102,819
edits
Changes
68:2 Factors in Social Progression (view source)
Revision as of 14:24, 21 July 2011
, 14:24, 21 July 2011Created page with 'File:lighterstill.jpgright|frame 68:2.1 Civilized society is the result of man's early efforts to overcome his dislike of [[...'
[[File:lighterstill.jpg]][[File:The_eye_of_all_ur60.jpg|right|frame]]
68:2.1 [[Civilized]] [[society]] is the result of [[man]]'s early [[efforts]] to overcome his dislike of [[isolation]]. But this does not [[necessarily]] signify [[mutual]] [[affection]], and the present [[turbulent]] [[state]] of certain [[primitive]] [[groups]] well [[illustrates]] what the early [[tribes]] came up through. But though the [[individuals]] of a [[civilization]] may collide with each other and [[struggle]] against one another, and though [[civilization]] itself may appear to be an inconsistent mass of striving and struggling, it does [[evidence]] earnest striving, not the deadly monotony of stagnation.
68:2.2 While the [[level]] of [[intelligence]] has [[contributed]] considerably to the [[rate]] of [[cultural]] [[progress]], [[society]] is essentially [[designed]] to lessen the [[risk]] element in the [[individual]]'s mode of living, and it has [[progressed]] just as fast as it has succeeded in lessening [[pain]] and increasing the [[pleasure]] element in life. Thus does the whole [[social]] [[body]] push on slowly toward the goal of [[destiny]]—[[extinction]] or [[survival]]—depending on whether that goal is [[self]]-[[maintenance]] or [[self]]-[[gratification]]. Self-maintenance [[originates]] [[society]], while excessive self-[[gratification]] destroys [[civilization]].
68:2.3 Society is concerned with self-perpetuation, self-maintenance, and self-gratification, but human [[self-realization]] is [[worthy]] of becoming the [[immediate]] goal of many cultural [[groups]].[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_69#69:1._BASIC_HUMAN_INSTITUTIONS]
68:2.4 The herd [[instinct]] in [[natural]] man is hardly sufficient to account for the [[development]] of such a [[social]] [[organization]] as now exists on [[Urantia]]. Though this innate gregarious [[propensity]] lies at the bottom of [[human]] [[society]], much of man's sociability is an acquirement. Two great [[influences]] which [[contributed]] to the early [[association]] of [[human beings]] were [[food]] [[hunger]] and [[sex]] [[love]]; these instinctive urges man [[shares]] with the [[animal]] world. Two other [[emotions]] which drove [[human]] [[beings]] together and held them [[together]] were [[vanity]] and [[fear]], more particularly [[ghost]] [[fear]].
68:2.5 [[History]] is but the [[record]] of man's agelong [[food]] [[struggle]]. [[Primitive]] man only [[thought]] when he was [[hungry]]; food saving was his first self-denial, [[self]]-[[discipline]]. With the [[growth]] of [[society]], [[food]] [[hunger]] ceased to be the only incentive for [[mutual]] [[association]]. Numerous other sorts of [[hunger]], the [[realization]] of various needs, all led to the closer [[association]] of [[mankind]]. But today [[society]] is top-heavy with the overgrowth of supposed human needs. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occident Occidental civilization] of the twentieth century groans wearily under the tremendous overload of [[luxury]] and the inordinate multiplication of [[human]] [[desires]] and longings. Modern [[society]] is enduring the strain of one of its most dangerous [[phases]] of far-flung interassociation and highly [[complicated]] [[interdependence]].
68:2.6 [[Hunger]], [[vanity]], and [[ghost]] [[fear]] were continuous in their [[social]] [[pressure]], but [[sex]] [[gratification]] was transient and spasmodic. The [[sex]] urge alone did not impel [[primitive]] [[men]] and [[women]] to assume the heavy burdens of [[home]] [[maintenance]]. The early [[home]] was founded upon the [[sex]] restlessness of the [[male]] when deprived of frequent [[gratification]] and upon that [[devoted]] [[mother]] [[love]] of the [[human]] [[female]], which in [[measure]] she shares with the females of all the higher [[animals]]. The [[presence]] of a helpless baby determined the early [[differentiation]] of [[male]] and [[female]] [[activities]]; the [[woman]] had to [[maintain]] a settled [[residence]] where she could [[cultivate]] the [[soil]]. And from earliest times, where [[woman]] was has always been regarded as the [[home]].
68:2.7 [[Woman]] thus early became indispensable to the evolving [[social]] [[scheme]], not so much because of the fleeting [[sex]] [[passion]] as in [[consequence]] of [[food]] requirement; she was an [[essential]] [[partner]] in [[self]]-[[maintenance]]. She was a [[food]] provider, a beast of burden, and a [[companion]] who would stand great [[abuse]] without [[violent]] resentment, and in addition to all of these [[desirable]] [[traits]], she was an ever-present means of [[sex]] [[gratification]].
