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The hild of the M oral O rder

G i l b e r t V o y a t

Gilbert Voyat is

associate professor,

Department of

Psychology, Graduate

Faculty, City College of

the City University of

New York.

This is a slightly

amended version of a

paper presented at the

annual convention of the

Nassau and Suffolk

County NIT)

Psychological Association

on April 1974.

he choice of the general topic und er discussion, Th e Form ation

and D evelo pm ent of Moral Values in an Imm oral World,-- and the

t i tle of my presen tat ion, Th e Child of the Moral Ord er , ref lect a real

concern for both the deve lopment of mora l and e th ica l judgments in o ur

children and the curre nt period o f mo ral crisis, called into public view

by the events of Watergate, which quest ions, in fact , the very founda t ions

of our democrat ic system. In o ther words, my focus is on the actual moral

and ethical ord er within the Watergate climate. Watergate is, of course, not

the f i rs t moral scandal in American his tory, but i t does const i tute , probably,

the m ost pro foun d case of unethical and imm oral conduc t at the highest

level of A merican govern ance; i t is certainly the first t ime that these

behaviors have been w idely exposed, made publ ic , and discussed and the

first t ime that their meanings are unambiguous.

What preoccupies us today from the point of view of developmental

psychology are the consequences of such a s i tuat ion for ou r chi ldren and

their education, and, in a final analysis, the consequences for their ethical

and moral co mm itment in the world that they wil l be responsible for

fostering, creating, and maintaining in the future. I will attempt to

analyze my topic f rom tw o different but related frames of reference.

The f irs t aspect concerns the chi ld 's developm ent of moral judgment

and involves a theore tical discussion of values - how the y are acquired

and d evelope d in the child. I refer here to an academic, research-oriented

view of how chi ldren acquire and change their moral judgmen t . As is known,

a dis t inct ion is of ten drawn be tween two kinds of values; namely,

intrinsic value and ex trinsic or instrume ntal value. By extrinsic value is

meant the character of being good or of having value as a means to

achieve a goal.By intrinsic value is me ant the charac ter o f being good or

valuable in i tself in relationship to the individual 's internal state o f mind.

As is known also, moral value can be contrasted with fact or existence,

the contrast intended being between the is and the ou ght . I f Piaget's

findings are used as a frame of referenc e, this distinction - whic h implies

an unde rstanding o f a differen ce betw een the real and the possible - is

not achieved by a child before the formal level of thou ght , that is not

before 10 to 11 years of age at the minimum, and probab ly, in most

cases, not before the later part of adolescence.

The young child, characterized in cognitive terms as either at the pre-

operat ion s tage (before seven) or the concrete operat ional s tage (betwe en

seven and nine) o f intellectual functioning, will essentially focus upo n

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  7 2 T h e U r ba n Re v i e w

ex t r ins ic o r in s t ru m en ta l va lues . In l igh t o f Wate rga te - part icularly in l ight

o f W ate rga te - th i s has im po r tan t consequ ences , since the ch i ld v iews

au thor i ty no t on ly a s in s t rumen ta l bu t a l so a s abso lu te . P iage t , in h i s

n o w c la ss ic al b o o k o n t h e m o r a l j u d g m e n t o f t h e c h i ld , a n d La w r e n c e

K o h l b e r g , w h o c o n t i n u e d a n d i s st il l p u r s u i n g w i t h h i s c o l l a b o r a t o r s t h e

is su es o f m o r a l j u d g m e n t , b o t h s tr e ss t h i s p e r i o d o f u n i l a t e r al r e s p e c t

t h a t c h a r a c t e r iz e s t h e y o u n g c h i ld .

Th i s u n i l a t e ra l re s p e c t is c h a r a c t e ri z e d b y t h e t e r m m o r a l r e a l i sm ,

w h i c h e x p r e s s e s t h e t e n d e n c y t h a t a c h i l d h a s t o r e g a r d d u t y a n d t h e

v a l ue s a t t a c h e d t o o b l i g a t i o n a s p r i m a r i l y s e lf - su b s i st e n t a n d i n d e p e n d e n t

o f t h e m i n d . Th e t e n d e n c y i m p l i e s a n e s se n t ia l f o c u s u p o n e x t r i n s ic v a lu e s

a n d a d e f i n i t i o n o f g o o d a n d b a d i n r e l a ti o n s h i p t o g o o d a s d e f i n e d b y

t h e m a j o r i t y a n d p a r t i c u l a r ly b y t h e a d u l ts . I n m o r a l r e a li s m , g o o d i s

