Adler on Purpose

Standing Up for Human Rights at the Texas Capitol

Felix Adler reported to the New York Society about what he experienced at the first [international] Congress [of Ethical Societies] held in Zurich in 1896 (Ethical Addresses, Series Three, pp. 133-150).  He detailed the activities reported by the Ethical Societies that attended from all over Europe and then he turned to the problem that he saw:

Now all this is very laudable and very interesting, but it did seem to me as if there was one thing lacking in the foreign Ethical Societies — or at least if not lacking yet not sufficiently pronounced: that is, the spiritual element. I do not mean anything mystical when I use the word spiritual. When we think of morality, if we concentrate our attention on the act, on the external part of it, then we are not spiritual; but if we care chiefly for the spirit in which the act is done, then we take the spiritual view. It seemed to me as if the spiritual side, though not wanting by any means among the leaders — in fact it was beautifully emphasized by some of the leaders — was nevertheless too much neglected; as if the drift were in an external direction, as if the feeling prevailed that the ethical society exists for the benefit of others. I have always felt that this is a wrong attitude to take. I have always felt that an ethical society should take the ground that it exists primarily for the moral benefit of its own members. It is in this way that I have distinguished in my mind between the real members and the quasi members of an ethical society. The real member of an ethical society is the person who feels that he has not yet — morally — finished his education; that he is in need of moral development, in need of help, and looks upon the society as a means of helping him in his moral development. The quasi member is the person who merely appreciates the society in so far as it is doing good for others. He is no real member, at best only an ally, an associate. Now I felt that this sort of external feeling prevails to a considerable degree in the foreign societies as it still largely exists in our own. (pp 143-144).  Emphasis added.

From another perspective, we have, in the next year’s Series (Ethical Addresses, Series 4), a report of the Congress from the new Secretary of what he called, at that point, the International Ethical Federation.  Dr. F. W. Foerster, Jr., son of the eminent astronomer, Dr. F. W. Foerster, reported on Adler’s address to the Congress thusly:

The address given the following evening by Professor Felix Adler, the founder of the Ethical Movement, on " Our Common Aims," proved to be of importance in the outlook it opened and the influence it exercised on the deliberations of the Congress. For him all merely external results achieved by the Movement are of minor significance. The true  “practice" cannot appear unless a social regeneration has previously taken place in every individual. In assigning the chief prominence to the moral renewal of the inner life, Professor Adler pointed out, at the same time, the necessary consequences which a thoroughly sincere person, who lays the principal stress on the inner side of reform, must draw, so far as the social and economic distress of the present day is concerned. This elucidation was the more timely, as many of the continental leaders were under the mistaken impression that the Ethical Movement in America has taken the shape of a sort of religious sect, and does not attempt to exert a decisive influence upon the attitude and conduct of its members with respect to social and political questions. This impression indeed seemed, for the moment, to receive additional confirmation when Professor Adler proceeded to warn against the tendency to over-emphasize activity in the external field and declared that, as members of the Ethical Societies, we are to see to it primarily that  “we save our own souls alive," that it is our own inward integrity which we must seek to rescue. But it was speedily made plain that no mere retirement into a sequestered Ethical individualism was intended, but that the position indicated contained within itself the very strongest motives to the exercise of the social energies. For, moral self-recollection, according to Professor Adler, if it be only deep enough, is sure to lead us beyond the narrow limits of individualism, sure to awaken in us not merely interest in our fellow beings and a forceless pity for their sufferings, but to fill us with a profoundly moving consciousness that we are, in part, responsible for the crimes and miseries that exist in society and will arouse us to seek expiation from the social guilt which adheres to us. And this, first of all and chiefly, by achieving our inner release from the evil powers that today devastate mankind. (Series 4, 102-103)

And he goes on from there. (And I should point out that about a year later Dr. Foerster (the younger) left the Movement and converted to Catholicism.)  What I gathered from this was that, at the very beginning of our international federation, there was concern that Ethical Culture was being distorted into a social justice or social service organization.  Adler’s repeated assertion is that our goal is our own personal moral/ethical growth and improvement – and our practice in social service and social action is how we learn and grow.  That, at least, is my understanding of what I have been seeing and reading as I do this work.  Interestingly, the tension remains in the AEU and in our local Societies – are we all about ethics or are we all about the practice of ethics?  Somehow it always seems to be either/or and not both/and.

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The above excerpt is from an address I recently delivered to the Ethical Humanist Society of the Triangle.  The address focused on lessons gleaned from preparing the Bibliography of Ethical Culture, starting with Ethical Addresses and Ethical Record, a 21 volume serial published by the American Ethical Union from 1895 to 1914.  

