Lecture Notes on
Swedenborg's Religious Behaviorism
1982


By Dr. Leon James

OUTLINE

1. All behaviors classified into three categories or levels:

I. Material behaviors (natural, physical)

II. Rational behaviors (immaterial, cognitive, mental)

III. Spiritual behaviors (affective, will, celestrial)

2. Development proceeds simultaneously at all three levels, and they interact with each other by "laws of correspondence" (functional relations between discontinuous or discrete systems) ("influx" energy exchange between organic forms arranged in a series from high to low--"laws of order")

3. S-behaviors are sensory-motor coordination, perception organization, and lower symbolic operations

(memory and imagery = "material ideas").
C-behaviors are non-material (outside space/time universals) or rational such as judgement, reasoning, and higher
symbolic operations (example fiction, doctrine, intuition)
A-behaviors are affective, spontaneous, impulsive, "connate, " "innate", and pertain to highest reception of influx.
"Reception" organic activation from outside "influx" = organic impulse from the divine.

4.

S-behaviors are located ln physical substance.

C-behaviors are located in rational substance.

A-behaviors are located in spiritual substance.

S: Physical stiumuli regularly activate C-behavior

C: Rational stiumuli regularly activate C-behavior

A: Spiritual stiumuli regularly activate A-behavior

When S, C and A "consent." (or else no S-beahvior occurs...inert)

When S, A "consents." (example: striving to understand)

When A, influx is immediate course (example: loves)

1. Influx=> A-behaviors activated (example: "impulse" and "consent")

2. C-behaviors are activated (example: "confirmation")

3. S-behaviors are activated (example: speech)

5. A-behaviors are bivalent (consonant or dissonant with influx)

(example affections = impulses to act) (Yes/No;On/Off)

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CONSONANT AFFECTIONS DISSONANT AFFECTIONS
love of God and neighbor (charity,love) love of self and power
affections for uses (selfishness, competition)
(altruism, cooperation, objectivity, religiousness) affections for personal gain
(greed, avarice, insensitivity, anger, aggression)
will to be free and good will to be bad and addicted
(maturity, enlightenment) etc. etc. (emotional instability, madness, vengeance) etc. etc.

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C-behaviors are multi-valent and infinite in variety and are instrumentally controlled by A-behaviors.

(NEEDS R & D HERE)

S-behaviors are infinite in style and composition and are ultimate effects or consequences of the A-behaviors through their C-behavior instrumentalities.

6. The following charts illustrate the A-C-S behavior scheme as it is applied to contemporary concepts, theories, and schools of psychology.

[See attached chart]

7. Through inherited and acquired characteristics ("genetic culture"= inheritance of rational and spiritual inclinations and sets) we favor the dissonant affections. This results in degeneration of A-behaviors, C-behaviors and S-behaviors.

[See attached SYMPTOMS CHART] [the "Ten Plagues"]

8. In mid-llfe, the degenerated process may be reversed through religious regeneration.

[See attached "the 6 Days of Creation]

9. Applications

-the Education of the Will

-Religious Therapy

-Discourse Analysis

Q. How does the Will-person perceive, organize,, guide, energize

(plans and their execution)?

A. See Cataloguing of loves = genetic culture through absorbtion acqui sition.

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A-Environment
(Affect/Will - substance)

We perceive

We organize our life through STRIVINGS.

We integrate our self through LOVES.(ATTRACTIONS/AVOIDANCES)

We energize body and thoughts through MOTIVATIONAL DRIVES (IMPULSES/EMOTIONS)

We adapt to external S-environment through ATTRIBUTIONS. (PERCEPTIONS)

We guide our plannings (C-environment) through VALUES. (GOALS/PURPOSES/INTENTIONS)

We conjoin ourselves to others through COMMUNITY LIFE. (BELONGING/BONDING/SOLIDARITY)

We create new ideas through FREEDOM. (STRIVING AFTER LOVES/RULING LOVES)

We reify character through varying the style of role enactments as a means for GIVING OFF IMPRESSIONS.
(FACE WORK APPERCEPTIONS)

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C-Environment
(Cognitive/Mental-substance)

We concretize our strivings through PLANNINGS.

