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The Will and the Understanding or
The Affective and the Cognitive or
Good and Faith or
Heart and Lungs or Internal and External Mind

See also Freedom and Choice

The Will and the Understanding in Modern Psychology

I equate Swedenborg's concepts of the "will" with the motivational or affective domain in contemporary psychology, while the cognitive domain is identified with the understanding. I made up various exercises my students could do in order to better learn this distinction, to reinforce it, and to apply the concept in many behavioral areas.

For example, they would analyze a social situation or personal experience in terms of its affective elements (e.g., feelings, desires, intentions, goals, values), in terms of its cognitive elements (e.g., plans, reasonings, thoughts, decisions), and in terms of its external, sensorimotor elements (e.g., uses, sensations, movements, speech acts). In this way they came to realize that the overt social happenings are joint outcomes of the interior activity of the will and the understanding acting together. (If you are interested in how I expanded this idea for my research activities you can consult the entries for AFFECTIVE and COGNITIVE in my Topical Index)

Quoting from Swedenborg:  THE WILL AND THE UNDERSTANDING

Divine Wisdom (Whitehead) 10. 10. X.

THERE IS A RECIPROCAL CONJUNCTION OF LOVE AND WISDOM.

It is an arcanum not yet revealed that there is a reciprocal conjunction of love and wisdom, or, what is the same, of the will and the understanding, also of affection and thought, likewise of good and truth. That there is a conjunction, reason is able to discover, but not that the conjunction is reciprocal. It is evident that reason can discover that there is a conjunction from the conjunction of affection and thought, in that no one can think without affection; and whoever is willing to investigate may perceive that affection is the life of thought, also that such as the affection is such is the thought, consequently when one burns the other burns, and when one grows cold the other grows cold. When, therefore, a man is glad he thinks with gladness, when he is sad he thinks with sadness, likewise when he is angry he thinks angrily, and so forth. From your higher thought enter into your lower and attend and you will see. There is a like conjunction of love and wisdom, because all affection is of love and all thought is of wisdom. There is a like conjunction of will and understanding, for love is of the will and wisdom is of the understanding. There is a like conjunction of good and truth, because good is of love and truth is of wisdom, as has been shown in the preceding article. On this conjunction see what has been set forth in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem (n. 11-27).

[[2]] That the conjunction is reciprocal may also be concluded from affection and thought, in that affection produces thought and thought reproduces the affection. But it can be concluded especially from the reciprocal conjunction of the heart and lungs, for, as has been shown before (articles vi. and vii.), there is a full correspondence in man between the heart and the will, and between the lungs and the understanding; therefore from the conjunction of the heart and lungs we may gain instruction concerning the conjunction of the will and the understanding, and thus concerning the conjunction of love and wisdom. From the parallelism established between the heart and lungs and the will and understanding, it can be seen that:

1. The life of the will conjoins itself to the life of the understanding.

2. The conjunction is reciprocal; and what it is.

3. The life of the understanding purifies the life of the will; and also perfects and exalts it.

4. The life of the will co-operates with the life of the understanding in every motion; and on the other hand, the life of the understanding co-operates with the life of the will in every sensation.

5. Likewise in sound and in its speech.

6. In like manner in the good and in the evil; with the difference that in the evil the life of the will is not purified, perfected, and exalted through the life of the understanding, but is defiled, depraved, and made brutish.

7. Love, which is the life of the will, constitutes the whole life of man.

[[3]] But first it is to be known that by the life of the will love and affection are meant, and by the life of the understanding wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge are meant. It is also to be known that the heart itself, with all its vessels throughout the body, corresponds to the will, and its blood to the love and its affections which constitute the life of the will; also that the lungs, together with the trachea, the larynx, and the glottis, and finally the tongue, correspond to the understanding; and that respiration which is effected by the inflow of air through the larynx and trachea into the bronchia of the lungs, corresponds to the life of the understanding. All this must be known that the truth opened by correspondences may be rightly comprehended. Now, therefore, we proceed to the parallelism.

