--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Bennion, Milton collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 33 number: 5 published: 1930-03 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: "Milton Bennion, “A Spiritual Philosophy of Life,” *Improvement Era* 33, no. 5 (March 1930): 322–324." source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera3305unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera3305unse start_page: 322 end_page: 324 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1930-03) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera3305unse publication_year: 1930 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1930, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # A Spiritual Philosophy of Life A Spiritual Philosophy of Life By MILTON BENNION Dean of the School of Education, University of Utah V The Free- Will Controversy In What Various Senses Is the Term, Freedom, Used? In What Ways Is Freedom Lim- ited? What Has Freedom to Do with Responsibility and with the De- velopment of Personality? What Is the Meaning of Moral Freedom? Is It a Natural Endow- ment or Is It Acquired? THE term, freedom, like the terms liberty and law, is used with a variety of mean- ings. In popular speech freedom is the opposite of slavery; in po- litical documents, it is often ap- plied to a self-governing people; in the language of criminal law, it may refer to one who is not in jail; to a youth, it sometimes means one who has escaped from the domination of his parents. These are but types of the many ways in which this popular term is used. It is the purpose here to discuss freedom in its philosophical use as it applies to man's relations to the world. Is the individual wholly the creature of his environment? Is he determined entirely by causes and conditions external to his own personality? An affirmative an- swer to these questions is in agree- ment with External-Determinism, the theory commonly held by the mechanistic materialists. An op- posing theory widely held is call- ed Self -Determinism. From this point of view conduct is deter- mined by the nature of the indi- vidual himself. It is, nevertheless, quite definitely and certainly pre- dictable to the extent that the real nature of the individual is known. A third theory, in some measure opposed to both of the others, is called Indeterminism. It holds that the future actions of the in- dividual are not wholly predeter- mined, either by external condi- tions or by the present nature of the self; that there is real choice of ends and means; that results, in "A common opinion prevails that the juice has ages ago been pressed out of the free-will controversy, and that no new champion can do more than warm up stale arguments which every one has heard. This is a radical mistake. I know of no subject less worn out, or in which inventive genius has a better chance of breaking open new ground, — not perhaps, of forcing a conclusion or of coercing assent, but of deep- ening our sense of what the ideas of fate and of free-will imply."* some instances, might have been different; and that what is to be, within limits, is for individuals to determine. Some philosophers hold that there can be no freedom without some degree of indeterminism ; oth- ers hold that freedom is consistent with self-determinism, and that, in fact, this is the only kind of freedom that is desirable. Each of these theories as to the three va- rieties of determining or not de- termining human conduct is de- fended on the grounds of experi- ence. Why External Determinism? A DVOCATES of external de- ■*■*■ terminism appeal to the con- cepts of physical science as the most valid of all experience and as having application to all nature inclusive of man and human insti- tutions. They build upon the popular statement of the law of gravitation, in which everything is externally controlled, but has no power over itself. They re- gard mind as a product of me- chanical forces, operating in agree- ment with natural laws of the same order. The conduct of the individual is conceived as arising wholly from two sources, his heredity and his environment. But from this viewpoint, heredity itself is but a storage battery, fig- uratively speaking, of environ- mental forces that have for ages been accumulating in the species. Thus heredity is reduced ultimate- ly to the influences of past en- vironment. The theory is, there- fore, properly called external de- terminism. The philosophical objections to this theory have been briefly stated in previous numbers of this series. It may be proper to add here that it has been called in- conceivable because any attempt to think it through involves logical contradictions. Cosmic evolution as defined by Herbert Spencer as- sumes that the complex world of today evolved from a homogene- ous, undifferentiated mass, a world, if it can be called such, therefore, in which all parts were alike. With such a condition there could have been no environ- ment in the sense in which we now use that term. In our experience when a living organism is changed by its environment it is by action upon it of something different from itself, not by an exact dupli- cate of itself. It is at least unrea- sonable, if not inconceivable, to assume that the substance out of which the world evolved could have developed into this complex world we experience without either the power of self-differentiation in the substance itself or without its being acted upon by a power out- side itself. By the former hypo- thesis some degree of self-deter- mination is assumed, thus break- ing down the theory of external determinism; by the latter, exter- nal intervention is assumed con- trary to the postulates of physical science. The only defense left then is from the standpoint of the theological predestinationists, the logic of which is to make God re- sponsible for all that is, good, bad, and indifferent. It has often been pointed out that from this point of view the damned exist for the glory of ♦James, Wm„ The Will to Believe and Other Essays, p. 