c l e a r l y d e f i n e d b y o b e d i e n c e . F u r t h e r m o r e , th e c h i ld d e m a n d s t h a t t h e

le t te r ra the r than the sp i r i t o f the law be obse rved . S ince the ch i ld takes

ru les , ob l iga t ions , and du ty in a concre te and abso lu te pe rspec t ive , he

w i l l e v a l u a te a c t s n o t i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h i n t e r n a l m o t i v e s b u t i n t e r m s

o f t h e i r c o n f o r m i t y w i t h e s t a bl i sh e d r u l e s. Th u s , h i s o r h e r f o c u s w i ll b e

d e p e n d e n t p r i m a r i l y u p o n t h e r e su l ts o f t h e a c t i o n s, u p o n t h e o u t c o m e s

r a t h e r t h a n t h e i n t e n t .

A n e x c e l l e n t e x am p l e o f t h e a b o v e c a n b e f o u n d i n t h e w a y c h il d re n

s o l v ed t h e f o l l o w i n g m o r a l d i l e m m a . P i a g e t t o l d c h i l d r e n t w o s t o ri e s: I n

the f i r s t , a ch ild he lp ing h i s m oth e r to se t the tab le t r ip s and b reaks 12

c u p s ; i n t h e s e c o n d , a c h i l d w h o h a s b e e n f o r b i d d e n t o c l i m b u p a c u p -

b o a r d f o r j a m d o e s s o a n d b r e a k s o n l y o n e c u p . Th e y o u n g c h i l d r en t o

w h o m t h e s e s t o ri e s w e r e t o l d f e l t t h a t t h e f i rs t c h i ld n e e d e d g r e a t e r

p u n i s h m e n t s in c e h e b r o k e 1 2 c u ps , w h i le o l d e r c h i ld r e n t e n d e d t o f i n d

t h e s e c o n d c h i ld m o r e w o r t h y o f p u n i s h m e n t b e c a u s e h e i n t e n t i o n a l l y

d i s o b e y e d h i s m o t h e r . Th u s , a s D a v id E l k i n d p u t s i t , s u m m a r i zi n g P i a g e t' s

f i n di n g s , y o u n g c h i l d r e n j u d g e a p e r s o n a c c o r d i n g t o t h e a m o u n t o f

d a m a g e h e d o e s , r a t h e r t h a n o n t h e b a sis o f h is i n t e n t io n s .

In th i s con tex t , we as adu l t s migh t a sk ourse lves i f , in the Wate rga te

s i tu a t io n , a s im p l e j u d g m e n t b a s ed u p o n t h e o u t c o m e s o r t h e a m o u n t o f

d a m a g e d o n e w o u l d n o t h a v e b e e n p r e f e r a b l e t o w h a t d i d t ra n s p i r e ,

s in c e f o c u s i n g u p o n t h e i n t e n t o f t h e g r o u p o f o f f ic i a ls i n v o l v e d i n t h e

Wate rga te scanda l a l lowed these o f f ic ia l s to d e fen d themse lves on th i s

basi s. In th i s case , how ever , a judg m ent on the o u tco m es a lone wo u ld

s e e m t o h a v e b e e n s u f f i c i e n t to c l a r i fy t h e i n t e n t . I t i s n o t m y p u r p o s e t o

sound i ron ic , bu t in th i s case the ana lysi s and the c la r i f ica t ion o f the rea l

i n t e n t s o f t h e s e o f fi c ia l s h a v e p r o l o n g e d b o t h t h e a g o n y o f t h e P r e s i d e n t

a n d t h e e x p l i c i t t h r e a t t h a t W a t e rg a t e re p r e s e n t s t o a f u n c t io n i n g d e m o c r a c y .

U s in g t h e c h i l d 's q u a n t i t a t i v e l y d i f f e r e n t m i n d f r o m o u r s m i g h t p a r a d o x i c a l l y

have se t t l ed th e i s sue a long t ime ago .

Th e s a m e p r i n c i p le o f m o r a l r e al i sm h o l d s w h e n o n e c o n s i d e r s th e

d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e i d e a o f j u s t i c e i n c h i l d re n . P ia g e t d e l i n e a t e d t h r e e

m a j o r p e r i o d s : U n t i l s e v e n t o e i g h t y e a r s o f a g e, c h i l d re n s e e t h e i d e a o f

j u s t i c e a s a g a in s u b o r d i n a t e d t o a d u l t a u t h o r i t y . Be t w e e n 8 a n d 1 I , o n e

obse rves a pe r io d o f p rogress ive ega l i ta r ian ism. A roun d 11 to 12 , ju s t ice

i s b a s e d o n t h e c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f e q u a l i t y b e t w e e n p e o p l e a n d r e c i p r o c i t y

a m o n g t h e m . Th u s a g ai n, w h e r e t h e i d e a o f j u s t i c e is c o n c e r n e d , w e

o b s e r v e a s h i ft f r o m o u t c o m e s t o m o t i v e s.

