Article October 1, 2013

Forward—Higher Thinking, Better Living

Joseph G. Harrison

Originally published in the May 4, 1970 issue of The Christian Science Monitor

Man's attitude towards the environment, like his attitude towards his fellowmen, stems from his own view of himself and of his relationship to life's whole. Pollution is not something which springs up automatically and unavoidably as an economy broadens or as human activity increases or as population multiplies. Pollution comes from the quality of men's thinking about themselves and from their overall concept of what life does and should include.

As man's respect for himself rises, as his determination to live a purer (in all the various aspects of this word) life grows, he becomes increasingly uncomfortable in surroundings which do not reflect his higher vision. To a mind that is gross, pollution and filth give little or no offense. But we have seen throughout history that a rising level of intelligence and morality has brought with it an improved physical environment.

At times there seems to be regression. We are in one such period. Many feel that the pollution of water, air, and earth which characterizes so many of the more developed areas of the world today contradicts the thesis of mankind's progress from age to age. We do not accept this interpretation. True, pollution has become an urgent, immediate problem. But it is man's very unease in this condition 'which shows how far he has come in grasping the need to make his earthly surroundings correspond to his higher concepts.

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