Subject: Collective Unconsciousness

William S. Stoertz 
Date: March 11, 1998 
RE: Indemnity and Oral Tradition, etc.



     In a word, I think the answer is "Collective Unconscious".

     Sociology has a foundation in universal law, to be sure. Max
     Weber, Auguste Comte, and other early sociologists had a lot
     of brilliant insights which, though far-fetched, are gaining
     more credence today. Also, Freud, though in some ways
     despicable in my opinion, was also right in many ways --
     especially the importance of sexuality at the root of human's
     original being. A lot of the theories of psychology and
     sociology have something which seems rather unscientific in
     them, but which is intuitively and also clinically
     verifiable.  Now, in science, we are coming to the end of the
     dominance of purely materialistic dogma. Even in astronomy,
     they just demonstrated antigravity on the cosmic level, as
     one of the fundamental forces. It shakes up the whole
     worldview of a dead, mechanistic universe. Also, quantum
     physics has been around since the '20s, and is radically
     non-Newtonian.  Scientific laws are an expression of "Logos"
     (as in "biology", "geology", "logic", etc.). Not to be
     pedantic, but in fact, there must be a "Logos" or fundamental
     universal law and set of principles behind all the order as
     well as variation of observable laws. Furthermore, there must
     be something in common with social laws, or ethical and moral
     laws. In other words, the universal principles behind both
     science and religion. You see what I'm getting at?