We become aware of our loves through DECISIONS.

We channel our impulses through HABITS. (ATTITUDES/ROUTINES/SETS)

We figure out our goals through REASONINGS. (PROBLEM-SOLVING/INNER SPEECH)

We learn through COGNITIVE INFORMATION PROCESSINGS.

S-Environment
10/23/82

(Sensory/Motor-Substance)

I. PREOCCUPATIONS

1. OBSESSIVE TOPICALIZATIONS

("I can't stop thinking about my weight and appearance. ")

("I keep looking for a job that wiill really satisfy me.") (etc.)

2. THEMATIC SEEKING

("My specialty is winde tasting--I have a diploma in it.")

("I've read all of his books.") (etc.)

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Psych 222

QUALITY OF LIFE INDEX FOR SW DATA

10/23/82

(for Krupat: ENVIROMENT AND CITY: Chapter 8)

(Quiz)

A-Environment C-Environment S-Environment Illustrations
-the available comforts to enjoy (example, size of things, suitability of choice, etc.) -the local concerns (example, "taxes," "safety," "pollution," etc.) (N.B. These are "topics".) -the cost of things
-the way people treat you, their sympathy or indifference -the intellectual atmosphere (example, entertainment, museums, schools etc.) -the effectiveness of products and services
-the personal freedoms available -the standard of living index -the uses that are made of public facilities (example, parks beaches, roads, etc.)
-the pressures toward conformity (example, in dress, in values, in activities,etc -the moral atmosphere -the people that are elected or put into office in government industry, administration
-the religious atmosphere -the crime rate index -the statutes and laws enacted and recorded
-the health and safety hazards -the economic opportunities -law enforcement conditions
etc. etc -the parks, trees roads, beaches, rivers, etc.

The Chain of Organic Communication for Consciousness

The soul or pure intelligence (Bk) synthesises a series of organic substances (Br-W) (downward from a priori to a posteriori) which ultimate in the external sensories (W) and by which the soul (Bk) communicates with the natural world (example hearing doctrines and topicalizing with others) (upward from posterior to prior, from external and last ultimates to first ultimates or ends). Natural world information is successively transformed into finer and finer sensories (G) to simple and pure fine fibers inside the cortical glands (Br). The finer the organic substance (W->Br), the more inner and prior, the closest to first principles and Divine Wisdom. Every act (W) therefore has in it the other substances in their series (Y->Br) (-> Bk) (example, every sentence has all elements within its depths) (NB!! Every sentence has all 6 colors!! Praise the Lord.)

The Two Modes of Consciousness

NB! INTROSPECTION = analytic inspection

(3) -> (4) -> (5) (Captivity register)

(obscure)

WITNESSING = synthetic inspection

(5) -> (4) -> (3) (enlightened) (reborn)

(clear)

The mapping of the consciousness levels allows "the healing of the mind" when the individual learns through it to reverse modes.

EXPERIMENT: baseline/intervention

intervention = i) Studying map

ii) Striving to WITNESS every day through downward color coding

development measures =

better thinking and creativity

better grades and performance

more satisfaction and sociability

less complaints and errors

more moral and religious

(SW, RP, 135-137)

The Rational Psychology Hexagram

The soul (Bk) is organically unique and indefinitely rich in innate/connate resources (creatively unlimited). The soul acts into the pure intellect (Br) giving the latter the ability to know truths (Br) from which thoughts and ideas (higher --Bl and lower --G) are synthesized using sensories (Y, W) as objects or content.

Swedenborg's Religious Behaviorism Part 2
Swedenborg's Religious Behaviorism Part 3
Swedenborg's Religious Behaviorism Part 4
Swedenborg's Religious Behaviorism Part 5
Swedenborg's Religious Behaviorism Part 6
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