Vilna E S � Atioc2a Mat YVD) Vol

LP] Vilna E S aTIOC2a Mat YVD) Vol. 80, No. 3 MARCH 1975

CONTENTS

EDITORIAL: INDIVIDUALS AND SOCIETY 3

CAN MORALS BE TAUGHT 4 by H. J. Blackham

FORUM: PARAPSYCHOLOGY. 6

FOR THE RECORD . 10 by the General Secretary

DISCUSSION: MARXISM AS A RELIGION 13

YOUR VIEWPOINT . 17

SOUTH PLACE NEWS. 21

COMING AT CONWAY HALL 2, 23

Published by SCAM MACE ETERCAL SOCRETT Conway Hall Humanist Centre Red Lion Square, London, WC1R 4RL SOUTH PLACE ETHICAL SOCIETY

OnnCERS: General Secretary: Peter Cadogan Lettings SecretarylHall Manager: Iris Mills Hon. Registrar: Rose Bush Hon. Treasurer: C. E. Barralet Editor, "The Ethical Record": Eric Willoughby Address: Conway Hall Humanist Centre Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL. (Tel: 01-242 8032)

Coming at Conway Hall Sunday, March 2 11.00 am—Sunday Meeting: PETER CADOGAN on Individuality, Status and Hierarchy. Bass-baritone solos: Cyril Dight- maker 6.00pm—Bridge Practice in the Library. Scrabble group also forming. 6.30pm—Concert in aid of the Musician's Benevolent Fund. Haffner String Quartet. Beethoven F Op. 18 No. 1, Fmi Op. 95, Csh mi, Op. 131. Speaker: Alvar Liddell Tuesday, March 4 7.00 pm—Discussion: First in series on Deviations from the Norm. Dr R. N. Rapoport introducing Variations in Family Structure Sunday, March 9 11.00 am—Sunday Meeting: PETER CRONIN on The Philosophy of Samuel Beckett. Soprano solos: Jean Aird 3.00 prn—Forum: The Invisible Minority. Film and panel of speakers including Barbara Britton and Keith Gillies 6.00 pm—Bridge and Scrabble 6.30 pm—Concert: Amici String Quartet. Mendelssohn D Op. 44 No. 1, Berkeley No. 2, Beethoven Efl Op. 74 (Continued on page 23)

CURRENT SPES TUBLICATIONS

THE SECULAR RESPONSIBILITY Marghanita Laski 10p THE ALTERNATIVE SOCIETY James Hemming 10p THE BREAKDOWN OF GREAT BRITAIN Leopold Kohr 10p MAN AND THE SHADOW Laurens van der Post 10p WHAT ARE EUROPEANS? G. K. Young, CB, CMG, MBE 10p THE ORIGINS OF CHRISTIANITY FROM PAGAN AND JEWISH BACKGROUNDS G. A. Wells 20p HUMANITY AND ANIMALITY Edmund Leach 10p THE USES OF PAIN Jonathan Miller 10p

3-}p postage for one-7p for two or more THE ETHICAL RECORD Vol. 80, No. 3 MARCH 1975

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

EDITORIAL Individuals and Society INDIVIDUALITYis the cherished virtue of mankind which distinguishes humanity from what is called the animal kingdom. The opposite of individuality is the behaviour exhibited by such animals as sheep. Yet individuality 'must be tempered with responsibility, otherwise chaos ensues. And there can be few better examples in Britain of how individuals combine to make a group, than South Place. The message came across quite clearly in the example of our Open Door programme which was broadcast on TV at the end of January. The programme was a splendid example of individual talents making up a worthwhile team effort. At South 'Place, there is an enormous variety of views, as has been shown to extremity on some past occasions. Yet we manage to survive as a family-like group, with a long-standing nucleus of people. Very soon now, all the individuals who comprise South Place will have to come to corporate decisions which vitally affect the Society's future. That will be the time for idiosyncracies and the worst features of individuality to be put aside, in the interests of the body of people as a whole. Individual responsibility is the absolute basis of democracy, and many countries recognise this by using the referendum. Britain pro- poses such a referendum on the important Common Market issue, and the organisation of this referendum will indeed be interesting. Life is about relationships between individuals. Those who preach theological dogmas present theories about relationships between individuals and some idea of a non-human being, sometimes presented as an individual, sometimes as a three-in-one entity or even more. Those of us who say we care about mankind show our concern largely by the way we regard the individuals around us. The problems of the world can seldom be cured in a corporate action, but rather by treating large numbers of individuals. To a certain extent, social work has developed in 'Britain away from the youth group, or special group, toward individual counselling, and the Humanist movement contributes toward this. Conversely, however, encounter and therapy groups can be useful in the treatment of emotional and mental conditions. But whatever its nature, the freedom of the individual should be in the forefront of our minds. There are many assaults on it today. And there will be more. 3 Can Morals Be Taught?

BY 11. J. BLACKHAM

THE ANSWER is yes, if by "morals" is meant the behaviour required and expected by a particular society, since this is the behaviour learned from infancy. When the question is raised, however, what is usually meant is rather different: can everyone be taught to know what is right and always do what is right because it is right, even when there is no witness? Not only the answer, but also the question, is dubious. The Greeks thought of virtue as a kind of knowledge, like the technical know-how of any of the arts, so that it could be taught as the art of living well, a trans- missible skill which assured a standard level of performance. The Greeks gave very different answers about this moral knowledge and skill, and formed rival moral sects; but they assumed that man was rational and would seek his own good when he knew what it was. It was St Paul who said "the evil that I would not, that I do". It was left to Freud to ex- pose the dynamics of human behaviour as having a rationale that was by no means the pursuit of rational ends. On his model, the energies of men come from libido, the impersonal vital impulse, the id unconscious and therefore non-rational; the ego supplies the prudential component which pays rational attention to reality; and the super-ego is the inner monitor, unconsciously carrying on and enforcing the restraints and prohibitions of the parents, the representatives of society. This tripartite structure is not a natural harmony, but a breeder of conflicts, mostly suppressed and unconscious. Freud's model does not survive as a true representation, but it destroyed the two-dimensional earlier sketches.