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* Waterga te and the

Lega l Order,

Commentary

January 1974 .

V o y a t : C h i ld o f t h e M o r a l O r d e r 1 7 3

W at e r g a t e h as c r ea t ed an ex p l i c it u n b a l an ce o f co n s t i t u t io n a l l y s t a t ed

n o r m s o f m o r a l i t y , e t h ic s , an d v a l u es ; m o r eo v e r , t h e s e n o r m s h av e b ee n

d i s t o r ted b y t h e v e r y p eo p l e w h o a r e s u p p o s ed t o m a i n t a i n t h em . I n a

recen t a r t i c l e ,* the l a t e A lexa nder B icke l , p rofes sor o f l aw and l ega l

h i s t o r y a t Y a le , i m m ed i a t e l y d e f in ed t h e is su e s w h en h e s t a t ed , T h e

tes t o f a l ega l o rder i s i t s s e l f - execu t ing capac i ty , i t s mora l a u th or i ty . In

an ex t r aord inar i ly sus ta ined exp er ience of c iv il d i sobedienc e and

consc ien t ious ob jec t ion on the par t o f a t l eas t th ree d i s t inc t , s i zab le

g r o u p s in t h e s o c i e t y o v e r a p e r i o d o f s o m e 1 5 y ea r s , w h i ch p e r h ap s n o

o t h e r s o c i e t y co u l d h av e en d u r ed w i t h o u t a ch an g e o f reg i m e - i n th i s

sus ta ined exp er ience the l imi t s were l r ansgres sed . The ex per ien ce s t a r t ed

w i t h w h i t e S o u t h e r n e r s i n t h e m i d - 1 9 5 0 s , i t w as fo l l o w ed an d o v e r l ap p ed

b y t h e c i vil ri g h ts m o v em en t , an d it en d ed w i t h an d w as o v e r l ap p ed b y

t h e w h i t e m i d d l e -c l a ss m o v e m e n t ag a i n st th e w a r , w h i ch b ad e f a ir f o r a

w h i le t o t ak e p e r m an en t s h ap e a s a m o v em en t ad d r e ss i n g n u m er o u s o t h e r

i ssues as wel l , a l l t he w ay up , dow n, a nd s ideways to g ay libera t ion . T he

l imi t s were o f t en t r ansgres sed and in some m easure Waterga te i s a r ep l i ca

of these t r ansgres s ions . Wh at Wa terga te a lso me ans is tha t the use of c iv il

d i s o b ed i en ce h a s p e r m ea t ed o u r s o c i e t y a s an a l m o s t n a t u r a l w ay o f

hav ing th ings changed; in a s ense , i t r epresen t s the r eac t ion aga ins t these

p e r ce i v ed , d em an d ed ch an g es. I t i s n o w o n d e r , t h en , t h a t t h e co n c ep t

h a s fi n a l ly r e ach ed o u r ch i l d r en - an ex ce l l en t ex am p l e o f v e r t ic a l an d

h o r i zo n t a l p e r m ea t i o n o f d i s t o r t io n o f e t h i ca l co n cep t s a t a ll l ev e ls o f a

f u n c t i o n i n g s o c i e t y .

B i ck e l ad d s: T h e l eg a l o r d e r h eav ed an d g r o an ed f o r y ea rs u n d e r a

p r o d i g a l i t y o f m o r a l c au s e s, an d i f n o t b r o k en , i t i s n o w o n d e r t h a t i t is

b ad l y b en t . V i e t n am w as , l e t u s n o t f o r g e t , n o t o n l y a m o r a l e r r o r b u t

f o r it s au t h o r s a m o r a l u r g en cy . T h e u r g en c ie s o f ' p eace w i t h h o n o r , ' o f

the c l ean li f e , o f pa t r io t i sm - in a wo rd , Waterga te - were me re ly the l as t

s t r aws . I t i s i ron ic , bu t en t i r e ly na tura l , t ha t ' l aw and o rde r ' as a mora l

impera t ive should have c lashed w i th the l ega l o rder .

