eChurch Blog

Great post from Cranmers Curate today (as usual) that I am cross-posting:-

Cranmer’s Curate commends this guest post by Richard Symonds to the youth group:

70 years ago, Moral Philosopher Dr CEM Joad (1891-1953) pleaded with his colleagues to mend their newly-found philosophical ways, predicting that failure to do so would render philosophy increasingly irrelevant – and increasingly vulnerable to totalitarian thought.

CEMJ’s warning ‘fell on deaf ears’ in his time – and continues to do so….except for a few readers of Cambridge University’s Alumni Magazine (“Essay : In Defence Of Moral Philosophy” by Professor Simon Blackburn – Michaelmas 2009 Edition).

The totalitarianism, which George Orwell – a contemporary of Joad – was warning against in 1949, was already prevalent within many social and economic policies of the time – borne primarily from the ‘false teachers’ of philosophical Relativism (eg The Vienna Circle). Times have not changed.

CEMJ, as a Moral Philosopher, was warning against Moral Relativism 9 years earlier:

In 1940, Joad warned his profession of the dangers in rejecting its ‘Classical’ tradition (eg Plato’s ‘Forms’ of Truth, Beauty & Goodness), and pleaded for a return to that tradition (“Appeal To Philosophers”, University of London Aristotelian Society – XL 1940).

Dr. CEM Joad continued to warn – but nobody was listening….except a few debaters at Oxford University:

In June 1950, 5 months after Orwell’s death (and 3 years before his own), Cyril Joad won an Oxford Union Debate : “That This House Regrets The Influence Exercised By The U.S. As The Dominant Power Among The Democratic Nations” – resulting in Randolph Churchill accusing him of being a “Third Class Socrates”.

‘Professor’ Joad, also a celebrity wartime BBC Brains Trust panellist, was treated with ridicule, contempt and disdain by most professional philosophers at the time – especially Bertrand Russell – and his warnings were ignored and dismissed within his profession, and beyond – and remain so.

CEMJ was a Moral Realist – in direct opposition to Moral Relativists – and later developed his “Transcendence-Immanence” ideas in his last book: “Recovery of Belief – A Restatement of Christian Philosophy” (Faber & Faber 1952)

Today, we can’t say we were not warned of this ‘totalitarian’ danger – now more prevalent than ever – and we can’t say moral philosophy (& philosophers) have had nothing to say in dealing with the problems which continue to haunt us.

Joad is still ‘shouting from the rooftops’ – through his many books – but we need to understand (and deal with) the unpalatable reasons why such clear warnings are still ‘falling on deaf ears’.

A greater understanding of Moral Philosophy – especially in the work of CEM Joad – will be a critical pre-condition for Humanity’s survival in the early 21st century.

Richard W. Symonds is a member of the International Society For Philosophers ( www.isfp.co.uk) and author of “Mega Theory & The Moral Instinct”. He can be contacted by email : richardsy5@aol.com or at his website: Gatwick City of Ideas

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Tags: Education

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