Moral Teaching The teaching of morality today starts from a study of moral development, as elaborated in the findings of developmental psychology. Lawrence Kohlberg of Harvard, carrying forward the work of Piaget and Dewey, is generally regarded as the most thorough investigator in this field. He claims that empirical research has established an invariable sequence of six stages of moral development in the individual, and that these are the same in all cultures. The six stages are identified as follows: I. Orienta- tion to obedience and punishment. 2. Orientation to exchange and re- ciprocity. 3. Orientation to approval and to pleasing and helping others. 4. Orientation to doing duty, showing respect for authority, and main- taining the given social order. 5. Orientation to agreements, contracts, rights, welfare. 6. Orientation to conscience and to principles of choice involving appeal to logical consistency and universality. There are three main phases here: in the first there is little regard for persons or standards; in the second there is concern to fulfil social expectations; in the third, universal rights, duties, standards are acknowledged. The core concept is justice, and the stages mark progressive understanding and acceptance of the demands of justice. Although the claim is that this sequence is followed invariably in all cultures, at least stage 4, the way in which behaviour is directed in the given social order, will vary in different cultures, and in successive periods of the same culture. Studies have been made of the close dependence of the structure of personality on a particular culture, the "modal personality" of that culture. In European history, four successive ways in which behaviour has been socially directed can be distinguished. Authority and tradition were the main controls throughout the middle ages whilst the Church was unchallenged and monopolised education and administration; 4 the canon law and the confessional were principal means of this regula- tion. The Protestant disengagement of the individual conscience from the authority of the Church, in association with new economic opportunities and the rise of the bourgeoisie, developed the "Protestant ethic", the ideal of stewardship and of self-help which induced an "inner-direction"- in.: stilled by parents as the monitor of endeavour in an enterprising world. These producers of affluence and their virtues in time gave way to con- sumers needed to keep the wheels of industry turning, other-directed, keeping up with the loneses in "conspicuous consumption". Today in this country, with sizable immigrant communities and complex problems, social policy depends on self-direction; the social services, including education, try to get and enable each individual to make his own morally responsible decisions. Each is expected and helped to reach stage 6 in Kohlberg's scheme, moral maturity. Russian Method By contrast with this European and North American trend, the USSR insists from earliest infancy on a group-directed morality; the interests and the point of view of the group are paramount, and every group represents the interests and point of view of Soviet society building socialism under the direction of the Party. Since the war educational policy has jumped from an attempt to re- establish in the schools with the authority of the nation the Christian tradition as the "character building" influence, to a modern programme of moral education based on an understanding of moral development and the aim of moral autonomy for each child. This education in and for moral responsibility involves training in moral reasoning and decision- making as well as an open situation in the schools, so that from the primary stage onwards there are choices and a genuine participation in the educational processes, instead of an imposition of school tasks and rules, with selection and rejection by strictly academic tests. From the junior stage onwards the peer group forms an "alternative society" which gives them a footing of independence of the adult generation, and helps towards autonomy. Unless there is interpenetration between this alternative society and the official school society, there is danger of alienation of the peer group, or a major fraction of it, so that it become subversive, the ganging-up of rejects, and the school population is divided into rebels and prigs. The school "contract" is central: the comprehensive school has to cater for the minority who know that they are going on to higher education and a career, and that is what they are at school for, and the majority who will leave early and whose future is far less certain and less promising, and who have to be convinced by the facts that they are at school for a good purpose to which they can consent because it will make a difference to their future. There need to be options and criteria of achievement and "parity of esteem" for the non-academic, who are the majority. In the Soviet Union the peer group is manipulated into solid- arity with the adult generation; the young are incorporated directly from the outset into Soviet society. The ideal of moral autonomy requires an interplay of •the school society, the peer group or alternative society, and society outside. Truancy and violence in our schools, or some of them, which have been highly publicised, manifest a maladjustment which in some places is out of hand. There are many causes and conditions, and there are some 'promising policies and practices in dealing with the problem directly. The maladjusted who are violent have to be taken out of the classroom in order that education may go on. In most cases perhaps they are the result of poor parenting and are incapable of self-control and of any persistence and achievement and satisfaction; they are bored and de- 5 pressed. They need a structured environment which provides strict control, agreed and supported freedom, and manifest care—the threefold consistent conditions of good parenting. In our aim at moral autonomy for everyone and "parity of esteem" have we introduced a new and self-defeating elitism without knowing it? Perhaps as few as 5 per cent ever do reach the moral maturity of stage 6. Yet societies function reasonably well at lower levels or moral responsibility. It is far easier and quicker to break up a social and moral order than •o build or sustain one. Perhaps most individuals need for their moral development a more disciplined environment and more decisive authority than is found in the open situation and approach. Perhaps those who have set their faces against differential treatment in education have turned their backs on education and on the more or less deprived. (Summary of a Lecture given on November 17)

THE HUMANIST COUNSELLING SERVICE

Concern Themselves with Your Personal Problems . . . . Whatever they are Write or phone in Confidence 13 Prince of Wales Terrace, London W8 5P0 Telephone: 01-937 2341

FORUM Parapsychology BY JOHN BELOFF

AT THE present time the status of parapsychology is an ambiguous one since people are uncertain whether it belongs to the world of well-founded knowledge or to the underworld of irrational beliefs, superstitions and pseudo-sciences. Here I shall try to explain why there is still no consensus among those competent to judge and, at the same time, offer some guidelines and pointers that may help you to judge for yourself. Two questions constantly arise when the topic of parapsychology comes up for discussion. First, the question of credibility: do paranormal phenomena really occur? And, secondly, if they do, what do they mean? What are their general implications? This we could call the question of interpretation. These two questions cannot always be kept apart. Many scientists are willing to concede that they would have no hesitation in accepting the evidence for the paranormal if it were evidence of anything else but that they cannot acknowledge these phenomena because they just do not make sense. Nor is it just an unfortunate reflection of our ignorance, they would say, that we cannot make sense of them; the fact is that for a 6 phenomenon to qualify as paranormal it has got to be totally inexplicable in relation to existing scientific knowledge. We could put this syllogistically as follows : What cannot be explained cannot be believed What can be explained cannot be paranormal With the implication that what is paranormal can never be believed! Although naturally, I cannot accept the validity of this objection I have some sympathy with the attitude of those who do. Philosophers of science, following Sir Karl Popper, have long been telling us that one cannot divorce observation from theory, that even the humblest observations is to some extent "theory-laden" that there are no pure facts and, finally, that it is futile to set about compiling a body of facts in the hope that later on a theory can be found to fit them (it is noteworthy that Popper has always refused to consider the problem of the paranormal). Nevertheless, - I would maintain that, at a basic common sense level, facts do come before theories and that there is no insuperable problem about distinguish- ing what is or is not a fact. If something happens for which there is no discernible explanation then we have, by definition, an ostensibly paranormal phenomenon. How we eventually propose to deal with it, to conceptualize it, is another matter.

Phenomenal Understanding Obviously, if we had a coherent theory of psychic phenomena, if we had solved the problem of interpretation, this would go a long way towards settling the question of credibility. The point I want to make here is that, pending any such agreed theory, we are entitled. to examine the claims in this field and sec how well they stand up to a critical scrutiny applying the best evidential standards. Moreover, I do •not think it amounts to much more than a semantic quibble to say that, if such a theory were forthcoming, the facts would ipso facto cease to be paranormal. This would be so only if the theory in question did not go beyond that which could be derived from present day physics. So long as the theory was sufficiently radical we could still give a perfectly good meaning to the term "paranormal". Indeed, currently some physicists are looking to parapsychology as a possible point of departure for the next big revolution in physics. At the same time, the word parapsychology is a reminder that the occurrence and non-occurrence of the phenomena is closely bound up with the mental state of the person who is instrumental in producing them. We can now return to the question of credibility: do we have to accept the evidence at its face value? Certainly we have to take it seriously both in view of the sheer bulk of the evidence that has been amassed over the past hundred years, both anecdotal and experimental, and in view of the high quality of the better evidence that is to be found in the reputable journals and publications. Stricter conditions of testing and higher levels of significance are usually demanded in this field than those that prevail in conventional psychology. On the negative side, however, it must be admitted that the findings have proved difficult to replicate or to demonstrate to order and that, inevitably, a paranormal interpretation is bound to have a low level of priority. It is a tacit rule of scientific method that one cannot claim to have confirmed some hypothesis so long as there exists some simpler hypothesis that can equally well acount for the facts. In the case of parapsychology it goes without saying that one cannot claim to have 'demonstrated some paranormal phenomenon if there is a reasonable counter-explanation that does not depend on other than known normal processes. The difficulty arises •in deciding exactly what is to be counted as reasonable. To the 7 really determined sceptic any normal explanation whatsoever, no matter how far-fetched or fantastic, is more reasonable than a paranormal one. This view was first given explicit recognition by the philosopher Hume who, in his famous Essay on Miracles, argued that the probability that a person claiming to have witnessed a miracle is actually telling a lie or is the victim of a deception must, in the nature of the case, always exceed the probability that the miracle really did take place as described. On this reckoning a paranormal hypothesis would never be able to emerge from the bottom of any heap of competing explanations.