145. Longmans, Greens « Co., New York. The Improvement Era for March, 1930 323 God, without the possibility on their part of being anything but damned. Such a theory may be acceptable to people entranced by a certain type of theological be- lief; it can hardly, however, be acceptable as a philosophically de- termined belief. To return to earth and to more intimate expe- rience, consider the relation of the theory of external determinism to human life and human relations as we know them. Has any ex- ponent of this theory ever been observed to act upon it consistent- ly? One of its most earnest advo- cates, the writer recalls, suggested that it would never do for a per- son to apply it to himself, but that it might very well be applied to other people. This view is as commendably charitable as it is cheerfully illogical. Other advo- cates of the theory are not so charitable; in practice they do in fact often hold that an erring asso- ciate might have acted otherwise. There are also some individuals and small groups who have, on the basis of this theory, developed the habit of throwing bouquets and sobs at convicts, but at the same time berating society for punish- ing these criminals. It is hardly necessary to call attention to the fact that if all criminals are wholly the victims of circumstances so also is society. By the same theory and logic if society punishes it must be because it is externally determined that it shall do so. It cannot, by this theory, act otherwise; society should, therefore, be as free from censure as are criminals. Why then censure or punish anybody, any group, or any institution? Ac- cording to this theory it is foolish to ask the question because no thing, event, or person can pos- sibly be anything else than what it is. If environment, past and present, causes us to be agitated, to punish, or to shower with bou- quets those who murder their fel- lows that is all predetermined and irrevocable; as are also the actions of civil society in condemning and punishing and of mobs in lynch- ing. Were it possible to introduce a little logic into our systems we should, of course, cease shedding tears or being otherwise disturbed about it. But, then, whether or not we can be logical is also pre- determined by environment. Truly the point of view of the law of gravitation, as popularly stated, is applied to us with a vengeance. But then, again, whether or not we like this theory is also prede- termined. What of Self -Determinism? 'T'HE customary use of this term •*- in philosophy, while it sets aside universal external determinism, agrees in holding that all conduct is causally determined, and that with sufficient knowledge of all the complex conditions involved conduct could be predicted with certainty. This is made possible by the assumption that the actions of an individual are determined by the nature of the actor; that the principle of universal causation holds; that is, putting this assump- tion in the negative form, there is no such thing as chance or con- tingency in the world. A given nature, being such as it is, cannot act otherwise than it does, but it acts without external compulsion; this is in agreement with Howi- son's definition of freedom: "Freedom means (instead of unpre- dictable whim) action spontaneously flowing from the definite guiding intelli- gence of the agent himself."1 TF, however, this action is wholly •*■ and with absolute certainty predictable then the individual, be- ing such as he is, cannot possibly act otherwise than he does. The practical consequences are, there- fore, in this respect essentially the same as in the case of external de- terminism, although the theory itself seems more nearly to approx- imate experience. Were it per- missible to grant that the individ- ual has some degree of power to change his own nature the theory might square with experience and with the demands of the moral life. This, however, would be to admit an element of choice, to open the way to various possibilities; it would, therefore, nullify one of the essentials of the theory, strict- ly interpreted. 1 Limits of Evolution, p. 320, The MacMillan Co., New York. M ORAL Teachings of the New Testament, , ly the author of this series, has a brief :hapter on free- dom in the moral and religious sense of the term, "free," as used by Jesus. Is There a Place for Indeterminism ? 'T'HE minimum requirements of •*• this theory are stated by James thus: " 'Free will' does not say that every- thing that is physically conceivable is also possible. It merely says that of alternatives that really tempt our will more than one is really possible."2 This is not to deny the influ- ence of external things in deter- mining conduct; it does deny that conduct is thus wholly determined. It is not to deny self-determinism as a primary factor in determining conduct; it does deny that the fu- ture of each individual is wholly and irrevocably determined by what he is at this moment. It as- sumes the possibility of his vol- untarily bringing about some de- gree of modification of his own nature and also of the nature of his environment, both physical and social. These modifications in his own nature and in his en- vironment in turn react upon him and thus help to bring about fur- ther changes. This, because there is truth in all three theories, pro- vided each is modified to include the truths of the other two. The practice of education is properly built upon recognition of all three factors in the develop- ment of personalities. If external conditions were not a factor much of the work of the schools, juven- ile courts, and social welfare agencies would be of no avail. All of these institutions count heavily upon external influences, especially social influence. One of these so- cial influences is directed toward the problem of developing in the child a sense of responsibility and a feeling that it is within his own power to choose the right and to reject the wrong. If this educa- tional purpose is not realized char- acter education will fail. If these feelings are held to be mere illu- sions