1. The life of the will conjoins itself to the life of the understanding.

It is evident from the parallelism that the life of the will which is love, flows into the understanding and constitutes its inmost life, and that the understanding receives it spontaneously; also that in co-operation the will through the influx of its love into the understanding first produces affections which are proper to the will or love, and then perceptions, and finally thoughts with ideas. That this is so can be seen from the conjunction of the heart with the lungs. The heart sends all its blood into the lungs through its right auricle and makes its vessels to be full of blood, and from this the lungs from being white take the color of the blood. The heart sends its blood through a covering or outmost coat called the pericardium, and this coat encompasses the vessels even to the inmost parts of the lungs. Thus the heart constitutes the life of the lungs, and gives them the power to respire. Respiration takes place by the influx of air into the bronchia, and by their reciprocal motions or breathings.

[2] 2. The conjunction is reciprocal; and what it is.

From the parallelism it can be seen that the understanding sends back the life of love received from the will, yet not by the same way by which it receives it, but by another towards the sides; and that the will thus makes the life active in the entire body. But this reciprocal conjunction can be more fully comprehended from the reciprocal conjunction of the heart and lungs, because they are similar. The heart, as has been said above, sends the blood into the lungs through its right auricle, and the lungs send back what is so received into the left auricle of the heart, thus by another way; and the heart from its left ventricle pours it forth with great force in every direction, through the aorta into the body, and through the carotids into the brain; and by these arteries and their ramifications the heart makes life active throughout the body; for to the heart in its arteries the active force belongs. This arterial blood then flows into the veins in every direction, and through these it flows back to the right ventricle of the heart, and from this again as before into the lungs reciprocally. This circulation of the blood is unceasing in every man, because the blood corresponds to the life of the love, and the respiration to the life of the understanding. From what has been said, it is clear that there is a reciprocal conjunction of love and of wisdom, and that love alone is the very life of man.

[3] 3. The life of the understanding purifies the life of the will, and also perfects and exalts it.

That the life of the understanding purifies the life of the will is evident not only from correspondence with the lungs and the heart, but also from this, that man is born into evils from his parents and consequently he loves corporeal and worldly things more than celestial and spiritual things; and therefore his life, which is love, is depraved and impure by nature. Every one can see from reason that this life cannot be purified except by means of the understanding, and that it is purified by means of spiritual, moral, and civil truths, which constitute the understanding. Consequently there has been given to man the ability to perceive and think affirmatively of things that are contrary to the love of his will, and not only to see that they are true, but also, if he looks to God, he is able to resist them and thereby remove the depraved and filthy things of his will, and thus it is purified. This, too, may be illustrated by the defecation of the blood in the lungs. That the blood poured in from the heart is defecated in the lungs is known to anatomists, from the fact that more blood flows from the heart into the lungs than flows back from the lungs into the heart; also, that it flows in crude and impure, and flows back refined and pure; also, that there is in the lungs a cellular tissue, and into this the blood of the heart excretes its worn-out parts, casting them into the little vessels and bronchial branches; also that the mucus in the mouth and the nostrils is partly from that source as also the vapor of the breath. All this makes clear that the feculent blood of the heart is purified in the lungs. By this what has been said just above may be illustrated, since the blood of the heart corresponds to the love of the will, which is the life of man, and the respiration of the lungs corresponds to the perception and thought of the understanding, by means of which purification is effected. [[2]] The life of the understanding also perfects and exalts the life of the will, because the love of the will, which constitutes the life of man, is purged from evils by means of the understanding, and from being corporeal and worldly man becomes spiritual and celestial, and then the goods and truths of heaven and of the church come to be of his affection and nourish his soul. Thus the life of his will is made new, and the life of his understanding is from that, and thus both are perfected and exalted. This is done in the understanding and by means of it, although from the will, for the will is the man himself. This, too, may be confirmed from the correspondence of the lungs and the heart. The lungs, which correspond to the understanding, not only purge the blood of its feculent matters, as has been said, but also nourish it from the air; for the air is full of volatile elements and odors homogeneous with the material of the blood; and there are also innumerable net works of blood-vessels in the lobules of the bronchia which in their manner imbibe what flows against them; and from this the blood becomes fresh and bright and is rendered arterial, such as it is when it passes from the lungs into the left cavity of the heart. That the atmosphere nourishes the blood in the lungs with new aliments is evident from much experience. For there are currents of air which are harmful to the lungs, and others that refresh them, thus some that are hurtful and some that are wholesome; there are persons afflicted with adipsia who have lived a long time without earthly food, thus upon food drawn from the atmosphere alone; there are species of animals, as bears, vipers, chameleons, and others, that sustain life for a time with no other food. All this makes clear that the blood in the lungs is nourished from the atmosphere. And it is thus according to correspondences that the life of the understanding perfects and exalts the life of the will.