The founding of an International Union of Ethical Societies was an important milestone in the history of the Ethical Culture Movement.  I found it interesting that there was some misunderstanding at the outset regarding the goal of individual improvement and the broader element of social development.  Part of that interest came from the point raised in the last sentence of this portion of my address:  History is repeating itself in our Movement.  That is, insofar as those who join us are looking to perform good works and acts of social justice, they may have failed to understand the purpose of our Ethical Societies.  Yes, we commit to doing Ethical actions.  Yes, we want to make the world a better place for all who live in it.  But we are, first of all, seeking to develop our own understanding of ethics and the right thing to do.  As we progress in our understanding of ethics, part of that understanding will be that there are those who need our help, that our voice is needed to clarify the ethics of the situation, that our time and talent can be used to improve the lives of others.  Part of that understanding will also be that our ethics are practical and applied as a way of gaining an even better understanding of the needs and suffering of those around us as we also seek ways to relieve that suffering.  It is not the application of our ethics that we seek but the understanding and knowledge and human compassion that we gain by applying them, drawing us closer to our fellow humans and more in harmony with the planet.  That ethical action is a by-product of our ethical development is not any less important than the fact that ethical action is a tool of our ethical development. 

Have a nice winter festival, Y'all!

This Happy Ethical Human will celebrate the season and 

return in the new year (with resolutions, no doubt!).

The Light of Ethical

At this time of the year, there are many festivals that focus on light.  December 21 is typically identified as the first day of winter; it is the winter solstice, the day when the northern half of the planet is tilted farthest away from the sun and begins to reverse its tilt.  This reversal is, to many humans throughout history, the return of the light.  Days now will become longer.  It is, to many of us, a promise that spring will eventually come again and the earth will warm and produce its bounty.

I ran across a different kind of festival in my research on Ethical Culture.  The New York Meeting House was built by October 1910 (I can't find the date for the groundbreaking ceremony) and dedicated, first, to its Ethical and Religious Purposes and, then, to its Civic Uses in ceremonies on October 23 and 24, 1910.  Included in those ceremonies was a poem written by Percival Chubb, called simply "Dedication Ode."  

I'm no judge of poetry, so I can't suggest how this poem might rate in form or language, but the idea of the light is a powerful one for me.  I am sensitive to the changes that we experience as the seasons pass when the light changes (and the temperature as well).  I imagine the delight of those first humans to "capture" fire and then to discover how to "make" it, turning the dark of night into something nearer day, gaining both warmth and the comfort of light to their camp.  I imagine living more in tune with the seasons, knowing what the earth will produce as the light and the temperature changes (if the rains come on time), having my life channeled by the boundaries of nature's time, not that of humans.  

In The Ethical Society of Austin, when we mark the beginning of our Ethical discussion, we light a candle and say ritual words:  "May we kindle within ourselves the light of understanding, the warmth of compassion, and the fire of commitment."  These concepts are very meaningful to me.  When I light a candle here in my home, I sometimes utter them as a reminder of how powerful such a light can be. I light a candle and think of how much such a tiny light can mean when the world is dark and so are the hearts of men.

One thing that our candle lighting ritual does not encompass is that comfort that humans have felt in the presence of a burning light.  It pushed back the darkness and gave a slight sense of increased safety.  It included hope that the time of darkness would end and the full light of day would return, but for now . . . just for a while . . . the world is not so dark.

Percival Chubb's "Dedication Ode" spoke to me as the lighted candle does.  He talked about the nature of the light that he saw in the Meeting House, emphasizing that it was not supernatural, but produced by humans:

Flame of the kindled heart by which we love;
Light of the single mind by which we see.

He then calls on that light to bind us together:

Blend all our separate lights to one great whole
As in one perfect fellowship of soul;
That in the pure effulgence we may see
The splendor of the prophecy
Of man harmonious in the true society.

It is, however, the ending of the poem which speaks to me with the strongest emotion:

When low our spirit's flickering flame may burn
And our feet falter on their starward way.
Hither our steps unwittingly shall stray.
Hither our longing turn.
Here to the quiet and the calm;
Here to the peace . . . the light . . . the fire.

The peace, the light, the fire--the comfort that comes from Ethical when we see each other with understanding and compassion, committing ourselves to cherish the best in each other with our own best selves. 

IPCC, What Are We Waiting For?

What are we waiting for?

I'm organizing my files.  I used to say, "I can't die until I get my filing done."  I'm not particularly getting ready for death as much as I am just prematurely buried in paper, both electronic and the actual made-from-trees stuff.  My new treasure is a 4T hard drive and its partner, a Canon desktop scanner.  Progress is occurring!  

The thing about organizing, though, is that you find things you forgot you had, like the little booklet--IPCC in a Nutshell--that I wrote in 2019.  That's a collection of a series of posts I published on Facebook about the recommendations of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.  Five years on, the recommendations still apply, but they seem so minor in the face of the changes that have occurred in such a short time.  There are new reports now coming from the IPCC, and the Sixth Assessment Report seems to be the newest.  It's bleak enough that my little booklet seems like a relic of a long ago past, where filling the recycling bin would be enough to make a difference.  