Geller Investigated The Humean approach is strikingly illustrated by the recent controversy in New Scientist over the Stanford Research Institute (SRO report on Uri Geller. Since the report was published in Nature it represents something of a high-watermark in the recognition of parapsychology by the scientific establishment. But no sooner was it out than it was subjected to a scathing analysis in New Scientist at the hands of Dr Joseph Hanlon, a physicist and a member of their staff. Point by point he goes through each of the various ESP tests and considers how Geller, with or without the help of accomplices, might have fooled his investigators. One example must suffice. In one such test Geller had to guess how a dice had fallen after it had been shaken up inside a metal box by the experimenter. He did this correctly on all eight trials which he attempted thus giving odds of a million to one against chance. Hanlon suggests that he could have used a special trick-die available from magicians' suppliers which emits radio signals indicating its orientation. Replying to this criticism the authors of the report, Targ and PuthofF, point out that they had deliberately used a transparent plastic die which, moreover, was coded with the SRI code- mark, Hanlon refrains from making any further comment but neither does he withdraw his imputation of trickery. Presumably he tacitly accepts the Humean argument that it is more likely that the experimenters are lying or, at least not telling the whole truth, than that Geller can clairvoyantly perceive the fall of a die. The crux of Hanlon's case against Geller is contained in his remark that: "so long as a good magician could do what Geller does the Geller effect is not scientifically validated". Now, any serious parapsychologist would have to agree with this statement. The question is: could a good magician do what Geller does? And here Hanlon seems to take far too much for granted. For example, there are many reports of cases where Geller has bent a key by stroking one end of it while the owner of the key is holding the other end. Can this be done by conjuring? If so, I have yet to hear of a case. But, whatever the truth may be, the lesson I draw from the Geller controversy is that we should fasten rather on the small details of a given test that may prove critical for a decision one way or the other, not on broad generalities such as the character of Geller himself which, admittedly, .affords ample ground for suspicion.

Untypical Uri I have spoken at length about Geller simply because he has been at the centre of so much recent controversy. Actually this kind of directly observable phenomenon is highly untypical of parapsychology generally which perforce concerns itself with slight marginal effects that can only be demonstrated statistically. Parapsychologists are understandably irritated that evidence which they have laboured so long and patiently to compile rarely rises above the level of visibility as far as the outlook of the scientific community as a whole is concerned. Why should this be? After 8 all, scientists are accustomed to evaluating statistical-type evidence in other fields? The reason, I suggest, is twofold: partly this is the conse- quence of that lack of theory which we mentioned earlier and partly it is due to the lack of repeatability. Parapsychologists often protest that there is repeatability up to a point: several outstanding subjects of recent times have been successfully tested by a number of different experimenters, similarly several experimenters have repeatedly achieved positive results using different samples of subjects. What, however, is needed and what has been signally absent is inter-laboratory repeatability: different experimenters getting the same results with different subjects in different laboratories. Suspicious Failure The result of this failure to achieve even one repeatable parapsychological experiment is very far-reaching. First, it means that those who do obtain positive findings become permanent objects of suspicion if not of outright accusations of faking their data. Secondly, when a parapsychologist is actually caught cheating—and there has been one notorious scandal during the past year—the entire science is jeopardized in a way that would never happen in any regular science. Thirdly, the uncertainty of the outcome makes research in this field a very costly gamble so that few scientists are willing to embark on it and few foundations are willing to finance it. Finally, and this is the most serious aspect of all, no real progress can be hoped for until a phenomenon of sufficient stability has been found to provide a basis around which hypotheses can be formulated and tested. Is there any prospect that this barrier will be overcome? Various new approaches have been developed in recent years with this hope in mind which, here, I can do no more than allude to by ways of illustration. There is, first, the search for a "psi-conducive" state of mind. Of special importance in this connection has been the work of the Maimonides Dream Laboratory which has attempted to manipulate the imagery and contents of dreams using extrasensory target-pictures. Similar experiments have also been tried using sensory deprivation conditions and relaxation techniques. Secondly, there is the continuing search for a physiological index of ESP which, at its most hopeful, could eventually lead to the signal being picked up directly from the brain of the subject without the necessity of any conscious recognition on his part. Thirdly, a move has been made to bring animals into the parapsychological laboratory and to test for ESP or PK using random reinforcement schedules in a choice situation, the hope being that animals may prove more reliable in their scoring than human subjects. At the moment, however, all these are no more than efforts-and aspirations.

Scientific Acceptance In conclusion, what difference would it make if a breakthrough were achieved and parapsychology became an established science? Here we must distinguish between the practical and the theoretical consequences. As regards practical implications we must remember that, at the folk level, at any rate, parapsychology has always been a very practical affair whether it is a case of fortune-telling, dowsing or the tracing of missing persons by clairvoyance. If ever we should acquire the control over the phenomena that usually goes with scientific understanding the consequences could be dramatic as any reader of science-fiction must no doubt be aware. On the theoretical side it is much harder to spell out the implications until we know what direction the theory will take but, almost certainly, such a theory would have far-reaching consequences for the 9 traditional mind-body problem. Given only the facts of orthodox psychology and brain-physiology it looks as if mind is, in the last resort, identical with brain. Physical phenomena, on the other hand, look, at any rate, as if mind, whatever ultimately it may prove to be, can operate independently of the brain so as to acquire information direct from the outside world or, as in a case of PIC (e.g. the Geller effect), to act directly upon it. (Summary by John Belog of his talk on December 8)