[4] 4. The life of the will co-operates with the life of the understanding in every motion; and on the other hand, the life of the understanding co-operates with the life of the will in every sensation.

It has been shown above that the will and the understanding co-operate in each and in all things of the body, as the heart and lungs do; but it has not yet been shown that the will is the prime agent in producing motions, and that the understanding is the prime agent in presenting sensations. That the will is the prime agent in producing motions follows from its ministration, in that it acts, for doing and acting are from the will; and that the understanding is the prime agent in sensation follows also from its ministration, in that it perceives, and from that experiences sensation. Nevertheless, no motion or sensation can exist without the co-operation of the two. This also appears from the co-operation of the heart and lungs. That the heart is the prime agent and the lungs the secondary is evident from the muscles; in these the arteries act, and the coats of the ligamentous tissue re-act. The arteries are constricted by fibers incited from the brain, and are relaxed by the coats of overlying ligamentous tissue. The arteries are from the heart; and since the ligamentous tissue is a continuation of the diaphragm or the peritoneum, or from some other source, it partakes of the alternate motion of the lungs. From this it is clear that in motions the blood of the heart is the prime agent, and the respiration of the lungs the secondary. As the respiration of the lungs is the secondary agent in the muscular tissue by means of the ligamentous tissue which partakes of the motion of the lungs, so this ligamentous tissue constitutes a common sheath for the muscles, and also for the coats of the motor fibers, and thus they enter into their most minute parts; and from this, too, there are reactions, both general and particular; and the particular can be variously multiplied under the general, according to a law of nature that is in force in all things. It is similar with the will and the understanding. But that the lungs are the prime agent in sensation and the heart the secondary is evident from an examination of the organs of the senses, which will confirm this. But since their textures are intricate and various, this cannot be so described here as to be apprehended. It is sufficient to know that all the organs of the senses correspond to such things as pertain to the understanding; for the organ of sight corresponds to intelligence, the organ of hearing to obedience from hearkening, the organ of smell to perception, the tongue to wisdom, and the touch to perception in general.

[5] 5. Likewise in sound and in its speech.

It has been said already that the formations of love from the will in the understanding are first affections, then perceptions, and finally thoughts; and it is known that all sounds are from the lungs, and that there are variations of sounds that derive very little from the understanding, and there are those that derive more, and some derive much. The sounds that derive little from the understanding are those of song and music; those that derive more from the understanding are the interior sounds of speech; those that derive still more from the understanding are the exterior sounds of speech; speech itself manifests the things of the understanding by means of the articulations of sounds that are words. That there is a correspondence of sounds and of speech with the life of the will, which is love, and with the life of the understanding which is wisdom, can be perceived by the hearing, that is, from the sound of the voice what the affection of one's love is, and from the speech what the wisdom of his understanding is. This is perceived clearly by angels, but obscurely by men. The correspondence of the sound itself is with the general affection of love in the understanding. The correspondence of the variations of sound, like those of song and music, is with variations of the affections that are from the love of the will in the understanding. The correspondence of the variations of sound that derive but little from the understanding is with perception; those that derive more is with the variation of perceptions; and the correspondence of those that derive much is with thought and its variations; and the ideas of thought correspond with the words. This in brief. There are two lungs that are called lobes; the fountains of their respiration are called bronchia; the channel in which they close is called the trachea, or the rough artery; the head of the trachea is called the larynx, and the opening for sound there is called the glottis; there is a continuation therefrom into the nostrils and the tongue; and an exit through the opening of the lips. All these in one complex belong to the lungs, to their respiration and to their sound-making, and taken together they correspond to the understanding from the will, their sound-making to the understanding, and their motions to the will.

