. to distinguish personal from social
problems. At the risk of being mis–
understood I am prepared to go fur–
ther. Although social problems arising
from defective institutions are causally
the most important for purposes of con–
trol, from the point of view of in–
dividual experience, they are the least
interesting. They should be solved in
order to extend the area of personal
autonomy and increase the diversity
of significant human experiences. Deny
a people bread and before long al–
most everyone is reduced to the same
animal level of behavior: supply it in
abundance and the range of possible
experience is extended. Once
social
resources are made freely available,
each one becomes responsible for the
development of his
inner
resources.
I do not mean to suggest here a simple
or complete dependence. Even to-day,
for many individuals the problems of
the social order enter only indirectly
and remotely into their lives. It is safe
to say that the unhappiest people most
rf'aders of PR are acquainted with do
not suffer from material want as much
as from frustrations ·that grow out of
failure to find a creative vocation or
to achieve satisfactory personal relation–
ships or to do a piece of work good
enough to withstand criticism. Some
of these failures are traceable to faults
in our social institutions, some are not.
One final observation. I think there
is good evidence that the kind of an–
xieties from which most people seek
salvation to-day either by psychiatry or
1
eligion-instead of by Socratic pro–
cesses of self-knowledge--are in the
main an outcome of our irrationally
ordered society.
2. As for Mr. Gallagher. He displays
not only bad temper but bumptious
ignorance. Msgr. Sheen would be
ashamed of him. Since when are the
Ten Commandments of Moses "dog–
mas of Christianity?" Worse still, Mr.
942
Gallagher doesn't know the difference
between theology and morals. "Thou
shalt not steal" is not a proposition of
theology but of ethics. "God exists,"
"The soul is immortal," are propositions
of natural theology: "Christ is the
Redeemer," etc., is a proposition of
sacred theology. My point simply was
that no empirical conclusions about
the social order were entailed by pro–
positions of either natural or sacred
theology.
The root of Mr. Gallagher's confu–
sion is the assumption that the validity
of moral propositions (or commands)
logically depend upon the "truths" of
~h~ology,
e.g., that unless God exists,
1t ts not wrong to steal, lie, or murder.
This is monstrously false, as St. Thomas
could teach him.
If
Mr. Gallagher
really believes
it,
all we can do is to
hope that while others are around, he
never loses his faith in God's existence.
New York City
Sidney Hook
~'
B B
P P
B B
P P
B
I
~I
•
Announcing
•
The 14th $10,000-
Harper Prize Novel Contest
, ....--DEADLINE June I, 1949-
M
ANUSCRIPTS may
be
submitted
now and at any time up to the
closing
date of June 1, 1949. $10,000
will
be
awarded the prize
novel
as
selected
by
the judges, who
will
be:
GLENWAY WESCOTT,
novelist, author of
Apartm1nt in
Athens, Tho Grandmothors.
JOSEPH HENRY JACKSON,
~).~!~e~~~tor
of the
San Fratteiseo
KATHERINE ANNE PORTER,
author of
Floworint judas, Tlu
Ltanint Tower,
etc.
(This eont1st
itt
NOT limit•d to
first tiOVIls)
Writt for eireular tivint full Jolails:
The Harper Prize Novel Contest
Harper
&
Brothers • 49 E. 33 St.
New York 16, N. Y.