the character structure is built upon the sand and will not with- stand the floods of temptations that are sure to come. P DUCATION also recognizes the fact that a desirable type of personality normally and usu- ally yields a desirable type of con- duct. If it were not so, the results 2The V/ill to Believe, p. 157, Long- mans, Green fiJ Co., New York. 324 The Improvement Era for March, 1930 of the educative process would be lost. Not only that, however, but so also would orderly society be lost. The stability of friendships, of the marriage relation, of social organizations, of business, indus- try, and commerce, of the church and the state, are all founded upon the dependability of individuals; this is founded upon the stability of individual character, which, in turn, is a corollary of the theory of self-determinism. There are, then, two aspects of freedom in human conduct; i. e., freedom from external compul- sion; that is, free spontaneous ac- tion in which the moving cause is the agent himself; and also that freedom manifest in the power r' the individual to choose, within limits, between alternatives, to ex- ercise choice that may modify in some degree his own nature and thus make possible a real self-de- termination of his own character. This point of view satisfies the de- mands both of common sense and of reflective thinking, both of edu- cation and of ethics. What Is Moral Freedom? A NOTHER aspect of this ques- J**- tion relates to freedom as a thing to be acquired, often called moral freedom. In this sense it means free, spontaneous action in agreement with moral laws, stand- ards, and ideals. The child is not born with this kind of freedom, but only with the possibility of attaining it. It is the great task of education to help him toward this end. Recognition of this fact has produced such book titles as, "Educating for Freedom."3 This is not only the major function of education, it should be also the goal of all moral endeavor, of ethical culture, and of religious aspiration. From the standpoint of the individual it is the great spiritual goal of life, a goal to be progressively realized through ac- quisition of social knowledge and spiritual insight — ideals of life and conduct in social relations — together with conformity of life to these ideals. This is real free- dom in its highest and best sense. "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."4 Jesus doubtless here refers to social and spiritual truth, truth that re- lates to the life and conduct of men. Socrates, the father of eth- ics, also held that freedom is some- thing to be acquired and that the road to freedom and to happiness is through knowledge — knowl- edge of what man's relations with his fellow-men and with God ought to be. sBy Edward O. Sisson, The MacMillan Co., N. Y. 4John 8:32. Every Home Needs a Flower Garden By MAUD CHEGWIDDEN A DAM'S first work, we are told ^*- in Genesis, was to care for the garden which the Lord Himself had planted, "eastward in Eden," wherein grew every tree "that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food." Notice that beauty for the eye's delight is placed before the mere fact of growth for food. Nowadays, however, cabbages are considered more important as a crop than flowers. Throughout the Bible, mention of gardens, and of roses, lilies and vines is very frequent. That lovely and undying poetry which comprises the Song of Solomon abounds in gardening phrases. "My beloved is mine and I am his; he feedeth among the lilies," and again: "A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed." "Let my beloved come into his garden and eat his pleasant fruits," we read, and later: "My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens and to gather lilies." TSAIAH, in describing the prom- ises which are due unto godli- ness, says: "And thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not." This same promise is again given by Jeremiah, "And their soul shall be as a watered garden, and they shall not sorrow any more at all." Jesus often spoke of the flowers of Palestine and used them to illus- trate his sermons. He declared that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like the lilies of the field, and that God even clothed the grass of the field. John tells us that Jesus "went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden, unto which he entered, and his disciples. * * * for Jesus ofttimes resorted thither." And it was in this Garden of Gethsemane that Christ endured his great agony, and sought comfort in prayer. '"THROUGH the ages, since God ■*- walked in the garden in the cool of the day, gardens have claimed the love and imagination of the poets and artists, the think- ers and workers of the world. Sir Francis Bacon wrote one of his most famous essays about gardens. Shakespeare loved to place his char- acters in gardens. The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam sings of philos- ophy and love in a Persian garden, where the poet thinks: "That never blows so red The rose as where some buried Caesar bled; That every hyacinth the garden wears Dropt in her lap from some once lovely head." Today, here in the west, a flower garden is not such a neces- sity with us as it should be. The stern demands of pioneer life left little time for cultivation of flowers, so much energy was needed for wresting food from the soil. But now that the years have brought comfort and leisure, every home may have its flower garden, for certainly every family needs one to round out its life. It is easy to make a flower gar- den. Any woman can make one, once she has the ground ploughed or spaded for her future opera- tions; and plenty of women have energy and ambition enough to be their own diggers too. This west- ern soil is full of wonderful poten- tialities and possibilities. It is fresh and sweet. It needs no lime as the older, sour soils of the east do. It is kissed all day by the sun and cooled by the mountain breezes. It is waiting, throbbing with life, to receive the seeds and roots. And it will give back (Continued on page 364)