The l ega l o rder , a f t e r a l l , t o use a P iage t i an t e rm, i s an accommodat ion .

I t c an n o t s u s t a i n t h e co n t i n u o u s a s sau l t o f m o r a l im p e r a t i v e s , n o t ev en

t h e m o r a l i m p e r a t i v e o f l aw an d o r d e r , w h i ch a s a m o r a l i m p e r a t i v e h a s

o n l y a v e r b a l re s em b l an ce t o t h e e n d s o f t h e l eg al o rd e r . A t t h i s p o i n t ,

i t is i n t e re s t in g t o n o t e t h a t t h e A m er i can d e m o c r a t i c s y s t em r e f le c t s an

i n t e r m ed i a r y p o s i t i o n b e t w ee n s t ag e s 4 an d 5 a s o b s e r v ed b y K o h l b e r g .

A cco r d i n g t o K o h l b e r g , s t ag e 4 , w h i ch i s p a r t o f t h e co n v en t i o n a l l ev e l

o f m o r a l i t y , is ch a r ac t e r iz ed b y au t h o r i t y an d s o c i a l- o r d e r- m a i n t a in i n g

o r i en t a t i o n . R i g h t b eh av i o r co n s is ts in d o i n g o n e ' s o w n d u t y , s h o w i n g

respec t fo r au thor i ty , and main ta in ing the soc ia l o rder fo r i t s own sake .

S t ag e 5 , w h i ch is p a r t o f t h e p o s t co n v en t i o n a l l ev e l o f m o r a l i t y , co n s is t s

in the con t r ac tua l l ega l i s t i c o r i en ta t ion . R igh t ac t ion i s def ined in t e rms

o f i n d i v id u a l r i gh t s an d o f s t an d a rd s t h a t h av e b een i n i ti a l ly ex a m i n e d

an d ag r eed u p o n b y a m a j o r i t y o f th e s o c i e t y . C h an g es can o ccu r w h en

ag r eed u p o n t h r o u g h an accep t ab l e , d em o c r a t i c a l l y en f o r ced p r o ced u r e .

A s K o h l b e r g p u t s i t : S t ag e 5 i s t h e ' o f f i c i a l ' m o r a l i t y o f th e A m er i can

g o v e r n m en t an d f i n d s it s g r o u n d i n t h e t h o u g h t o f t h e w r i t e r s o f th e

C o n s t i t u t i o n .

G i v en th i s h i st o r ic a l co n t ex t , w e a r e co n f r o n t ed w i t h a r e a l co n fl i c t:

I t co n s i st s o f t h e n eed t o a f f i r m co n cep t s o f m o r a l i m p e r a t i v e s , w h i ch

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  7 4 T h e U r ba n R e v i e w

h a d b e e n a g r e e d u p o n b y a m a j o r i t y , b u t w h i c h i n r e a l it y h a v e a lr e a d y

been v i t i a t ed . Thus , in a s i tua t ion where there ex i s t s a subs tan t i a l d i s -

c r e p a n c y b e t w e e n i n t e n t s a n d o u t c o m e s , w e a d u lt s b e c o m e e q u a l ly

co n f l i c t ed . I f t h e P r e s i d en t c an h e , w h y s h o u l d n t I , o r ch il d r en f o r t h a t

m a t t e r ?

T h i s b r i n g s m e t o t h e s eco n d a s p ec t o f m y t o p i c , w h i ch co n ce r n s t h e

p r ac t i c a l is su e o f h o w v a l u e s a re t r an s m i t t ed f r o m o n e g en e r a t i o n t o

a n o t h e r a t a t i m e w h e n o n e c a n s o e as il y o bs e r v e t h e g a p b e t w e e n w h a t

m o r a l v a lu e s a re an d w h a t t h ey s h o u l d b e . W h i le w e , a s ad u l t s , h av e

m an y w ay s o f i n teg r a t i n g an d f ac i n g t h i s d i s c rep an cy , o u r ch i l d r en ,

espec ia l ly our ado lescen t s , l ack th i s ab i l i ty to syn thes ize and , f ina l ly , to

c o m p r o m i s e . T h e p r o b l e m i s t h u s t o u n d e r s t a n d w h a t h a p p e n s t o a c h il d

i n a w o r l d w h e r e ad u l t s t h em s e l v e s a r e co n f r o n t ed w i t h a leg a l o r d e r t h a t

i s en f o r c ed b y c l ea r ly i m m o r a l o f f ic i a ls .