[6] 6. This is done with the good and with the evil, with the difference, that with the evil the life of the will is not purified, perfected, and exalted through the life of the understanding, but is defiled, depraved, and made brutish.

Every man has a will and an understanding, and there is a reciprocal conjunction of the will and the understanding alike with the evil and with the good. But the love of the will and consequently also the wisdom of the understanding differs with each individual, and this to such an extent that with the good and with the evil they are opposite. With the good there is the love of good and the understanding of truth therefrom, but with the evil there is the love of evil and the understanding of falsity therefrom. As, therefore, with the good the love of the will is not only purified by means of the understanding, but is also perfected and exalted, as has been shown above, it follows that with the evil the love of the will is defiled, depraved, and made brutish by means of the understanding. In externals there appears to be a likeness, because externals simulate and counterfeit, but in internals there is unlikeness. [[2]] But how the matter really is can be fully illustrated by the correspondence of the heart and lungs. Every one has a heart and lungs; and with every one there is a reciprocal conjunction of the heart with the lungs, and with every one the blood of the heart is dephlegmated in the lungs, and is nourished by volatile elements and odors from the air, and yet in a wholly different way with the good and with the evil. What the dephlegmation is, and what the nourishment of the blood is, in the lungs with the good and with the evil, can be concluded from the following examples of experience. In the spiritual world a good spirit draws to his nostrils with delight all kinds of fragrant and sweet odors, and abhors putrid and bad odors; but an evil spirit draws to his nostrils with delight putrid and bad odors of all kinds, and shuns fragrant and sweet odors. This is why in the hells there are foul, disgusting, dungy, and cadaverous smells, and other like things, and this because every odor corresponds to the perception that is from the affection of one's love. The reverse is true in the heavens. [[3]] From all this it is clear that with man in this world, the blood, by means of the air, is nourished by like substances as being homogeneous, and is purged of unlike substances as being heterogeneous. The human blood is spiritual in its inmosts, and corporeal in its outmosts; consequently those who are spiritual nourish the blood from such things in nature as correspond to things spiritual; while those who are merely natural nourish it from such things in nature as correspond to the natural. This is why the unlikeness of the blood in men is such, and is as great as is the unlikeness of their loves, for the blood corresponds to the love, as is evident from what has been said above.

[7] 7. Love, which is the life of the will, constitutes the whole life of man.

It is believed that thought constitutes the whole life of man; but it is love. it is so believed because thought appears to man, and love does not. If you take away love, or any stream of it that is called affection, you cease to think, grow cold, and die; but not when you take away thought only, as when the memory fails, or in sleep, in swoons, in suffocation, or in the womb; although in these conditions the thought ceases, yet life goes on as long as the heart beats, for the heart corresponds to the love. It is the same with the will and the understanding, for love pertains to the will, and thought to the understanding. [[2]] That love constitutes the whole life of man has been made clear in the foregoing pages from the correspondence of the heart with the lungs, and it has been shown from that correspondence that as in the womb the heart forms the lungs, in order that respiration may be accomplished thereby, and thus speech be produced, so love forms the understanding, that it may thereby think and from thought may speak. It has also been thus shown that love produces from itself affections, and from these come intentions, through these perception, from which come lights, and through perception thought from which are ideas, and from these memory; also that these taken together make up the love's understanding, and to these in a like series all things of the lungs correspond. [[3]] And as the love has formed the understanding for the use of thought and of speech, so it has formed the other functions of life for their uses, some for the use of nourishment, some for the uses of chyle-making and blood-making; some for the uses of procreation, some for the uses of sensation, some for the uses of action and of locomotion; and in all of these nothing but the former itself, which is love, can make the life to act. The formation was effected through the heart and its blood, because the blood corresponds to the love and the heart to its receptacle; while the viscera, organs and members of the whole body are the parts in which the functions of uses have been formed by the love through the heart. Anyone who can investigate will see that there are similar progressions of uses from first to last in these things as in the lungs. From all this and from what precedes it is clear that the love of the will constitutes the whole life of man, and that the life of the understanding is from the will, consequently that man is his love, and his understanding is from that love and according to it.

