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Ethical Record The ISSN 0014-1690 Ethical Record Vol. 89 No. 7 JULY/AUGUST 1984 EDITORIAL dissemination of ethical principles". At the AGM one member Rationality, The Open Society, present suggested the Ethical Parochialism and SPES's Aims Record was "parochial" . which STEPHEN HOUSEMAN,in his lecture emphasises the need for us to con- Why Man Must be Rational (con- tinue to clarify carefully these aims cluded in this issue), asserts that in terms of what we do, what lec- "understanding is unique among turers and lectures we decide to goals, in that once achieved, it have and what we publish. spreads indefinitely amongst man- It seems to us (the editorial kind", and suggests this must lead "we") that both the ultimate aims, to the development of a more co- purpose and condition of human- operative style of life and one in kind and the life, ideas and acts which competitiveness has no of particular individuals and groups meaning. are matters for appraisal, from Harry Stopes-Roe claims in his which useful conclusions can be lecture on The Open Society (page drawn. So the life of a Humanist 3) that, while Humanism has failed like Bill Bynner (Ethical Record, the Open Society, the latter needs March 1984) or the background of Humanism "to press the shared Republican Albert Standley values upon which life depends— (Ethical Record. June 1984) or, reasonableness, co-operation, under- again, the way of living of the standing". Wodaabe nomads (same issue), Thus SPES gets help in defining though perhaps to some "par- "the cultivation of a rational and ochial", are relevant; just as is the humane way of life and the near and more distant future, the advancement of education in fields emphasis that should be placed on relevant to these objects". Open such aspects of our society as over- for discussion are an endless range of topics relevant to our "study and Concluded on pages 18 and 19 CONTENTS Coming to Conway Hall: Dr A. O'Hear, Peter Reales, Professor Richard Scorer, Barbara Smoker... 2 The Open Society: Harry Stopes-Roe . 3 Why Must Man be Rational—Part H: Stephen Houseman . 8 Honorary Representative's Report: Ray Lovecy ... 13 Viewpoints: Roy Simpson, Jim Addison, Barbara Smoker David Ibry, Nigel Bruce, Betty and Sam Beer, Peter Hunot . ..... 13-17 The views expressed in this journal are not necessarily those of the Society. Microfilm and reprints available—details on request. PUBLISHED BY THE SOUTH PLACE ETHICAL SOCIETY CONWAY HALL, RED LION SQUARE, LONDON WC1R 4RL Telephone: 01-242 8032 (Answering machine out of hours) SOUTH:p:LACE .ETHICAL .sociETy Appoilited Lecturers: H. J. Blackhdm, Lord Broekway; Richard Clements, OBE, T. F. Evans, 'Peter Heala, Harry Stopes-Roe, Nicolas Walter Hall Manager: Geoffrey Austin (tel. 01-242 8032) Secretary: Jean Bayliss (Wed-Fri, tel. 01-242 8033) Honorary Representative: Ray Lovecy Chairman General Committee:* Deputy Chairman:* Honorary Registrar: John Brown 'Honorary Treasurer: Ben Roston Honorary Librarian:* Editor, The Ethical Record : Peter Hunot *Still to be appointed by the General Committee COMING TO CONWAY HALL Sunday morning meetings at 11.00 am in the Library July I. DR. A. O'Hemt. Religion and the Rational Man. July 8. PETER HEALes. Working Together.: Theories About Co-operation. July 15. RICHARD SCORER. The Computer Age and Forecasting. There are NO Forums in July Sunday SOCIAL at 3.00 pm in the Library July 15. We have been fortunate to be able to arrange after all a further end-of-Season Social, when BARBARA SMOKER, recently returned from a visit to the United States, will speak on "jmy AMERICAN TOUR". - Tea at 4.30 p.m. Ramble and Talk with the Forest Group Sunday, August 5. Meet Chingford Station at 11.30 am (with picnic lunch), reached by Underground (Victoria Line) to Walthamstow Central Station, thence by Bus 97 to Chingford Siation. Short walk in Epping Forest led by JOHN BROWN. Tea by invitation of EDWINAPALMER at 12 Maida Way, Chingford. After Tea, JOHN CuNNINGTON, Secretary of the Forest Group will speak on "THE BATTLE AGAINST POLLUTION" ' followed by discussion (out of doors, if fine) INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS London University Extra-Mural Course A 24-session class will be held weekly on Tuesdays from. 7.15-9.15 pm. in the Library at Conway Hall commencing on October 2, 1984. The•tutor will again' be N. lirmAN, B.A:/and the title -Of his'colirse is: ' Zones of Tension and Hope on a Shared Planet 1945-1984. " • 2 • The Open Society By HARRY STOPES-ROE Summary of lecture given on Sunday February 12, 1984 THE OPEN SOCIETY IS AN IMPORTANT CONCEPT, particularly for US HUEBRIUMS. Firstly, it is in a very real sense a distinctively Humanist concept. Many religious groups claim to support it; but when it comes to the point those in positions of responsibility