the vested interests and the common man-第2章

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revision　of　the　habitual　standards　of　actuality　and　credibility；　
because　of　the　habitual　and　increasingly　obvious　failure　of　what　
has　before　habitually　been　regarded　as　an　ascertained　fact。　
Things　which；　under　the　ancient　canons　of　knowledge；　have　
habitually　been　regarded　as　known　facts；　　as；　e。　g。；　witchcraft　
or　the　action　of　bodies　at　a　distance；　　will　under　altered　
circumstances　prove　themselves　by　experience　to　have　only　a　
supposititious　reality。　
　　　　Any　knowledge　that　runs　in　such　out…worn　terms　turns　out　to　
be　futile；　misleading；　meaningless；　and　the　habit　of　imputing　
qualities　and　behavior　of　this　kind　to　everyday　facts　will　then　
fall　into　disuse；　progressively　as　experience　continues　to　bring　
home　the　futility　of　all　that　kind　of　imputation。　And　presently　
the　habit　of　perceiving　that　class　of　qualities　and　behavior　in　
the　known　facts　is　therefore　gradually　lost。　So　also；　in　due　time　
the　observances　and　the　precautions　and　provisions　embodied　in　
law　and　custom　for　the　preservation　or　the　control　of　these　lost　
imponderables　will　also　fall　into　disuse　and　disappear　out　of　the　
scheme　of　institutions；　by　way　of　becoming　dead　letter　or　by　
abrogation。　Particularly　will　such　a　loss　of　belief　and　insight；　
and　the　consequent　loss　of　those　imponderables　whose　ground　has　
thereby　gone　out　from　under　them；　take　effect　with　the　passing　of　
generations。　
　　　　An　Imponderable　is　an　article　of　make…believe　which　has　
become　axiomatic　by　force　of　settled　habit。　It　can　accordingly　
cease　to　be　an　Imponderable　by　a　course　of　unsettling　habit。　
Those　elders　in　whom　the　ancient　habits　of　faith　and　insight　have　
been　ingrained；　and　in　whose　knowledge　and　belief　the　
imponderables　in　question　have　therefore　had　a　vital　reality；　
will　presently　fall　away；　and　the　new　generation　whose　experience　
has　run　on　other　lines　are　in　a　fair　way　to　lose　these　articles　
of　faith　and　in。　sight；　by　disuse。　It　is　a　case　of　obsolescence　
by　habitual　disuse。　And　the　habitual　disuse　which　so　allows　the　
ancient　canons　of　knowledge　and　belief　to　fall　away；　and　which　
thereby　cuts　the　ground　from　under　the　traditional　system　of　law　
and　custom；　is　re…enforced　by　the　advancing　discipline　of　a　new　
order　of　experience；　which　exacts　an　habitual　apprehension　of　
workday　facts　in　terms　of　a　different　kind　and　thereby　brings　on　
a　revaluation　and　revision　of　the　traditional　rules　governing　
human　relations。　The　new　terms　of　workday　knowledge　and　belief；　
which　do　not　conform　to　the　ancient　canons；　go　to　enforce　and　
stabilise　new　canons　and　standards；　of　a　character　alien　to　the　
traditional　point　of　view。　It　is；　in　other　words；　a　case　of　
obsolescence　by　displacement　as　well　as　by　habitual　disuse。　
　　　　This　unsettling　discipline　that　is　brought　to　bear　by　workday　
experience　is　chiefly　and　most　immediately　the　discipline　
exercised　by　the　material　conditions　of　life；　the　exigencies　that　
beset　men　in　their　everyday　dealings　with　the　material　means　of　
life；　inasmuch　as　these　material　facts　are　insistent　and　
uncompromising。　And　the　scope　and　method　of　knowledge　and　belief　
which　is　forced　on　men　in　their　everyday　material　concerns　will　
unavoidably；　by　habitual　use；　extend　to　other　matters　as　well；　so　
as　also　to　affect　the　scope　and　method　of　knowledge　and　belief　in　
all　that　concerns　those　imponderable　facts　which　lie　outside　the　
immediate　range　of　material　experience。　It　results　that；　the　
further　course　of　in　changing　habituation；　those　imponderable　
relations；　conventions；　claims　and　perquisites；　that　make　up　the　
time…worn　system　of　law　and　custom　will　unavoidably　also　be　
brought　under　review　and　will　be　revised　and　reorganised　in　the　
