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One effect of the Axioms, set out in the Principle of Unity, is to do away with the concept of an original model of either man or woman, or a perfect example of humanity, as a guide to the process of preparing a child for its life as an adult. Such idealistic ideas have had a powerful influence on our child-rearing in the past, but they must now be dismissed by the Society of HumanKind. The whole subject of child-rearing will have to be rebuilt on the new basis of the Axioms, Dogma and Principles. At the same time it would be the height of folly to ignore the accumulated experience of our predecessors in these matters. They seem to have managed to solve these problems well enough to preserve our species through the many thousands of years of our presence on this planet. What is needed in the era of the Society therefore, is not a root and branch rejection of all past child-rearing practice. It is a review and reassessment of the subject that applies the insight provided by the Axioms. That perspective first reveals that, while the ideal-model approach is common, there is a wide variety in child rearing practice across the range of human communities. That diversity cannot be attributed to differences in any of the fundamental characteristics or attributes of our species, nor can it be explained by fluctuations in our need to live in stable communities. The variety in child-rearing seems to result from a combination of differences in culture and shifts in thinking on the subject. There is, for instance, a wide range of definitions of the ideal-model of humankind, and numerous theories about the nature of children and their needs. There is also considerable divergence in views of the nature of the responsibilities of adults toward children, both within and between differing human communities. The approach of the Society to child-rearing practice will begin with a recognition that it will need to comply with two very different Principles. The requirement of the Principle of Peace is that every quality and characteristic of each individual must be equally valued. Its consequent conclusion, reached in the Treatises on the Individual and on Relationships, is that we should foster the widest possible degree of variety in the human species. On the other hand, the Principle of Progress requires us arrange our affairs in ways conducive to the preservation of our social order. Both those Principles will have to be accommodated in our child-rearing if the achievement of the Objective of the Dogma and the discharge of the Responsibility of the Society are to be progressed.
Approximate Word count = 1641
Approximate Pages = 6.6
(250 words per page double spaced)
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