68:2.8 Almost [[everything]] of lasting [[value]] in [[civilization]] has its [[roots]] in the [[family]]. The [[family]] was the first successful [[peace]] [[group]], the [[man]] and [[woman]] [[learning]] how to [[adjust]] their antagonisms while at the same time [[teaching]] the pursuits of [[peace]] to their [[children]].
68:2.9 The [[function]] of [[marriage]] in [[evolution]] is the insurance of [[race]] [[survival]], not merely the [[realization]] of [[personal]] [[happiness]]; [[self]]-[[maintenance]] and self-perpetuation are the real objects of the [[home]]. Self-[[gratification]] is incidental and not [[essential]] except as an incentive insuring [[sex]] [[association]]. [[Nature]] demands [[survival]], but [[the arts]] of [[civilization]] continue to increase the [[pleasures]] of [[marriage]] and the [[satisfactions]] of [[family]] life.
68:2.10 If [[vanity]] be enlarged to cover [[pride]], [[ambition]], and [[honor]], then we may [[discern]] not only how these [[propensities]] [[contribute]] to the formation of [[human]] [[associations]], but how they also hold men [[together]], since such [[emotions]] are futile without an [[audience]] to parade before. Soon [[vanity]] [[associated]] with itself other [[emotions]] and impulses which required a [[social]] arena wherein they might [[exhibit]] and gratify themselves. This [[group]] of [[emotions]] gave [[origin]] to the early beginnings of all [[art]], [[ceremonial]], and all [[forms]] of [[sport]]ive [[games]] and contests.
68:2.11 [[Vanity]] contributed mightily to the [[birth]] of [[society]]; but at the [[time]] of these [[revelations]] the devious strivings of a vainglorious [[generation]] threaten to swamp and submerge the whole complicated [[structure]] of a highly specialized [[civilization]]. [[Pleasure]]-want has long since superseded [[hunger]]-want; the [[legitimate]] [[social]] aims of self-[[maintenance]] are rapidly translating themselves into base and threatening [[forms]] of [[self]]-[[gratification]]. [[Self]]-[[maintenance]] builds [[society]]; unbridled self-[[gratification]] unfailingly destroys [[civilization]].
<center>[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_68 Go to Paper 68]</center>
<center>[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=The_Urantia_Text_-_Contents Go to Table of Contents]</center>
[[Category:Paper 68 - The Dawn of Civilization]]
68:2.1 [[Civilized]] [[society]] is the result of [[man]]'s early [[efforts]] to overcome his dislike of [[isolation]]. But this does not [[necessarily]] signify [[mutual]] [[affection]], and the present [[turbulent]] [[state]] of certain [[primitive]] [[groups]] well [[illustrates]] what the early [[tribes]] came up through. But though the [[individuals]] of a [[civilization]] may collide with each other and [[struggle]] against one another, and though [[civilization]] itself may appear to be an inconsistent mass of striving and struggling, it does [[evidence]] earnest striving, not the deadly monotony of stagnation.
68:2.2 While the [[level]] of [[intelligence]] has [[contributed]] considerably to the [[rate]] of [[cultural]] [[progress]], [[society]] is essentially [[designed]] to lessen the [[risk]] element in the [[individual]]'s mode of living, and it has [[progressed]] just as fast as it has succeeded in lessening [[pain]] and increasing the [[pleasure]] element in life. Thus does the whole [[social]] [[body]] push on slowly toward the goal of [[destiny]]—[[extinction]] or [[survival]]—depending on whether that goal is [[self]]-[[maintenance]] or [[self]]-[[gratification]]. Self-maintenance [[originates]] [[society]], while excessive self-[[gratification]] destroys [[civilization]].
68:2.3 Society is concerned with self-perpetuation, self-maintenance, and self-gratification, but human [[self-realization]] is [[worthy]] of becoming the [[immediate]] goal of many cultural [[groups]].[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_69#69:1._BASIC_HUMAN_INSTITUTIONS]
68:2.4 The herd [[instinct]] in [[natural]] man is hardly sufficient to account for the [[development]] of such a [[social]] [[organization]] as now exists on [[Urantia]]. Though this innate gregarious [[propensity]] lies at the bottom of [[human]] [[society]], much of man's sociability is an acquirement. Two great [[influences]] which [[contributed]] to the early [[association]] of [[human beings]] were [[food]] [[hunger]] and [[sex]] [[love]]; these instinctive urges man [[shares]] with the [[animal]] world. Two other [[emotions]] which drove [[human]] [[beings]] together and held them [[together]] were [[vanity]] and [[fear]], more particularly [[ghost]] [[fear]].
