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[Chapter 4. Putting Content into Social Consciousness: Objects as Indicative (Organism) or Appropriative (Tools)] 33. If there is a social consciousness, it must be found in the individual and not somewhere outside, as in some present day argument on social consciousness . The question comes now: What are we to do with the indicative value of the reconstructing individual? That definitely marked phase ofindividual consciousness where we get self-consciousness as against object-consciousness, marks the nodal point in social evolution. He represents the progressive variation of the social consciousness. This initiating movement which the individual takes represents a new factor in the social consciousness. 34. To analyze further the social consciousness: It has been propounded that there is a psychical or subjective environment which influences the individual. This is a step in the right direction, but it is liable to be wrongly used; that is, that it is something over and above the physical environment. The entire environment of a conscious being is psychical. Any physical environment is psychical for a conscious being. The kind of nature we live in is a strong determining factor of our psychical life. 35. The value that the physical environment has in the psychical will obviously be socially determined. If we could draw a fixed line between the physical and the psychical, then we might talk of a person being individualistically determined. But it is not so. In other words, plants must assume a different attitude to a society with high agricultural development than in a pre-agricultural society. 36. No fixed lines can be drawn. The value of different objects to the individual depends upon the social life of the time. Take as illustration the evolution of myths. Why do all races of people begin with animal and plant myths, and then include meteorology myths, and then more and more of natural phenomena ? It will be found that it is paralleled by the economic and social condition of the people. When people live on animals and plants, their minds are full ofthose things. We say that our consciousness has developed from that time, but don't think that the world has changed. But that is not true. The world is different. 37. The easiest way to put content to the social consciousness-what this course aims to do-is to show that the whole world is saturated with values which society has given it. The value which fills the consciousness at the time, the saturation value, determines the social plane. And any change that takes 134 Lectures on Political Ethics 135 place must take place in reference to this plane. It is analogous to Weber's law in psychology, and to marginal utility in economics.22 38. Whether we take the appropriative activity, or [the1indicative value, certain phases of the objects present themselves as stimulating or calling out action , and others present themselves as restricting the activities which have been called out. So far as the object has the stimulating phase, we may call it an organ of action; so far as it has the other we may call it a tool. Saturation. Expansive or radiation organ-habit free activity. Restriction-tool contraction Special use. disciplinary phase. 39. {Social Statics1Both [expansion and constriction are1combined again to constitute social statics. An object is an organ so far as we can function through it freely at the time. As a tool, we mean that we can use it to [achieve] some end. By saying that the above constitutes the social order in [the] psychical environment , it is meant that [it is] what does give the coherence or structural form to special types in so far as they have those values. 40. The habit organ represents the rights side, and the other the duty. But these have no meaning except in relation to values of objects. Take the matter of property right;23 it is the assumption of the values of objects; objects assuming , on one hand the mere stimulating value, and on the other hand the controlling value. The necessity of definite property rights is that these relationships may take definite shape. If we take the indicative side, and assume that objects have the same two types ofvalue, [1] on the side ofstimulation what the objects set up is variation by initiation, and not new habits. The object simply calls forth some new activity. Psychologically, it is the impulse as opposed to habit. [2] On the restrictive side, we have invention or adaptation, with reflection...

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