For the Record Br THE GENERAL SECRETARY A FILM in a cinema is designed for a wide screen, to be watched by a big audience, in a large darkened space. Its magic is designed accordingly. A TV film is different. It is designed for a small screen, for viewing in living rooms, by vast numbers of tiny separate audiences. TV lacks the possibilities of scale, but it has its own unique access to intimacy and immediacy. Both cinema and TV have much in common with dreams. You can rake out the past, conjure up the future, mix fact and fantasy and set it to music! It is all made possible by vast technology in the hands of teams of craftsmen. Yet when it comes to the crunch, more particularly in TV, there is one person sitting or standing there, with one script, at the business end of one camera. Recollections of a Programme If this is not written here and now it never will be, and there are things worthy of record. A bouquet first for the Producer, Paul Bonner. When a couple of years ago I wrote an application-cern-scenario for an Open Door programme it simply went on the pile with hundreds of others. Then a few months ago the original Producer emigrated and Paul Bonner took over. He went through all the applications again and ours caught his attention. What appealed to him especially was our long and rather extraordinary history —and so the programme was launched. He and the Director, Roger Brunskill, came round to see me. Roger was to be in charge of the actual film making from start to finish, but he leant over backwards to make it plain that he would be a "mid-wife" Director and that the Society itself would be the effective decision-maker. He was as good as his word, but he did nevertheless feed in suggestions all along that I was delighted to accept. The opening shot, from the balcony of a flat opposite the Hall, was his idea and a first-class opening - it was too. The script was entirely mine. There is a rather amusing story about the music. I had been thinking about suitable music to accompany the credit titles at the end and, being a Purcell fan, had been through my collection of Purcell and found exactly the right thing—his Trumpet Sonata. Roger thought it was good. I went to bed the next night and it occurred to me that it would also be excellent for the opening too, and so constitute theme music for the programme as a whole, I resolved to ring R oger the next morning. I hadn't actually done so when he rang me, "Don't you think, Peter, that the Purcell piece would be good, as well, for the opening sequence!" The story of the funeral service is worth telling. A couple of years ago 10 Roger heard Samuel Barber's "Adagio" and he stored it away in his TV director's memory-bank for retrieval when the right moment came up. He saw the text of Russell on death and heard Denis Campbell's fine reading of it—and that was it, the "Adagio" was a natural. He then went through the film library of the BBC to find those excellent shots he used of waterfall, river, estuary, sea and sunset. He and the film editor, Mike Redbourn, put the whole thing together as a classic sequence. Some other time tell the full story of a strange and exciting moment in the course of the reading and investigation necessary for writing the script. I knew that Parliament Court, the site of the original chapel of 1793 existed, because 1 had stumbled on it years ago by accident. (It is not in the A-Z.) And I had assumed like everyone else, including the two historians of the Society, Conway and Ratcliffe, that the chapel had disappeared years ago. Tomoko Sato, who specialised in the period, suggested that I might at least find a helpful vintage map of the area in the Library of the Bishops- gate institute (opposite Liverpool Street Station). Not only did I find the map I found the original chapel—still very much in working order as a synagogue for the Askenazi Jews who came here from Holland 150 years ago. Inside it is quite beautiful, panelled throughout in light oak; but outside it is nothing, one of the worst slums in London. Parliament Court today is an open sewer, a vagrant's loo—and that accounts for the pink colour shown in the film. The local Council puts disinfectant down daily. Tomoko and I called at the synagogue and took photographs for the Society's archives. You are welcome to see them on request. On the Day Then there was The Disaster. On the day of the filming at Conway Hall a mobile generator was drawn up outside and it was from there that the power came from for the brilliant lighting installed well before 9 a.m. We were due to start shooting at 9.15 a.m. and Iris Mills, our Hall Manager, had come in specially. She was to sit at her desk and receive a telephone call (PC ringing from the call-box downstairs!) and in the course of her reply to the enquirer she would list the rooms and facilities available at the Hall. We were then to cut to a shot of our Head Care- taker, Colin Greaves, standing on the landing outside the Library talking about the great range of hirers who use our premises. Behind him would be Victor Rose's picture. It would have made a good sequence and given one more dimension to the film. Then at 9.10 a.m, the generator packed up. We lost 14 hours of shooting time and the whole sequence as planned. The emergency generator only just arrived in time for the 11 o'clock lecture. The General Committee of the Society gave me a mandate to get on with the job and this was very much appreciated. The film would hardly have been possible otherwise. One has to act and react to a constant stream of ideas with instant decision-making. (I gather that some societies that try to make a programme through a committee sometimes tie themselves in terrible knots!) Yet it was, essentially a group, a team, production. The substance of the film is the evidence for that. I had the interesting job of seeing that those who contributed so much to the past of the Society had their proper place in the story and of working out the final "message". Creative risks were taken and came off. Before the Forum tea, for example. I was asked if anyone had been primed and an interview set nit I said, "No—not at all!" I just noticed that Percy Sowter, Rose Bush and Tracey were sitting together and went over to them. It worked, and I think it was better that way. We had one of the best cameramen in Britain behind the lens. Ken Westbury did Jane Eyre. He came up with one or two very special shots. Ones .I liked especially were during the wedding, and that one of the picture within the picture in the art exhibition. The only bad thing about the whole exercise was the tone of the Radio Times article. It had a kind of petty, petulant, juvenile arrogance that did nothing for the BBC or for us and was not the responsibility of the Community Programme Unit responsible for Open Door Programmes. I wrote a strong letter of protest and I know that at least one other member did. But the photos were good, I thought, and there were seven of them over three pages—a very generous allocation of space. We have had some 60 letters of enquiry, a number of telephone calls and new people coming to meetings. ft is too early to say what the lasting effect of the programme will be. My own hunch, for what it is worth, is that its principal effect will be to consolidate the Society and generally extend the scope of its public recognition. The unmistakable inference of comment and letter is that our members are that much more proud to be members. Of all the tests that is the toughest and the best. The General Committee at its last meeting expressed its thanks to Paul Bonner, Roger Brunskill and the BBC. March Meetings It is my turn on the first Sunday. What are we really about? What lies beneath all the incredible cultural impedimenta of civilisation? What are Lionel Tiger's insights into this? Then Peter Cronin, following that brilliant morning on Joyce, turns to Beckett. John Shotter makes a study of baby behaviour—the first few years and we are more or less set for life. How does it happen? Then Dr Lewis on "How Rational are the Rationalists?" The Forums look like being very different this month. One or two Unitarians have done some pioneering on relations between homosexuals and heterosexuals. K eith Gillies, the Minister at Golders Green, is a case in point with Intergroup. Also he has recently been in the States for a year and brought back a film strip with three records that examines the whole subject of homosexuality with sympathy and insight. It is called "The Invisible Minority". He will be with us when we see it and hear it on the 9th We hope to have a number of avowed members of the "minority" present to take part in the discussion—Barbara Britton will be one of them. Then on the 23rd instead of having a meeting on Welsh nationalism (as we might have done) we decided in the Lectures and Discussions Committee to have a Welsh Afternoon with James Williams. We shall get closer to the heart of the matter through Dylan Thomas and songs. A month of Tuesdays on psychological subjects: Deviations from the Norm. Dr Rapoport on Variations in Family Structure, Gweneth Hem- mings of the Schizophrenia Association on some new thinking in that direction, Dr James McK eith of Broadmoor Hospital (and a member of South Place) on "Are Criminals Mentally Abnormal", and the last speaker on 'Anxiety" is still to be confirmed at the time of writing.

AROUND THE SOCIETY 0 The proof press mentioned last month is being bought by the Concerts Committee and, by arrangement, we shall be using it for our meetings- posters as well, 0 Following the Meeting with Dr Alick Elithorn• about one-parent families we have agreed in General Committee to offer to help him in his work (and he is joining the Society). The problem concerns separated and 12 divorced people who in the past have gone to lawyers about their children, often with disastrous results. If they can meet and talk things over under responsible medical and social auspices the outcome might be much happier. Offers of help will be welcome. PETER CADOGAN