light　of　the　same　new　principles　of　validity　that　are　found　to　be　
sufficient　in　dealing　with　material　facts。　
　　　　Given　time　and　a　sufficiently　exacting　run　of　experience；　and　
it　will　follow　necessarily　that　much　the　same　standards　of　truth　
and　finality　will　come　to　govern　men's　knowledge　and　valuation　of　
facts　throughout；　whether　the　facts　in　question　lie　in　the　domain　
of　material　things　or　in　the　domain　of　those　imponderable　
conventions　and　preconceptions　that　decide　what　is　right　and　
proper　in　human　intercourse。　It　follows　necessarily；　because　the　
same　persons；　bent　by　the　same　discipline　and　habituation；　take　
stock　of　both　and　are　required　to　get　along　with　both　during　the　
same　lifetime。　More　or　less　rigorously　the　same　scope　and　method　
of　knowledge　and　valuation　will　control　the　thinking　of　the　same　
individuals　throughout；　at　least　to　the　extent　that　any　given　
article　of　faith　and　usage　which　is　palpably　at　cross　purposes　
with　this　main　intellectual　bent　will　soon　begin　to　seem　
immaterial　and　irrelevant　and　will　tend　to　become　obsolete　by　
neglect。　
　　　　Such　has　always　been　the　fate　which　overtakes　any　notable　
articles　of　faith　and　usage　that　belong　to　a　bygone　point　of　
view。　Any　established　system　of　law　and　order　will　remain　
securely　stable　only　on　condition　that　it　he　kept　in　line　or　
brought　into　line　to　conform　with　those　canons　of　validity　that　
have　the　vogue　for　the　time　being；　and　the　vogue　is　a　matter　of　
habits　of　thought　ingrained　by　everyday　experience。　And　the　moral　
is　that　any　established　system　of　law　and　custom　is　due　to　
undergo　a　revision　of　its　constituent　principles　so　soon　as　a　new　
order　of　economic　life　has　had　time　materially　to　affect　the　
community's　habits　of　thought。　But　all　the　while　the　changeless　
native　proclivities　of　the　race　will　assert　themselves　in　some　
measure　in　any　eventual　revision　of　the　received　institutional　
system；　and　always　they　will　stand　ready　eventually　to　break　the　
ordered　scheme　of　things　into　a　paralytic　mass　of　confusion　if　it　
can　not　be　bent　into　some　passable　degree　of　congruity　with　the　
paramount　native　needs　of　life。　
　
　　　　What　is　likely　to　arrest　the　attention　of　any　student　of　the　
modern　era　from　the　outset　is　the　peculiar　character　of　its　
industry　and　of　its　intellectual　outlook；　particularly　the　scope　
and　method　of　modern　science　and　technology。　The　intellectual　
life　of　modern　Europe　and　its　cultural　dependencies　differs　
notably　from　what　has　gone　before。　There　is　all　about　it　an　air　
of　matter…of…fact　both　in　its　technology　and　in　its　science；　
which　culminates　in　a　〃mechanistic　conception〃　of　all　those　
things　with　which　scientific　inquiry　is　concerned　and　in　the　
light　of　which　many　of　the　dread　realities　of　the　Middle　Ages　
look　like　superfluous　make…believe。　
　　　　But　it　has　been　only　during　the　later　decades　of　the　modern　
era　　during　that　time　interval　that　might　fairly　be　called　the　
post…modern　era　　that　this　mechanistic　conception　of　things　has　
begun　seriously　to　affect　the　current　system　of　knowledge　and　
belief；　and　it　has　not　hitherto　seriously　taken　effect　except　in　
technology　and　in　the　material　sciences。　So　that　it　has　not　
hitherto　seriously　invaded　the　established　scheme　of　
institutional　arrangements；　the　system　of　law　and　custom；　which　
governs　the　relations　of　men　to　one　another　and　defines　their　
mutual　rights；　obligations；　advantages　and　disabilities。　But　it　
should　reasonably　be　expected　that　this　established　system　of　
rights；　duties；　proprieties　and　disabilities　will　also　in　due　
time　come　in　for　something　in　the　way　of　a　revision；　to　bring　it　
all　more　nearly　into　congruity　with　that　matter…of…fact　
conception　of　things　that　lies　at　the　root　of　the　late…modern　
