by Hugo Lj. Odhner
We have cited these opinions to illustrate the fact that the perception that society is in the human form is indeed what Professor George P. Conger calls a “philosophical perennial” which pops up in unexpected places simply because it contains an irrepressible truth. This same concept has manifested itself in widely different forms, some of which were so fantastic and grotesque that many sensible men have become blind to the original truth within; or so couched in myth or fable as to be unrecognizable.
by Erik Sandstrom
Our aim will be to form a universal view of the contents of this book, reinforced by particulars regarding sensation, the animus, the rational mind, and the soul; also to note the place of this work in Swedenborg’s preparation under the auspices of the Lord in order that he might become the scribe of the Second Advent; and finally, to form a concept as to the position of the philosophical works, including the Rational Psychology, in a life philosophy whose formation and constant perfection must be one of the major trusts of the New Church. Educators in the New Church cannot be satisfied in giving mere science to the young, be it the science of physical law or that of spiritual law, but must strive to show to the students who come to them that all things that were made and ordained by the Creator find their proper place in the scheme of creation only in their relation to the final end of the Divine love and wisdom, namely, a heaven from the human race.
by Frances M. Buell and Susan Arlington Allen
Dante was born in the tumultuous, fabulous city of Florence. He grew up buffeted by the political strife of the Guelphs (supremacy of the church) and the Ghibellines (supremacy of the empire) which created an atmosphere reeking with all the sins that Dante so graphically dramatizes in The Inferno.
by Dandridge M. Cole
In a very interesting article in the July-September issue, Dr. Hugo Lj. Odhner discusses the analogy between the form and use of the individual man and the human race. While analogies cannot prove the truth of concepts, they can illustrate and suggest and enhance our comprehension. Dr. Odhner cites many examples of specific analogies between the functions of human organs and corresponding functions of specialized parts of society, which help our understanding of the complexities and interdependencies of the modem world.I regret that Dr. Odhner did not choose to take up the implications expressed in his lead paragraph quoted from Bertrand Russell “. . . Human society as a whole is becoming, in this respect, more and more like a single human body; ...” I have italicized the words “is becoming” to emphasize the dynamic nature of the analogy, and the transformation taking place right now which is producing a modern society far more the image of an individual man than any society in the past. If Racial Man is in the form of an individual: if Racial Man parallels the growth of the individual through birth, infancy, maturity, old age and death; what point in this growth have we reached now in 1965?