DISCUSSION Marxism as a Religion ORIGINAL MARXISM is a system of socio-economic and political theory, based on empirical facts and consistent reasoning. The teachings of Karl Marx contain nothing mystical or irrational—nothing that could suggest affinity with Religion. Marx's main work is a sober and erudite analysis of 19th century capitalism, of its genesis, its dynamics and its prospects. Marx did not indulge in utopian prophecy. He did make certain predictions but these, though mostly disproved by ensuing events, were scientific inasmuch as they followed logically from his own rationally established (though possibly erroneous) premises. He did not elaborate the physiognomy of the socialist order which he thought would replace capitalism. In the course of the present century Marxism has, however, assumed certain features which do invite comparison with Religion. In this context the term "Marxism" is used comprehensively: it denotes the world- wide contemporary movement which comprises the organisations, groups, parties—in or out of power—which describe themselves as "Marxist", as well as their ideologies, principles and policies. By religion I mean the actual historical phenomenon, not religious emotions in the abstract, such as the "oceanic feeling" (to use Freud's term) or the "sensation of the mystical" which, according to Einstein, is at the centre of true religiousness. The question, then, is whether modern Marxism is a religion like one of the major universal religions, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam: for if Marx- ism is a religion it is, of course, a world religion—in fact it would be the most widespread religion ever, at least in terms of nominal membership. Now contemporary Marxism, as we all know, consists of a multiplicity of divergent views and antagonistic parties and tendencies; but this frag- mentation does not preclude comparison with religion for it is, precisely, a typical feature of most religions, including the three major world religions I just mentioned. An element with religious connotations which is common to all groups, parties etc, which call themselves "Marxist" or "Marxist-Leninist" or "Communist"—however hostile towards each other, and however remote in their doctrine and strategy from original Marxism—is their eschatology: the belief in the millennium, the coming golden age of plenty, of pros- perity, global brotherhood and lasting peace. Actually Marxists share this millenary vision with anarchists and other non-Marxist revolutionary socialists. Marxism has contributed two particular aspects to the common socialist expectations: the emphasis on the working class as the instrument of revolutionary change, and historic determinism. Marxists regard their theory as a science which has discovered the laws of motion of history and is therefore able to predict certain developments; in their view history moves inexorably towards proletarian revolution, socialism, and ultimately the perfect classless society. Present-day Marxists predict this happy future with a profession of prophetic certainty which was absent from Marx's own thought. Does this chiliastic eschatology, by •it- 13 self or in conjunction with other phenomena, make contemporary Marx- ism fully-fledged religion? Religion is not easy to define. For our purposes it seems preferable to list what most people would regard as the main characteristics of religion. The following enumeration is derived from definitions proposed by Max Muller and E. Durkheim: "Religion is a system of beliefs and practices; the beliefs are, at least in part, non-rational in that they stem from faith and not from empirical observation and logical deduction, and they include the concept of superior beings or powers; those sharing the beliefs and taking part in the practices are members of an organisational entity (or Church)". Marxist Beliefs Marxism is a system of beliefs and practices. As in contemporary Christianity, there are denominational communities of those sharing a particular interpretation of the common basic creed, and acting accordingly. Modern Marxists believe—as propounded in the textbooks of the various groups and tendencies—in the superior power of the dialectical process, in history's forward march in the direction of revolution and socialism. (The notion of God and •the supernatural, which Marxists reject, is not essential to religion; belief in God is, for instance, alien to Buddhism in most of its manifestations.) But what about the irrational? Are we entitled to say that, e.g., the vision of the millennium is based on beliefs which derive from faith and not from experience and reason? The underlying assumption of those who share this vision is that the colossal upsurge of the 'productive forces in mature capitalism had created the conditions for material abundance: Once modern technology was harnessed to a rationally planned economic system which had eliminated exploitation and was producing for the benefit of all instead of for the profits of a minority there would be enough goods to satisfy all needs. This assumption may have sounded plausible in the days of Marx and Engles, although the belief in unlimited growth had already been chal- lenged by Malthus and others. Today we know more than did Marx's contemporaries about the ecological limitations of growth which affect all countries and all societies, regardless of the socio-economic system; we know about the dangers of pollution, about the possible exhaustion of mineral resources, about the population explosion and its effects on the adequacy of food supplies, and so on. Yet modern Marxists are still convinced of the possibility, nay inevitability, of limitless expansion and material plenty—a conviction which no longer appears altogether rational. But even if, for the sake of the argument, we dismiss the warnings of the ecologist and assume that modern technology does remain a potential source of super-abundance for all people on earth, we would still be be- having irrationally in expecting socialisation of the means of production to lead to the disappearance of classes and of the state; for unlike Marx and Engels we can and must take into account the experience of several de- cades of communist state power in action. The switch from capitalist free enterprise to state ownership and economic planning may have been beneficial for some of the countries concerned and harmful for others, but neither in the USSR with its wealth of resources nor in the East European "People's Democracies" has material plenty become a practical prospect; in fact, progress towards it has been faster in some capitalist countries. Communism did not spell the end of social inequality or of class divisions; nor did it lead to an increase in human freedom and a decrease in coercion, let alone to the withering away of the state which Marxists said would be the consequences of socialism. Quite the reverse: all Communist countries, with the possible —intermittent—exception of Yugoslavia, are totalitarian dictatorships. 14 Yet Marxists of all left shades either deny these facts or else advance phoney arguments to the effect that the future is bound to prove the prophecies right. Such assertions are not based on facts and reason but solely—in so far as they are sincere—on apocalyptic faith. Some of Marx's latter-day disciples were less reticent than he was himself about sketching in the details of the socialist world of tomorrow. Long before the utopian vision clashed with Communist reality, some Marxist writers hazarded predictions which had no rational foundation in the Marxist analysis. For example, the German socialist leader August Bebel (who died in 1913) contended that once socialism had been firmly established no crimes would ever again be committed—not even crimes of passion (which still occur in William Morris's News from Nowhere). Leon Trotsky, normally down-to-earth as a Marxist theorist, wrote in 1923 when he was still a leading member of the Soviet establishment, that Communism would produce some kind of superman, "incomparably stronger, more intelligent and more versatile" than the pre-revolutionary variety of homo sapiens: "Average man will attain the intellectual heights of people like Aristotle, Goethe or Marx, and new peaks will rise above that high-level mountain range". Such predictions must be seen and assessed in the context of historic determinism: the Marxist thinkers describe what in their opinion inevitably wit/ happen. The point is not that these visions .should be dismissed as fantastic but that no logical link exists between the Marxist appraisal of capitalism and the notion of a future society of happy, superior human beings, infinitely strong, wise and noble. As these forecasts do not follow from the writers' own premises they are not scientific predictions but religious prophecies, akin to the visions of the Christian or the Moslem paradise. Religion, as we saw, is a system not only of beliefs but also of practices; and religious practices always include some form of ritual, i.e. the habitual performance of actions which have no ostensible purpose in terms of benefit or enjoyment—which are in fact often burdensome. Ritual of some sort is to be found in all fields of life, not only in religion. Political parties at their conferences and rallies often observe certain ceremonial rites; so do some non-political organisations. There is much of that kind in the countries of institutionalised Marxism—much that is redolent of specific religious ritual. Examples that spring to mind are the holy shrines and ikons, such as the Lenin Mausoleum in Moscow or the over-life-size portraits of leaders which are carried in procession. On top of that the Communist regimes have evolved an elaborate ritual which is peculiar to them. Political Ritual According to A. N. Whitehead, ritual often consits of acts which once had a definite practical purpose but were continued as pure ceremonies after the purpose had ceased to be effective. This decribes what has happened to parliamentary elections and proceedings in most Commu- nist countries. In pluralist societies which tolerate open dissent, elections and parliamentary debates may (and often do) play an important part in political life; they are pure ritual under Communism. There is no choice between Parties or candidates, and issues raised in Parliament have invariably been decided beforehand by the top hierarchs, or by a single dic- tator. Debates largely consist of clichés of unstinted praise for the Gov- ernment and the Party leaders. Bills and resolutions are carried unani- mously, which is just as much part of a ritual as the congregation's "Amen" in Church. And similar procedures prevail at Party congresses and rallies where perorations are so repetitious that comparisons with Prayer Book readings suggest themselves. There is, to recapitulate, hardly an aspect of traditional religion which does not have its counterpart in "Marxism-Leninism", except perhaps 15 for the supernatural. There are additional features which some brands of Communism share with some of the other religions: Confessions of sins and errors ("self-criticism"), acts of contrition and penance to re-enter the state of grace, unconditional submission to central authority—practices and attitudes which are alien to non-totalitarian parties and regimes. Above all, like most of the "higher" religions Communism is a closed, comprehensive system, a complete and self-contained philosophy of life. To quote the French Catholic writer Jacques Maritain, it is "a complete system of doctrine and life which claims to reveal to man the meaning of his existence, and to answer all the fundamental questions which are set by life". We might add that the Marxists also have their sacred writings—the works of Marx and Engels for all, of Lenin for nearly all, of Mao Tse- tung for some and of Trotsky for others. The way these writings are sometimes treated reveals truly religious veneration: Many of Lenin's rough notes are faithfully reproduced in the official editions of his works, so are his doodles! The Marxist Holy Writ—like Papal Canon, the Bible, and the Koran—contains much profound wisdom, much that is the work of genius, as well as some mystical dogmas. The Marxist-Leninist equivalent of the doctrine of the Trinity or the concept of Nirvana is "dialectical materialism" or, to be more precise, the so-called "three laws of dialectics" which were, with some modification and reinterpretation, borrowed from Hegel. These "laws" and their implications are largely in- comprehensible or meaningless, or else incapable of empirical substantia- tion, and in any case useless as means of reaching valid conclusions. Marx Modernised • To demonstrate th s in detail (as has been done, i.e. by Max Eastman, C. Wright Mills and Karl Popper) would be beyond the scope of his discussion. Significantly, these dialectical laws play a greater part in 20th century Marxist literature than they did in original Marxist theory. There is little reference to them in Marx's own mature writings; where they are mentioned they usually don't affect the argument. Much more about these laws can be found in Engels's works, and more still in 20th century Com- munist textbooks which have turned "dialectical materialism" into dogma. Marx and Engels were not dogmatists. They did not claim to be in possession of the ultimate and complete truth; they regarded their own teachings as a philosophy reflecting the transient position of one of the antagonistic forces of the society in which they lived. But when it became clear, in the course of this century, that history refused to conform to Marxist predictions, the Apostles of Marxism-Leninism explained that all that had happened was, when viewed from the angle of dialectical materialism, fully in line with the original forecasts. The greater the gap between theoretical anticipation and reality, the stronger the emphasis on dialectics as a method of finding the definitive Marxist-Leninist answer. The extreme vagueness and arbitrariness of dialectical terminology facilitated this sem-theological argumentation. Dialectics thus became an instrument of creating a dogmatic doctrine (paradoxically in a way, since dialectical theory, inasmuch as it is intelligible, rejects dogmatism): its lack of semantic precision, its ambiguity and partial incomprehensibility helped to convert Marxist theory into an esoteric, semi-mysterious "science" comprising elements of the credo quia absurdum. Each of the three great world religions acquired universality after be- coming the state religion of a vast empire. Buddhism was "established" in Asoka's India in the 3rd Century BC, Christianity in the Roman Empire in the 4th century AD (through Constantine the Great and Theo- dosius), Islam in and beyond Arabia in the 7th century, under Muhammad and his immediate successors. Marxist Communism has •conquered, in our 16 century, two huge empires, and has spread to all parts of the globe. It has also experienced a great schism—another typical occurrence in the early development of universal religion. The Indian, Roman and Arab empires have disappeared, but the three old religions have survived, and are still very much alive. Marxism is now firmly entrenched in a substantial part of the earth's surface. There is no reason to assume that it could not also survive the fall of either or both of the great empires that have adopted and institutionalised the now creed. (Summary by Fred Kissin of his talk on December 3)

