Spencer Heath Archive

Item 1290

Carbon of letter from Heath to Arthur Lapan, 412 Stratford Road, Brooklyn, New York

November 30, 1939

Dear Mr. Lapan:

I regret very much I cannot be in New York on December first to avail myself of the notice and invitation from Mr. Mr. Howe to attend the meeting of the New York Philosoph­ical Group. I am sure I would enjoy Miss Anshen’s paper and the discussion which, I presume, will follow it.

Following the suggestion in Mr. Howe’s notice, I am sending you a meager outline of “The Energy Concept of Pop­ulation.” It has, at the least, the merit of brevity. It has been criticized as being too brief, but this feature of it leaves more time and opportunity to bring out its applica­tions and implications in the course of general discussion. Moreover, the time can thus be more fully devoted to the specific inquiries and criticisms that are uppermost in the minds of those present. This should be more interesting than trying to cover them all by anticipation.

The non-employment of quantitative standards, working units or magnitudes, objectively is doubtless a chief reason for the pseudo-sciences remaining such. And science and philosophy have long occupied separate couches and borne so little living fruit for lack of the necessary terms in which to conceive quality as a peculiar and measurable aspect of energy independent of its specific quantity. The enclosed Outline exposes the possibility and attempts to meet these deficiencies.

Very truly yours,