%ph !eonar' .ree&an9 Kour short poem, ;The 3orld is too
much with us7 deals with something close to your heart, doesn7t itI
$i%%ia& $or's"orth9 Close to my heart, true, and should be
close to e%eryone7s if they ha%e eyes to see and can recognise what is
plain for all to see$
40
3e ha%e reached a place in our history, our de%elopment as a
people worthy of our glorious past, at which none dare gainsay, or so
it appearsJ all are in accord with the way of the world$
).!...9 3hich you say is ;too much with us7 < what do you
mean, 1irI
$.$.9 3hy precisely what ( say, that the affairs of the world <
trade and commerce < getting and spending, to use my own words,
are bound upon a course to o7ertake the affairs of the heart and mind$
?ur days and our nights are taken up in schemes so gigantic that
they make other, more %alid and more integral ones to us as human
beings, pale into insignificance, as do rays of sunlight through the icy
blasts of winter$ The one should melt the other, but rather, the rays
separate elements < heat and light free'e o7er and become as naught
before the tempest7s wrath$
).!...9 3hat are these gigantic schemes of which you so
elo2uently speakI
$.$.9 !s ( ha%e said oft enough ere now, our dealings
measured in the currency of the balance sheet and the ledger$ =as not
our go%ernment ordered that pri%ate and public in%estment be
channelled into grandiose ways in order that our 4mpire may flourish
unseen to you and ( bound within these shoresI !re not our &a%ies
and our !rmies commencing warfare to increase our coffers < pri%ate
and public, and are not our capital, and our lesser cities numbering
many becoming nests of the unscrupulous and the dishonest$
).!...9 )ut because a few in number, %ery few in comparison to
our twenty millions in our towns and in our %illages, play this new
game of supply and demand, must we all be drawn in < does this
followI
$.$.9 Kes, it does, and although my behest is that it mayn7t,
that it will so is surely as ine%itable as acorns follows lea%es on the
boughs of our great oaks$ For what is done betimes in London will
surely stir the brains, though sorrowfully not the hearts of some of
our brightest and our best youth$
3ill they not follow, selling their birthright, a poor bounty that
it will become, if nothing is done to right the situationI ( am sorely
afraid that there will be naught to stand in their way$ /an does not
li%e by bread alone, but neither does he li%e by moral precepts < he is
41
born of woman, and will return to the ashes whence he arose$ =e can
do no other, ( ha%e assured myself more than once$
Talking to /athew, my ageing and cheery mentor, listening to
him rent the air with admonishing the young, e7en though none could
hear a word he spake, we both ha%e not been encouraged by what we
daily learn about our fellow man$ That numbers ha%e become the new
mountain to climb, not words, ideas, notions, or anything remotely
akin to lo%e, but numbers < yes, numbers, ha%e become that which is
worshipped$
).!...9 !nd why numbersI 3hich numbers do you meanI
$.$.9 Those little numbers, e%er increasing, and lining up in
%ertical columns neatly on the page, like so many columns of foot
soldiers standing in readiness to be commanded forth together to
con2uer another7s failing industry < those numbers so belo%ed of
financiers and brokers, bea%ering non:stop in the city to make those
numbers work, no matter what falls because of them, taking no
account of mankind sa%e accounting him the same importance as land
and what is being called plant, and called labour < those numbers$
42