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Your Viewpoint - Man as Religious Animal I dispute Peter Cadogan's dictum that "the human being is a religious animal" (February, 1975). Animals do not suffer from that obsessional neurosis, Religion; nor did primitive man. Religion only arose as a necessary outgrow of class society when men wanted to keep others in submission, telling them they were merely a play-thing of some supreme being (whatever its name) and its terrestrial exponents. In exchange they had to offer the exploited classes pie-in-the-sky. This is why one of our famous exploiters of human suggestibility said: If no God exists, he must be invented. Peter's "religious animal" is "concerned with mystery, wonder, awe", etc. Not in a healthy, progressing society which looks with pride and conviction into the future. In a moribund society, however, the masses need dream, drug and escapism from reality. Today we are living in a deepening crisis of human relations and under the continuous threat of utter destruction (by nuclear war and pollution); this explains the ludicrous growth of astrology, oriental mysticism (i.e. the followers of Gurus), drug addiction, over-sex indulgence, horror films and violence, and sports fanaticism. After the First World War, an utterly war-weary generation gave sports for the masses a great uplift as a substitute for real war. The time between 1920 and 1930 was another time of crises ("Spartakus" and Kapp Putch in Germany, together with the Great Mark Devaluation; in England trouble in Ireland, General Strike and Hunger March; 1929/30 the Great Crash in Europe •and America). In USA, in 1920, the American Profes- sional Football Association was organized; the first broadcasts of sports 17 events; the organization of National Soccer and Football Clubs and 1926 the first National Amateur Cup Competition. Sports addicts buy a newspaper not to learn about people dying in Darwin or Bangladesh, they are hardly interested in the standard of living at home, they first of all read the sports page to see if their local or national team has won. Sports fanaticism has grown into another Ersatz- Religion. In Russia and her satellites individual players have no financial gain. In capitalist countries, however, sports are a source of corruption and profit; generating chauvinism, vandalism and other low instincts (cf. blood in boxing); but first of all it has become the main instrument of diverting the interest of the masses from the real important questions of the day. OTTO WOLFGANG A reply: That man is a religious animal is not "Peter Cadogan's dictum". It is one of the earliest discoveries of modern anthropology and has no necessary connection with a revealed personal God. Early man, faced by the total mystery of his environment, saw spirits everywhere—in every animal, in every plant, in every stone and in every natural phenomenon. The name he gave to the thing was also the name of its spirit, thus every appellation is an invocation too. The heart of religion lay and still lies, experientially, in a relation between language and other forms of expression—and the mysterious. See the works of Ernst Cassirer and others. Over countless millenia we have secularised our use of language stage by stage, and religion has yielded immense ground to science and the humanities. What is left is the hard core of personal experience—things concerned with truth, beauty, goodness and love (and their opposites). The revealed religions of Judaism and Christianity turn out to be transient phenomena, now fading away. They latched on to deeper truths that will survive them. P.C. Free Speech Ray and Albert Lovecy (February) argue for "banning the NF" from Conway Hall on grounds of the unethical nature of the views which NE members express. If, however, SPES were to "ban the NE" on those grounds, wouldn't SPES then be committed to letting Conway Hall, not for the "free" expression of views, but only(!) for the expression (and promotion) of those views which were ethically acceptable to SPES? In that ethical discrimination over the exercise of a legal right to freedom of speech, wouldn't SPES become actively involved in political, ideological and legal commitments? Indeed, what kind of "image" is it that SPES "sorely needs to brighten up"? Farnham Common, Bucks. CHARLES BYASS