     Here is something for sociology:  As is well-known,
     "prestige" is the motivator in social action and
     relationships. If you want to look at the cause, you don't
     need to make a complex theory -- look at the prestige
     structure, and then find the causes which establish a certain
     environment of social prestige as the overall motivator of
     not only group but even individual actions in a social
     context. By the way, in sociological theory, EVERY individual
     action is determined partially at least by social
     relationships, prestige in particular.  I pursued this theory
     further, and distinguish two aspects of prestige: vertical
     prestige (coming from power structure of society, religion,
     parents, social expectations, etc.) and horizontal prestige
     (coming from peers, brothers and sisters, fellow members of a
     social group). We belong to nested social groups: sibling
     group, family, neighborhood or community social group, clan
     or tribe, city, state, race, class, nation, bloc or alliance,
     continent, humanity, and, I suppose, in the future, solar
     system, galaxy, galactic cluster, on up...!  Secondly,
     something I added in social theory, is that what is behind
     social prestige is "ambient spiritual influence". It is very
     real. Namely, what is the mechanism by which indemnity
     impinges upon social prestige structure? It is via spiritual
     world.  Let us look at it this way: In the scientific method,
     if there are two hypotheses or theories, both which purport
     to explain a phenomenon or reality, then we tend to select
     the more elegant (simple) one, as long as it fits into our
     paradigm. That is the catch: It is time for a major paradigm
     shift in scientific theory, across the board. I'm ready for
     that. So, in this alternative hypothesis, which is not new at
     all, we come back after all to assume that, in fact, what is
     behind all the observable and perceptible phenomena which
     comprise human consciousness and behavior is not that the
     brain is a fantastically complex computer -- increasingly
     that hypothesis doesn't fit the observations and experiments
     -- but rather that the mind is a field (spirit) in the
     invisible (transcendent) realm, which impinges upon or
     interfaces with the human being through the brain, which,
     rather, is more like a transmitter and receiver. In fact, you
     can find such a structure in the neurons on a microscopic
     scale. Perhaps it is best to say the brain together with the
     mind consists of an interplay of both organic, functional
     elements and transcendent aspects. That explains a lot of
     things best. Of course, this is a very rough portrayal, just
     typed on line.  Then, in social interaction, it is not that
     the human society is a collection of organic beings seeking
     fulfillment of self interest, but rather there is a
     collective conscience or group mind, on all levels, right up
     to the nation and all humanity. That also explains why as in
     Toynbee, the famous historian, we find that parallel
     developments of civilization have occurred around the world
     at the same time many times throughout history, with no clear
     connection of trade or communication.  Then, now that the old
     concepts of the human being and society are questioned, if
     not overthrown, who is going to bring order to the chaos?
     Actually, a new model or paradigm, as in Continental Drift
     Theory, does not destroy all the old scientific foundation at
     all, but builds upon such existing and painstakingly gleaned
     knowledge and arts in many such fields as Tectonics,
     Geochemistry, Paleozoology, etc. So, to be a good doctor is
     not just a matter of going to medical school. The good doctor
     understands the heart of his patients, the heart of the
     nurses and interns he works with, the heart of the bereaved,
     as well as the physical cardium. Also, psychiatrists working
     day in and day out with mentally disturbed patients certainly
     have a better working knowledge of their subject matter than
     someone with whatever new theory.  I was on the path of
     research laboratory science (hard science), and my desire was
     to benefit mankind through science and technology. But in my
     conscience, I somehow sensed that I would ultimately better
     help mankind through social work. It is appropriate that Mama
     and Daddy sent me to Antioch -- which at that time was not
     the place to go for hard scientific preparation. And I don't
     regret that decision.  Now I have spent 23 years basically in
     social work -- I know I'm an unlikely person; in fact now I'm
     back at computers, which somehow everybody  knows is closer
     to my real talents. Anyway, I feel liberated through walking
     all those streets, visiting all those towns, meeting all
     those people, going to different countries too, talking with
     people on the streets about Jesus or Baha'ullah or Che
     Guevarra... It was all right.  Back to the subject:
     Definitely indemnity manifests both horizontally and
     vertically in the social and personal realm.  "Vertical"
     means "historical" in one sense and "spiritual"
in another sense.
     "Horizontal" means "social" in one sense and "contemporary"
     or "within one's own lifetime" in another.  Indemnity is
     roughly synonymous with "karma" but is used in some different
     ways.  Indemnity has a cause: There is a historical cause for
     the situation where a certain individual, group, or lineage
     has a debt to repay. Let us call it "the burden of sin" or
     "karma".  Secondly, indemnity has a way to be worked out.
     There are several fundamental ways: (1) Heartistic indemnity
     -- the impossibly heavy burden of debt which could only be
     paid by blood, sweat and tears of a whole race and nation,
     can in fact be liquidated by the sincerity, repentance, and
     altruism of a certain segment of that society which comes
     into the position of an offering, or which chooses to take
     upon themselves the responsibility for the collective sin or
     indebtedness. (2) If not worked out heartistically, there is
     the way of suffering. Then through this suffering, the people
     may learn, realize, deepen their hearts, gain a historical
     richness and tradition which eventually qualifies them as the
     chosen people. (3) If not worked out in suffering, there is
     punishment and bloodshed, wars, famines, etc. Inevitably that
     is the situation of the world's peoples as you see today.
     Another aspect of the structure of indemnity is the relative
     positions of (1) Messiah, (2) "John-the-Baptist" figure, (3)
     central figure, and (4) peripheral (subsidiary) leadership.
     From the viewpoint of indemnity, or providential restoration,
     it is not necessarily the obvious leader of the nation or
     society who takes on the responsibility for restoration
     through indemnity -- it is more often a quiet, unknown person
     who has a deep heart and deep insight and sense of mission.
     Sometimes it could be a poor person like your housemaid who
     is carrying a central load for the sake of the society. But
     inevitably, such a person or group cannot escape the public
     course, because the sins to be indemnified are on the public
     level, and that person or group must be like a lightning rod
     to draw the resentment and hatred of the whole society unto
     itself. That is why the Messiah is like a suffering servant,
     and true religions always undergo persecution.  How about
     inheritance?  I believe that you can build a quick structure,
     like a high scaffolding, and reach the pinnacle, but it can
     also readily collapse, if some force hits it at an angle, or
     loads the individual struts and girders. A far stronger
     structure is like a mountain or pyramid, which cannot be
     knocked down for a million years. One of the Old Testament
     prophets interpreted a king's dream in the following way:
     "... and the mountain you saw, which grows and fills the
     whole world, is the Kingdom of God, which will grow and fill
     the whole world and nobody can turn it back, and which will
     crush all who stand in its way." As a sociological metaphor,
     it is in a sense apt -- even the Kingdom of Heaven, as a
     sociological phenomenon, can be studied from the aspect of
     prestige and social interaction. You know how powerful people
     are when they get fired up about some pop star, or even an
     evil dictator like Hitler or Napoleon or Stalin.  That means
     that, by aptly made conditions laid by a chosen few, it is
     possible to establish the providential conditions to reach
     the world stage, but these may easily collapse, as I have
     seen time and again. Rather, by daily hard work and
     grassroots relationships with substantial, every-
day citizens, you build an unshakable foundation.
     Here is the catch: The Messiah is here on earth for only
     about 70 or 80 years, and then that precious opportunity is
     gone forever. So, his work has to be accomplished at an
     accelerated rate. And what indeed happened is that all the
     prepared foundation of Christianity, which was at its peak in
     1945, was rendered worthless when they rejected him out of
     jealousy and pride. Normal human foibles. But when you meet
     the Messiah, if you are claiming to be a leading Christian,
     and you act on the basis of normal human emotions, you are
     apt to make such a mistake as John the Baptist, or Judas, or
     the scribes and Pharisees, and even the disciples, who just
     ran away in the end. Now we can justify or excuse them,
     saying they were only human, but it has cost us another 2,000
     years, and then another 47 years to boot, so we have to be
     serious.  The Jewish people have such a richness. Where do
     they come from? From Iraq, basically. Lebanon comes from
     Uncle Laban; Edom came from Esau; etc. What was once
     individuals and families is now nations. And after 4,000
     years, they are still at war. The difference between the
     descendants of Abraham and the background people, who make up
     present-day Iraq, is the response of faith at the time God
     called. So their historical destinies have been completely
     different.  4,000 years is nothing when you consider
     evolution of DNA sequences, or accretion of nebulae, or the
     travel of light across the universe, or any other natural
     process on a geological, biological or astronomical scale.
     Likewise, if the human race is in fact 25 million years old,
     4,000 years is all the time we have had to develop all these
     things. And again, if we make the proper foundation, then the
     next 4,000 years ought to be much more fruitful, and will
     certainly find us populating other stars, and there must by
     all means be world peace as well as intergalactic peace.
     There must also be communication across such astronomical
     distances, transcending the speed of light.  So it is high
     time we get beyond our petty racial and cultural differences.
     The future world -- should it be a world where technology
     reigns supreme, or where a culture of heart, love, and
     artistic creative expression in a multitude of forms is the
     peak of human achievement? Technology should serve man and
     art, not the other way around.

(feel free to quote anything you find interesting!)