I n t h i s re s p ec t , it m i g h t b e o f s o m e i n t e r e s t t o t ak e a h y p o t h e t i c a l

ch i ld , s u ch a s A l ice f r o m A l i c e i n W o n d e r l a n d a n d a t t e m p t t o u n d e r s ta n d

w h a t h e r ex p e r i en ce co u l d b eco m e , g iv en t h e co n f l i c t u a l so c i a l co n t ex t

t h a t w e , as ad u lt s , a re cu r r en t l y en d u r i n g . I n m a n y w ay s o u r s i t u a t i o n can

b e c o m p a r e d t o h e r s , a n d a s y o u k n o w Al ice in Wonder land h a s b e e n

i n t e r p r e te d f r o m p o i n t s o f vi ew r a ng in g f r o m t h e p o e t r y o f n o n se n s e t o

t h e p s y c h o an a l y t i c . F r o m a co g n it i v e d ev e l o p m en t a l p o i n t o f v i ew , w h a t

Al ice as a ch ild es sen t i a l ly exper ienc es i s the absu rd i ty o f the adu l t s

w o r l d , t h e ab s u r d i t y f i n a l ly o f a w o r l d o f p o w er . F o r h e r , t h e ad u l t s

w o r l d i s n o t o n l y p e r ce i v ed an d a s s im i l a t ed in a q u a l i t a t iv e l y d i f f e r en t w ay ,

b u t i t s e em s v e r y m u ch i l l og i cal an d en t e r t a i n s co n f l i c ts , w h i ch s h e d o es

n o t c l e a r l y u n d e r s t an d b u t w h i ch a f f ec t h e r a s a ch i ld . I n t h i s s en se , A li c e

i s v e r y m u ch l i ke t h e ch i ld o f W a t e r g a t e ; i n o t h e r w o r d s , t h e ch il d o f o u r

m o r a l o r d e r .

I n t h e W a t e r g a t e c l i m a t e , A l i c e s d ia l o g u e w i t h t h e D u ch es s m i g h t

have sounded l ike th i s :

D u ch es s : H as an y o n e t o l d y o u t h a t o n e s h o u l d a l w ay s t e ll t h e t r u t h ?

A l ice : I h av e h ea r d t h a t , b u t I w o u l d l ik e t o k n o w w h y ?

Duchess : Because i t is the r igh t th ing to d o ; hon es ty i s a v i r tue and

i t m ak es y o u b e a b e t t e r p e r s o n .

A lice : Doe s yo ur k ing a lways t e l l t he t ru th , th en?

D u ch es s : T h a t d ep en d s u p o n y o u r p o i n t o f v i ew .

A l ice : W h o i s t h en t o s ay t h a t h i s t ru t h i s an y b e t t e r t h a n m y t r u t h ?

T h i s t h en t u r n s i n t o a r e a l im p as s e ; t h e r e i s n o accep t ab l e s y n t h e s is t h a t

can b e p r e s en t ed t o h e r a t t h i s t im e . T h e d i s t i n c t i o n b e t w ee n b e l i e f s an d

f ac t s i s p r ec i s e l y w h a t s h e can n o t , an d l a t e r w i ll n o t , m ak e .

I n a w o r l d o f r e l a ti v e m o r a l i t y , a w o r l d o f p r o t e s t an d m o r a l o u t r ag e ,

am i d s t t h e co n f u s i o n t h a t t h e ch i l d f e e ls i n t r y i n g t o e s t ab l is h h is o r h e r o w n

v a l u e s w h i l e u n d e r s t an d i n g t h o s e o f th e ad u l t s , w h a t f il te r s d o w n t o h i m

o r h e r is t h a t t h o s e w h o a r e l e ad e rs - an d t h e r e f o r e s h o u l d b e co n s i d e r ed

as p eo p l e o f d i st i n c t io n an d i n t eg r i ty - a r e m o s t o f t en t h o s e i n w h o m w e

have los t our f a i th . For a ch i ld , a wor ld where the heroes a re d i sgraced be-

co m es a w o r l d w i t h o u t m o r a l va l u e s.