South Place as Moral Leader The January edition of Ethical Record says that the "criticism of Humanism is that it takes away the comfort that people derive from their faith". A good answer-to these critics would be who can have faith in something that has never been proved! We have proof of this earth and the people living on it. It is these people we want to show our love for and help them in their problems, assistance in poverty, housing them and giving comfort where it is needed. This is the answer, the remedy for most people's everyday problems. South Place Humanist Centre must have helped thousands in this way. They have done something practical, not preached a promised land but something more valuable, they have taught them to have faith in themselves, to raise 'themseNes from the 18 "abyss of despair". Ethics does this to people, it gives them the rules of governing themselves and teaches the disciplines. It teaches good manners and character to help others by good example. It is a new way of life we need, politicians cannot bring the change we need, it is the masses who need to change themselves first then the greater evolution will follow. Ethics and Humanism are one. These are the keys that will bring the open door to the people of all nations. A university to educate would be a grand thing, a great stronghold for Peace, Freedom and Happiness. South Place Ethical Society have the firm foundation for this Universal Edifice. "That man is best who sees the truth himself; Good too is he who hearkens to wise council. But who is neither wise himself nor willing To ponder wisdom, is not worth a straw." —Hesiod Kidderminster J. Amos Veganism Re Veganism and black flies on beans (February Record), could it be that Mr Byass is confusing vegans with those Buddhists whose reverence for life is reputed to make them refrain from killing even a louse? I am not a vegan but my acquaintance with these admirable people makes me confident that they would eliminate black flies on beans with as clear a conscience as when they deal with insect parasites attempting to invade their own skin. It must be added that they would never use any of the popular chemical pesticides. Control of insect pests can bc effec- tually secured without recourse to such dangerous substances. This has been amply demonstrated by the work of the Henry Doubleday Research Association, to mention only one of the many well-established authorities in this field. London NW3 G. L. ADAMS O lt may not be applicable to Mr Byass but the verbal tactics displayed in his letter (February) are those often used by a person who wishes to make the whole issue of veganism appear somewhat farcical and ridiculous. Being able, in the interests of good common sense, to dismiss the ethics of, for example, killing blackflies as not being worth the expenditure of mental energy when so many apparently much more pressing problems face the individual and the human race, a person can easily and simul- taneously dismiss and evade the central issues of veganism and man's more obviously unnecessary exploitation of animals by extending his justification for the dismissal of the blackfly problem to a blanket dismissal of the more central issues; and thus he retains a clear conscience while he merrily eats away at his meat. When one is faced with ethics in practice there is often no clear-cut black-and-white distinction between right and wrong. An individual making a difficult moral choice has to decide on his order of priorities and values and use his own judgement to deal with what often seem to be the awkward and, perhaps, conflicting realities of human existence. Without delving here into all the many complex considerations involved in the issue of veganism (I would refer readers to my previous letter— November/December I974—for two of the more central arguments) I would suggest a few criteria that people who were genuinely concerned about destroying blackflies, for example, might consider. First, one might ask how much suffering one might cause by a proposed act, i.e. what is the capacity for suffering of blackfly? Obviously this cannot be known (though most people would probably guess that any such capacity for 19 suffering would be very small) and, in fact, even to entertain such a question is likely to offend against the "common sense" of many people. In contrast, few people would deny that an animal such as a cow, with its comparatively large brain and highly developed nervous system, has a considerable capacity for suffering; and hence, it might reasonably be argued, this factor should be much more prominent in any consideration of man's dealings with cows. But the crucial difference between, for example, man's deliberate breeding and fattening of cattle for human consumption and the killing of blackfly which happen to interfere with man's horticultural efforts is found in the degree of demonstrable necessity for man's actions in each case. If one accepts certain premises, such as, for example, that it is right that one should live even at the expense of the lives of a few blackflies or a cow (and few but crackpots could object to such a premise!) then whether one considers the killing of blackflies to be right or wrong would depend on whether one considers such killing necessary to ensure one's own survival. In practice, and considering as a whole the feeding of the present human population it might reasonably be argued that the killing of such "pests" as blackfly is necessary to ensure an adequate food supply. Such an attitude is not incompatible with a reverence for life: it simply means that human life is more "revered" than blackfly life. However, there is considerable evidence that the breeding farming (which often involves patent animal suffering, as I know from personal experience) killing and eating of cattle (and other animals) is not necessary for human health and survival (quite the contrary, many would argue!) and thcrefore might reasonably be seen to be incompatible with a reverence for life. London W9 E J OKELL On Guard The February Editorial rightly draws attention to the dangers to democracy inherent in the present economic and political crisis, with inflation threatening the standard of living and savings, a trade recession endangering security of employment of blue- and white-collar workers, and existing parties and administrative institutions often found wanting in dealing effectively with everyday problems. What lessons may be drawn from countries where a similar situation led to the establishment of a "tyrannical, barbarous society"? This question seems the more important as, by now a generation is growing up which witnessed neither the growth nor the practices of the Nazi regime nor its culmination in World War 11. The Editorial suggests that "Hitler's party had a majority when the atrocities started". These are the facts: In the last free elections prior to Hitler's coming to power (on January 30, 1933) held in November 1932, the Nazis' share of votes had fallen, within three months from 37 per cent to 33 per cent (in the 1928 election, that is, before the economic depression had started, they obtained 21 per cent) while the Left—socialists and communists—obtained 37 per cent. In the next and last election in which opposition parties could still take part, the Nazis, in spite of extensive terror, could master only 44 per cent. In others words, Hitler had never obtained a majority in free or half-free elections. His first Government was a coalition Government together with six ministries held by conservatives and three by non-party men. In this way Hitler prevented active resistance from the centre and moderate left, whose leaders were convinced that Hitler, having come to power by parliamentary means, could be tamed and finally defeated by parliamentary means. Throughout Hitler's rise 'to power they had believed that resistance rather than checking•the' Nazi movement would only draw 20 attention to it and would exacerbate civil strife. Therefore it would be wise to wait for a turn for the better of the economic situation when support for extremist parties would dwindle automatically. However, it was just when the economic tide had begun to turn in the winter of 1932/33 that Hitler was manoeuvred into power, which ended with the destruction of all non-Nazi parties, right, liberal or socialist, with the end of democracy, the dismemberment of Germany, with the whole of Eastern Europe going communist. Should one not start now thinking about what is involved in the editor's warning to "be on our guard"? London E9 S. MORS