Closer to home, so to speak, the US seems to be issuing NCA5--the fifth National Climate Assessment.  This happens every four years, and a review draft was issued about a year ago.  It seems that the final version is now out.  It also seems that the final version is amazingly optimistic.  Here are the key messages on mitigation:

• Successful Mitigation Means Reaching Net-Zero Emissions
• We Know How to Drastically Reduce Emissions
• To Reach Net-Zero Emissions, Additional Mitigation Options Need to Be Explored
• Mitigation Can Be Sustainable, Healthy, and Fair
• Governments, Organizations, and Individuals Can Act to Reduce Emissions

I say amazingly, because I know that agriculture is one of our big GHG emitters, and Texas (All Hail the Mighty State!) just fought back on every single key message with Proposition 1, cunningly touted as "Food for Texas."  Likely to favor agribusiness, protect polluters, and defang environmental regulations, the Right to Farm amendment to the Texas Constitution passed on November 7 with 79% approval.  (Not mine.)

It does help that most of our major cities have taken their own steps to get to net zero emissions (Houston, Dallas, San Antonio--and Austin--but not Fort Worth).  Since Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio are three of the ten largest cities in the US, this is not a small thing.  On the other hand, The Right to Farm amendment was directly aimed, in part, at cities and towns that incorporate land that someone wants to put to agricultural use without regard for the concerns of neighboring residents for animal welfare, use of pesticides, etc.  Given the tendency of Texas cities to sprawl, this is also not a small thing.

I have been focusing on individual action, but it may be time to look at group action.  The Austin Community Climate Plan bears a closer look.  Passed in 2015, there will have been subsequent audits and adjustments to the plan, such as this one from 2020.  And a new version of the plan focuses on climate equity.  In all of these plans, there is collaboration between the various levels of government, the community, and interested parties (industry, business, and advocacy coalitions).  As Ethicals, I think we can find some partners of our own in this process to help us learn more about what we can do--and what we need to do--to change the message from "Food for Texas" and the "Right to Farm" to regenerating the planet with food for everyone.

The Light Still Shines

Pretty much like this

In just a couple of days I'll have to think about what happened in 2014.  I always do at this time of year.  There was a time when, with the approach of my birthday, I dreaded the next two months for all of the extra work that came with the holidays.  As an only child, I had to take on more responsibility for the holidays for my parents and then my husband's family as well.  There were multiple Thanksgiving dinners and extra Christmas celebrations and, in later years, the Christmas projects that my husband and I would undertake.  That morning in 2014, two days before Thanksgiving, my husband and I were talking about our Christmas project.  And then, a couple of hours later, he was dead.

My mother had died the previous summer.  We were at her house, making plans to begin clearing it out and putting it up for sale.  We had no extra plans for Thanksgiving.  With all our family, except his grown daughter, gone--dead--we had no obligations except to each other--and we wanted no special dinners or extra work beyond what was necessary.  Indeed, we wanted no other company, enjoying the chance to spend time together.  Both of us had a special affection for the Austin Shelter for Battered Women, and we had already agreed to bring extra supplies for their pantry and whatever household goods we ran across.  The east side of Houston was a great place to find bargains, and we had the van to haul them back to Austin.  We were in the dining area, he making notes, me babbling about some good news from the scales, and then I brought up the Christmas project.

He said he was tired and was going to take a nap.  I said, "Me, too."  I had already been running errands that morning, and a nap, when we had no schedule or deadlines, seemed really reasonable to me.  When I went into the bedroom a few minutes behind him, he was struggling for breath, and I couldn't rouse him.  I called 911, went to let the paramedics in, but he never woke up.  He died.  I have to repeat that word.  He didn't just pass away, or leave, or go.  He died.  

I was really pissed about that.  After all those years of taking care of our family elders.  After all those years of making others happy.  It was finally our time.  Our time to be together.  Our time to do what we wanted to do.  Our.  Time.

So how does this have anything to do with being a Happy (Ethical) Human?

More than you would think.  I may seem like a Grumpy (But Still, I Hope, Ethical) Human during this time of year.  I'm not much into socializing or sharing feasts or even lots of presents.  I have plenty of stuff, thank you.  I am very conscious of food waste and over-eating, so I need to give the big dinners a miss.  I do return to my grief sometimes during the holidays, and I really would rather spare others the gloomy face.

Even so, I am content.  I have lovely memories of the time we had together.  I have happy memories of all the Thanksgivings and Christmases that we spent with our families.  It was a lot of work, yes, but the laughter, the singing, the love made up for every bit of the work.  And I've had time to make peace with death.  It's part of life--we are born, we live our lives, we die.  That makes how we live our lives all the more important.  To live a life that we can be pleased with.  Did we do the right thing?  Did we do enough?  Did we help others?  

Now my task is to live my life as well as I can, as Ethically as I can.  Lucky me to have such wonderful memories to keep me company.  How interesting--and comforting--to discover that Felix Adler had similar thoughts in talking about Consolations for grief:

And the world is not

dark when they have departed, because what they have

revealed remains. Their influence remains. The light

of their countenance still shines upon us.

Yes.