Spencer Heath Archive

Item 285

Penciling by Heath beginning on the back of page 76 of a pocket notepad (originals envelope of Item 274) containing many names of people met and notes from classes probably at Teachers’ College, Columbia University.

February 9, 1933

     Attended Dr. Limbert’s philosophy class at 9. Discussion of examination papers on Plato and Aristotle and the principles involved in the questions and answers. 10 to 11 conversation with Miss E. Goldbloom on the physiology of society and related topics including Mr. Tannenbaum’s diagram of investment and production. 11 to 11:45 Conversation with Miss Kline (or Klein) of philosophy class on physiology of society and the possibility of a dynamic Utopia as a social phenomenon to balance self-realization of the individual. She suggested that Plato’s poetic doctrine of reminiscence may carry implications leading to dynamic instead of static realizations of society and of the soul. His reminiscence may well foreshadow the later doctrine of evolution which makes of the individual an epitome of the Cosmos from whence derived as a term in a mathematical series. This contemplates the universe as process and every organism, social or individual as a term in that process. These conceptions were not open to Plato because his mathematics was static. The dynamic analogue in modern physical science is the conception of an infinitely expanding universe /Sir James Jeans?/ or an infinitely evolving creation with its death (by entropy) and birth of universes in an unending series as suggested by Millikan.

    Miss Kline desired to challenge dynamic Utopia but wanted to think about it so we set a date for further talk after Dr. Limbert’s class next Tuesday at 9.

     Saw Mrs. Elsie Elston (Young America) at 11:50 and had brief discussion. She’s hot for dynamic Utopia (Marxian) and will join us on Tuesday. Both women admit very little is thought about the physiology of Society.