South Place News New Members We are pleased to welcome the following new members: Mr C. Brown, SW3; Miss A. Pritchard, SW1; Mr J. Yoewell, El; Mr A. •Lindox, 5W6; Mr T. Henvey, NW6; Mr P. Heales, Surrey; Mr J. Amos, Kidderminster; Mrs P. Mayor, SW11 and Miss S. Hartwell, NW6. Obituary We regret to report the death of Miss E. Thomas, a member in South Africa. Tributes The following tributes to prominent members whose deaths were reported last month, have been received. Percival St John Dixon Mr Percy St John Dixon, our oldest member, died in his 94th year. He joined the Society in 1899 ando became a Trustee in 1933. He was a Mining Engineer. Before World War 1 he worked in West Africa, South Africa and Russia. Between the wars his work took him to Colombia, Ontario, Brazil Venezuela, Anatolia, Portuguese West Africa, Tasmania, Portugal, Sierra Leone and Greece. During World War II he worked on Opencast Coal for the Ministry of Works. He married in 1911 and outlived his wife, Florence, by 31 years. They had four children, Deborah, Alda, Alan and Dorinda, eleven grandchildren and five great - grandchildren. He was a man of great determination and strength of character. The funeral, at Amersham Crematorium, was conducted by Peter Cadogan on January 23. Alfred Adrian Wolfe Alfred Wolfe, mosaic designer, sculptor and artist, died at the age of 83. The cremation took place at Colchester on Friday, January 24, Mr Cadogan officiating. He had been a member of the Society for ten years but his association with us was much longer than that. He was a friend of Sylvia Pankhurst and painted the banner used at her meetings. He was a figure of note in Clacton. While chairman of the Freeholders Associa- tion, a position he held for nine years, he organised the construction of the Brooklands sea-wall in 1951. It is known locally, very appropriately, as "Adrians Wall". He was President of the Jaywick Sixty-Plus Club and a busload of its members attended the funeral service. In the course of the service his friend Mr Carroll and his brother Mr Dick Wolfe paid their personal tributes. 21 For the last three or four years Mr Wolfe had been seriously ill and was tended devotedly by his wife Anna. John L. Green The cremation was conducted at Enfield by Peter Cadogan. "Jack" Green, whose father was Secretary to the Society from 1933 to 1944, had been a member for 45 years and a Trustee since 1947. As a young man he was active on many sub-committees including the Choral Group, Concerts, Dances, Easter Holidays, Members, Play Reading, Social, SPES Players and Study Circle, and served several terms on the General Committee. Starting his career as a school teacher he went on an exchange visit to New Zealand where he met his wife, Trudy, also a teacher. After the war he was appointed as the first Child Psychologist to the Shropshire County Council, a post which he held until he retired five years ago. This necessitated moving to Shrewsbury but he maintained his contact with the Society whenever possible. Not long after the move to Shrewsbury his wife died following a distressing illness leaving him to care for their two children, an undertaking which he accomplished single-handed alongside a demanding career. Son Peter trained at "The Slade" as an artist, daughter Jennifer follows in her parents' footsteps as a school teacher. Jack was a linguist and a great traveller who made friends easily in many countries—a connoisseur of good food and wine. He understood modern •youth, earned their respect and numbered many of the younger generation among his friends. He was never too busy to give his sympa- thetic attention to problems of others. A loyal friend who will be missed by many. C. E. BARRALET Sunday Social Sunday, March 16, 3 p.m. Lindsay Burnet will speak about the Humanist Housing Association, illustrated by a film by the Humanist Film Unit. Followed by tea at about 4.30 p.m. 10p. Theatre Party A theatre visit has been arranged for the afternoon of Saturday, March 22, to see Moliere's comedy "Tartuffe". Meet at the Vanbrugh Theatre, Malet Street, WCI, at 2.15 p.m. Tickets 20p, obtainable from Edwina Palmer at Conway Hall on Sundays or Tuesday evenings. Country Dancing Country dancing takes place in the Library on Saturday, March 22, starting at 3 p.m. Beginners are welcome, and the first half-hour will be devoted to basic instruction. (Jointly with Progressive League.) Ramble Saturday, March 8. "Three Parks and Mayfair." Afternoon walk of approximately 3-1 miles. Meet St James's Park Underground Station, near Information Office, at 2.15 p.m. Buses 11, 24, 29, 39, 503 and 507—alight at Broadway, Victoria Street. If wet walk to Wellington Museum, Hyde Park Corner. Admission 10p (OAPs and Children 5p). Tea at Conway Hall following walk or museum visit. Leader: John Brown, phone 485 4811. Bridge Drive The March Bridge Drive will take place on Thursday, March 20, in the Library, at 6.30 p.m. New members and friends welcome, light refresh- ments served. Bridge practice is at 6 p.m. in the Library, every Sunday. 22 Who's for Scrabble? Alongside the Sunday evening Bridge meetings, a Scrabble group is starting this month. Beginners helped, good players encouraged to form a team. Enquiries to Connie Davis at Bridge sessions.

Kindred Organisations A book sale in aid of New Ways Trust hostels in its area is being held by Sutton Humanist Group on Saturday, April 5, 10 am to 1 pm. The sale will be at Trinity Hall, Hill Road. The annual dinner of the National Secular Society is at the Paviour's Arms, Page Street, Westminster, on March 22. Full details in February Record. Constance Dowman, general secretary of the Rationalist Press Associa- tion, is retiring in June, and applications for the post are invited. Salary from £2,500, and the possibility of a flat on the premises. Candidates should have financial and administrative experience. Applications in writing to the Managing Editor, Rationalist Press Association Ltd., 88 Islington High Street, London NI.

(Continued from page 2) Tuesday, March 11 7.00 pm—Discussion introduced by Gweneth Hemmings. Schizo- phrenia Sunday, March 16 11.00 am—SundayMeeting: JOHN SHUTTER on The Development of Autonomy in Children. Baritone solos: Alan Spencer 3.00 pm—SundaySocial (see South Place News) 6.00 pm—Bridgeand Scrabble 6.30 pm—Concert: Haffner and Delme String Quartets. Mendelssohn Ell Op. 20. Shostakovich Two Pieces Op. 11 string octets. Tschaikowsky "Souvenir de Florence" Dmi Op. 70 String Sextet Tuesday, March 18 7.00 pm—Discussion introduced by Dr J. MacKeith. Are Criminals Mentally Abnormal? Thursday, March 20 6.30 pm—BridgeDrive in the Library Saturday, Mardi 22 3.00-6.00 pm—CountryDancing (jointly with Progressive League) Sunday, March 23 11.00am—Sunday Meeting: Dr JOHN LEWIS on How Rational are the Rationalists? Piano and violin: Fiona Cameron and Diana Cummings 3.00 pm—Forum: A Welsh Afternoon with James Williams 6.00 pm—Bridgeand Scrabble 6.30 pm—Concert: Orion Piano Trio. Mozart 13f1 K502, Geoffrey Poole Trio No. 2 joint Clements Prize-winning work 1973, Schubert Eft Op. IGO (0.929) Tuesday, March 25 7.00 pm—Discussion: Anxiety Sunday, March 30—Easter, no meetings

23 South Place Ethical Society FOUNDED in 1793, the Society is a progressive movement which today advocades an ethical humanism, the study and dissemination of ethical principles based on humanism, and the cultivation of a rational religious sentiment free from all theological dogma. We invite to membership all those who reject supernatural creeds and find themselves in sympathy with our views. At Conway Hall there are opportunities for participation in many kinds of cultural activities, including discussions, lectures, concerts, dances, rambles and socials. A comprehensive reference and lending library is available, and all Members and Associates receive the Society's journal, The Ethical Record, free. The Sunday Evening Chamber Music Concerts founded in 1887 have achieved international renown. Services available to members include Naming Ceremony of Welcome to Children, the Solemnisation of Marriage, and Memorial and Funeral Services. The Story of South Place, by S. K. Ratcliffe, is a history of the Society and its interesting development within liberal thought. Minimum subscriptions are: Members, £1 pa.; Life Members, £21 (Life membership is available only to members of at least one year's standing). It is of help to 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 are urged to pay more than the minimum subscription whenever 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 to be found in the Annual Report.

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION FORM To THE HON. REOISTRAR, SOUTH PLACE ETHICAL SOCIETY, CONWAY HALL HUMANIST CENTRE, RED LION SQUARE, LONDON, WC1R 4RL Being in sympathy with the aims of South Place Ethical Society, I desire to become a Member and I enclose as my annual subscription the sum of (minimum £1) entitling me (according to the Rules of the Society) to membership for one year from the date of enrolement.

NAME (BLOCK LETTERS PLEASE) ADDRESS

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The Ethical Record is posted free to members. The annual charge to subscribers is £I. Matter for publication should reach the Editor, Eric Willoughby, 46 Springfield Road, London Eli 8DD, by the 5th of the preceding month.

cE David Neil Et Co Dorking Surrey