civilisation。　
　　　　The　constituent　principles　of　the　established　system　of　law　
and　custom　are　of　the　nature　of　imponderables；　of　course；　but　
they　are　imponderables　which　have　been　conceived　and　formulated　
in　terms　of　a　different　order　from　those　that　are　convincing　to　
the　twentieth…century　scientists　and　engineers。　Whereas　the　line　
of　advance　of　the　scientists　and　engineers；　dominated　by　their　
mechanistic　conception　of　things；　appears　to　be　the　main　line　of　
march　for　modern　civilisation。　It　should　seem　reasonable　to　
expect；　therefore；　that　the　scheme　of　law　and　custom　will　also　
fall　into　line　with　this　mechanistic　conception　that　appears　to　
mark　the　apex　of　growth　in　modern　intellectual　life。　But　hitherto　
the　〃due　time〃　needed　for　the　adjustment　has　apparently　not　been　
had；　or　perhaps　the　experience　which　drives　men　in　the　direction　
of　a　mechanistic　conception　of　all　things　has　not　hitherto　been　
driving　them　hard　enough　or　unremittingly　enough　to　carry　such　a　
revision　of　ideas　out　in　the　system　of　law　and　custom。　The　modern　
point　of　view　in　matters　of　law　and　custom　appears　to　be　somewhat　
in　arrears；　as　measured　by　the　later　advance　in　science　and　
technology。　
　　　　But　just　now　the　attention　of　thoughtful　men　centers　on　
questions　of　practical　concern；　questions　of　law　and　usage；　
brought　to　a　focus　by　the　flagrant　miscarriage　of　that　
organisation　of　Christendom　that　has　brought　the　War　upon　the　
civilised　nations。　The　paramount　question　just　now　is；　what　to　do　
to　save　the　civilised　nations　from　irretrievable　disaster；　and　
what　further　may　be　accomplished　by　taking　thought　so　that　no　
similar　epoch　of　calamities　shall　be　put　in　train　for　the　next　
generation。　It　is　realised　that　there　must　be　something　in　the　
way　of　a　〃reconstruction〃　of　the　scheme　of　things；　and　it　is　also　
realised；　though　more　dimly；　that　the　reconstruction　must　be　
carried　out　with　a　view　to　the　security　of　life　under　such　
conditions　as　men　will　put　up　with；　rather　than　with　a　view　to　
the　impeccable　preservation　of　the　received　scheme　of　law　and　
custom。　All　of　which　is　only　saying　that　the　constituent　
principles　of　the　modern　point　of　view　are　to　be　taken　under　
advisement；　reviewed　and　　conceivably　　revised　and　brought　
into　line；　in　so　far　as　these　principles　are　constituent　elements　
of　that　received　scheme　of　law　and　custom　that　is　spoken　of　as　
the　status　quo。　It　is　the　status　quo　in　respect　of　law　and　
custom；　not　in　respect　of　science　and　technology　or　of　knowledge　
and　belief；　that　is　to　be　brought　under　review。　Law　and　custom；　
it　is　believed；　may　be　revised　to　meet　the　requirements　of　
civilised　men's　knowledge　and　belief；　but　no　man　of　sound　mind　
hopes　to　revise　the　modern　system　of　knowledge　and　belief　so　as　
to　bring　it　all　into　conformity　with　the　time…worn　scheme　of　law　
and　custom　of　the　status　quo。　
　　　　Therefore　the　bearing　of　this　stabilised　modern　point　of　
view；　stabilised　in　the　eighteenth　century；　on　these　questions　of　
practical　concern　is　of　present　interest；　　its　practical　value　
as　ground　for　a　reasonably　hopeful　reconstruction　of　the　
war…shattered　scheme　of　use　and　wont；　its　possible　serviceability　
as　a　basis　of　enduring　settlement；　as　well　as　the　share　which　its　
constituent　principles　have　had　in　the　creation　of　that　status　
quo　out　of　which　this　epoch　of　calamities　has　been　precipitated。　
The　status　quo　ante；　in　which　the　roots　of　this　growth　of　
misfortunes　and　impossibilities　are　to　be　found；　lies　within　the　
modern　era；　of　course；　and　it　is　nowise　to　be　decried　as　an　
alien；　or　even　as　an　unforeseen；　outgrowth　of　this　modern　era。　By　
and　large；　this　eighteenth…century　stabilised　modern　point　of　
view　has　governed　men's　dealings　within　this