68:2.5 [[History]] is but the [[record]] of man's agelong [[food]] [[struggle]]. [[Primitive]] man only [[thought]] when he was [[hungry]]; food saving was his first self-denial, [[self]]-[[discipline]]. With the [[growth]] of [[society]], [[food]] [[hunger]] ceased to be the only incentive for [[mutual]] [[association]]. Numerous other sorts of [[hunger]], the [[realization]] of various needs, all led to the closer [[association]] of [[mankind]]. But today [[society]] is top-heavy with the overgrowth of supposed human needs. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occident Occidental civilization] of the twentieth century groans wearily under the tremendous overload of [[luxury]] and the inordinate multiplication of [[human]] [[desires]] and longings. Modern [[society]] is enduring the strain of one of its most dangerous [[phases]] of far-flung interassociation and highly [[complicated]] [[interdependence]].
68:2.6 [[Hunger]], [[vanity]], and [[ghost]] [[fear]] were continuous in their [[social]] [[pressure]], but [[sex]] [[gratification]] was transient and spasmodic. The [[sex]] urge alone did not impel [[primitive]] [[men]] and [[women]] to assume the heavy burdens of [[home]] [[maintenance]]. The early [[home]] was founded upon the [[sex]] restlessness of the [[male]] when deprived of frequent [[gratification]] and upon that [[devoted]] [[mother]] [[love]] of the [[human]] [[female]], which in [[measure]] she shares with the females of all the higher [[animals]]. The [[presence]] of a helpless baby determined the early [[differentiation]] of [[male]] and [[female]] [[activities]]; the [[woman]] had to [[maintain]] a settled [[residence]] where she could [[cultivate]] the [[soil]]. And from earliest times, where [[woman]] was has always been regarded as the [[home]].
68:2.7 [[Woman]] thus early became indispensable to the evolving [[social]] [[scheme]], not so much because of the fleeting [[sex]] [[passion]] as in [[consequence]] of [[food]] requirement; she was an [[essential]] [[partner]] in [[self]]-[[maintenance]]. She was a [[food]] provider, a beast of burden, and a [[companion]] who would stand great [[abuse]] without [[violent]] resentment, and in addition to all of these [[desirable]] [[traits]], she was an ever-present means of [[sex]] [[gratification]].
68:2.8 Almost [[everything]] of lasting [[value]] in [[civilization]] has its [[roots]] in the [[family]]. The [[family]] was the first successful [[peace]] [[group]], the [[man]] and [[woman]] [[learning]] how to [[adjust]] their antagonisms while at the same time [[teaching]] the pursuits of [[peace]] to their [[children]].
68:2.9 The [[function]] of [[marriage]] in [[evolution]] is the insurance of [[race]] [[survival]], not merely the [[realization]] of [[personal]] [[happiness]]; [[self]]-[[maintenance]] and self-perpetuation are the real objects of the [[home]]. Self-[[gratification]] is incidental and not [[essential]] except as an incentive insuring [[sex]] [[association]]. [[Nature]] demands [[survival]], but [[the arts]] of [[civilization]] continue to increase the [[pleasures]] of [[marriage]] and the [[satisfactions]] of [[family]] life.
68:2.10 If [[vanity]] be enlarged to cover [[pride]], [[ambition]], and [[honor]], then we may [[discern]] not only how these [[propensities]] [[contribute]] to the formation of [[human]] [[associations]], but how they also hold men [[together]], since such [[emotions]] are futile without an [[audience]] to parade before. Soon [[vanity]] [[associated]] with itself other [[emotions]] and impulses which required a [[social]] arena wherein they might [[exhibit]] and gratify themselves. This [[group]] of [[emotions]] gave [[origin]] to the early beginnings of all [[art]], [[ceremonial]], and all [[forms]] of [[sport]]ive [[games]] and contests.
68:2.11 [[Vanity]] contributed mightily to the [[birth]] of [[society]]; but at the [[time]] of these [[revelations]] the devious strivings of a vainglorious [[generation]] threaten to swamp and submerge the whole complicated [[structure]] of a highly specialized [[civilization]]. [[Pleasure]]-want has long since superseded [[hunger]]-want; the [[legitimate]] [[social]] aims of self-[[maintenance]] are rapidly translating themselves into base and threatening [[forms]] of [[self]]-[[gratification]]. [[Self]]-[[maintenance]] builds [[society]]; unbridled self-[[gratification]] unfailingly destroys [[civilization]].
<center>[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_68 Go to Paper 68]</center>
<center>[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=The_Urantia_Text_-_Contents Go to Table of Contents]</center>
[[Category:Paper 68 - The Dawn of Civilization]]