A s d e v e l o p m e n t a l p s y c h o l o g is t s, w e c a n n o t p r e t e n d t o e x p l a i n l e t

a l o n e s o lv e s u ch g r av e p r o b l em s . B u t I w o u l d l i ke t o o f f e r t h e f o l lo w i n g

hyp othe s i s : T he adul t aw arenes s o f m ora l r e l a t iv i ty a llows the es t ab l i sh-

m e n t o f v e r y m o b i l e a n d f l u id b o u n d a r i e s b e t w e e n e g o c e n t ri c m o r a l

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t h o u g h t an d r ec i p r o ca l m o r a l th o u g h t . M o r a l m ean i n g s eem s t o h av e

acq u i r ed an e s s en t ia l ly i n d i v id u a l m ean i n g . T h u s , t h o s e w h o s t u d y

ch i l d ren ' s v a l u e s, w h e t h e r t h ey b e p s y ch o l o g i s t o r t e ach e r , i n d eed a ll

t h e ad u l t s i n v o lv ed w i t h ch i l d r en in o n e w ay o r an o t h e r , m u s t a l so co m e

t o t e r m s w i t h an d u n d e r s t an d t h e i r o w n v a l u es .

O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , e v e n i f m o r a l v a lu e s n o w s e e m to h a v e b e c o m e m o r e

ind iv idua l , we as a co l l ec t iv i ty a re s t il l und er the ne ces s i ty o f a f f i rmin g

o u r v a l u es t o o u r ch i l d r en . A co l l e c ti v i ty c an n o t h o l d w i t h o u t s o m e

shared va lues because va lues a re a l so l a rge ly soc ia l and sh ould be

s y m b o l i zed i n m an y w ay s , p a r t i cu l a r ly i n t h e o f f ic i a ls t h a t o n e e l ec t s.

T h e p r o b l em a t t h i s p o i n t , r e a l ly , is t h a t t h e r e a r e n o l o n g e r f i r m g u a r an t ee s

tha t ou r pub l i c l eader sh ip can s ti l l do th i s .

T h o s e o f u s w h o w an t t o u n d e r s t an d h o w ch i l d r en g r o w u p t o

em bo dy the po l i t i ca l and ideo log ica l var i a t ions of th i s p lane t - r ev-

o lu t ion i s t s , l oya l so ld ie r s, r es t ive bu t app are n t ly ob l ig ing na t iv es ,

t r o u b l ed m e n o f p r o p e r t y , c o n f i d e n t p r o p o n e n t s o f o n e o r a n o t h e r

g o v e r n m en t - w o u l d d o w e l l t o r e co g n i ze t h a t , l i k e ad u l t s ex u a l i ty , a

p o l i ti c a l i n c l i n a ti o n h a s a d ev e l o p m en t a l h i s t o r y . T h e r e a r e , o f

co u r s e , al l t o o m an y p s y ch o l o g i ca l d e t e rm i n i s t s ; o n e w h o w i n ces a t

t h e t h o u g h t t h a t d ev e l o p m en t a l h i s t o r y w i ll q u i t e s o o n b e r ead

as d ev e l o p m en t a l i m p e r a t i v e . I n f a c t , b o t h c l in i c ian s an d h i s to r i an s

h av e r ea s o n t o k n o w t h a t i n t h e l iv e s o f i n d i vi d u a ls an d n a t i o n s a l i k e

t h er e i s s im p l y n o w a y o f k n o w i n g a t w h a t m o m e n t a n a p p a r e n t l y

u n r em ar k ab l e , ev en u n k n o w ab l e s e t o f fe e li n g s o r a tt i t u d es w i l l

s u d d en l y em er g e , t o ev e r y o n e ' s s u r p ri s e , a s u t t e r l y c r it i c al an d

p e r s u as i v e i n t h e l i f e o f a p e r s o n o r co m m u n i t y o f p eo p l e . O r , a s a

H o p i g i rl o f th i r t e en p u t i t , b l en d i n g a ch i l d 's p o l it i c a l aw a r en ess w i t h

a cu l t u r e ' s w i s d o m , an d an i n t el l ig en t c i ti z en ' s p r ac t i c a l i ty : T h e

n ew s o f W a t e r g a te i s a d a r k c l o u d . T h e s k y w as c l ea r, an d t h e h u n t e r s

r an w i l d ; t h en d a r k c l o u d s g a t h e r ed an d r a i n f e l l , an d t h e h u n t e r s

s top ped for a whi le . Wil l we so on ge t m ore hun ter s , jus t as g reedy?

O r w i ll w e l e a r n t o co n t r o l g r eed , s o t h a t w e d o n ' t j u s t p r ay an d p r ay

f o r b ad w ea t h e r t o s t o p t h e h u n t e r s i n t h e i r t ra ck s ?

R o b e r t C o l es , The Mind s Fate (A t lan t i c -L i t t l e , Brown, 1975)