find great difficulty in implementing it. Marxists explicitly reject it. Secondly, the Open Society needs our support if it is to come about, and to thrive. These are the matters that I want to discuss this morning. And also the fact that Humanists have failed in their responsibilities to the Open Society. will build up my claims from the historical roots of the concept. The phrase was first used, I believe, by the French philosopher Henri Bergson in 1933. For him, however, it expressed little more than the idea and ideal of internationalism. I do not mean "little more than" to denigrate inter- nationalism; not at all. But his concept meant only that countries should look outside their boundaries, in a spirit of openness and cooperation. Just over 10 years later Popper took the concept a long way forward in his book The Open Society and its Enemies, published in 1945. He looked inside this society that was going to be "open" in Bergson's sense, and he considered how it was to work. But Popper was very much a rationalist. He had (I think one can say) relatively little feeling for the emotional needs of those who are to live in the Open Society. He was concerned with the mechanisms of the Open Society, the institutions, the structure of its leadership, the framework of individual behaviour. Popper conceived the Open Society as one in which "openness" meant openness to reasoned criticism and consequential change. Institutions are open to change; leaders arc open to removal; and each individual makes his own way, on the basis of his own enterprise. This conception of the Open 1984 Voltaire Memorial Lecture This will be given by LUDOVIC KENNEDY 011 October 8. Chairman of the meeting will be SIR ALFRED AYER. The Meeting will be held at Conway Hall at 7.00 pm. Open Air Theatre Visit Saturday, July 30. Meet at the box office, Holland Park Theatre, 2.15 pm for 2.30 pm performance of NATIONAL FOLK DANCE ENSEMBLE. Traditional songs and dances from Hungary. Tickets (not in advance): OAPs 50p; others £2. Tea afterwards, then walk round the gardens—peacocks, Dutch garden, etc. If wet, visit the Commonwealth Institute. Leader : CONNIE DAVIS (01-328 5038). Annual Shaw Birthday Tribute Arranged by the Shaw Society, this will take place on Saturday and Sunday, July 21 and 22, 6.00 pm in Shaw's Corner garden, Ayot St Lawrence, near Welwyn Garden City. Admission charge £1.50. The play on each day is a professional production of ANDROCLES AND THE LION and extracts from the preface will be read by BENNIE GREEN. On Sunday there will be a coach from Central London (£3 the return trip). 3 Society is the culmination of certain elements in the Western Liberal Tra- dition. But it goes back to the Greek, not the Judeo-Christian source. Popper's Open Society is rational. It uses science to resolve its problems. It works by ameliorating situations; it has a deep distrust of revolution, as epitomizing the failure of reason. Popper used the phrase "piecemeal social engineering" to express his point of view. He rejected "historicist" concep- tions of progress, which claimed laws of social change and historical inevit- ability. These deny the scope of reason in controlling human affairs. Thus Marx was one of his main targets of attack, as an "enemy of the Open Society". (Plato was another.) M all this I think he had right on his side. But there are other threats to the Open Society which Topper did not appreciate. Let us move forward 14 years to the BHA symposium Towards an Open Society of 1969—just half-way between Popper's Open Society and its Enemies and us. Sir Alfred Ayer recognised these problems in his lead paper to this symposium. I would like to read one or two of the things he says. He was concerned with the impact of this society upon the individual. It is essentially a meritocracy: each individual is free to use his or her talents and opportunities as he or she thinks fit. The society will be (as Ayer points out) a fluid society. Just before my first quote Ayer had noted this, and welcomed this fluidity; but he goes on— "Nevertheless, there are some disadvantages and dangers in a fluid society. In such a society there is frequently a search for status. When a society becomes fluid and people do not know what their status is, as they do in a closed society, this can lead to dissatisfaction, particularly in a society like the United States at present, where there seems to be no criterion of status except possessions. In an open, fluid society such as ours is becoming, I think that much more pressure is put on the individual to find his own place in the scheme of things, to work out for himself what things are important, how he wants to live, what satisfac- tion he can find in life." (page 7) He goes on: "This is something which one might approve of.
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