XI.

LOVE TO THE LORD FROM THE LORD EXISTS IN CHARITY, AND WISDOM IN FAITH.

Those who think only naturally and do not at the same time think spiritually concerning love to the Lord and concerning charity towards the neighbor, do not think otherwise, because they are unable to think otherwise, than that the Lord is to be loved as to the person, and also that the neighbor is to be loved as to the person; but those who think both naturally and spiritually, perceive and from perception think that both an evil man as well as a good man can love the Lord as to the person, and the neighbor likewise can be loved as to the person; and that if an evil man loves he cannot be loved in return; but that if a good man loves he can be loved in return. Therefore the spiritual-natural man concludes that to love the Lord is to love that which is from Him, which in itself is Divine, in which the Lord is; and that this is doing good to the neighbor; and that thus and in no other way can one be loved by the Lord and be conjoined to Him through love. But in respect to this matter the natural man is unable to reflect upon its spiritual principles until they are presented before him in a distinct manner. Therefore they shall be distinctly presented under the following heads:

LOVE AND CHARITY.

1. The love of uses is charity.

2. The Lord is the source (a quo), and the neighbor is the object (ad quem).

3. Love to the Lord exists in charity, because in use.

4. Use is to perform one's office, and to do one's work rightly, faithfully, sincerely, and justly.

5. There are general uses which are also uses of charity.

6. Uses become uses of charity only with one who fights against evils, which are from hell;

7. Since these are contrary to love to the Lord, and contrary to charity towards the neighbor.

8. Uses that have one's own good for their first and last end are not uses of charity.

WISDOM AND FAITH.

1. Faith is nothing else than truth.

2. Truth becomes truth when it is perceived and loved, and it is called faith when it is known and thought.

3. The truths of faith look on one hand to the Lord, on the other to the neighbor.

4. In brief, how the Lord is to be approached that conjunction may be effected, and how afterwards the Lord performs uses through man.

5. Both of these are taught by truths, spiritual, moral, and civil.

6. Faith is to know and think them; charity is to will and do them.

7. Therefore when the Divine love of the Lord exists with man in charity, which is to will and do truths, the Divine wisdom of the Lord exists with man in faith, which is to know and think truths.

8. The conjunction of charity and faith is reciprocal.

LOVE AND CHARITY.

1. The love of uses is charity.

[[2]] In each and everything there are these three, end, cause, and effect; the end is that from which, the cause is that by means of which, and the effect is that in which; and when the end by means of the cause is in the effect, it then exists. In every love and its affection there is an end, and the end intends or wills to do what it loves, and the thing done is its effect. The Lord is the end from which, man is the cause by means of which, and the use is the effect in which the end exists. The Lord is the end from which, because from His Divine love He perpetually intends or wills to do uses, that is, to do good to the human race. Man is the cause by means of which, because he is or can be in the love of uses; and in that love he intends or wills to do uses; and uses are the effects in which the end exists; and uses are what are called goods. From this it is clear that the love of uses is the charity that man should have toward the neighbor. That in each and all things there is an end, a cause, and an effect, may be explored from anything whatever; as when a man is doing anything he says either to himself or to another, or another to him, Why are you doing this, What is the end? Also, How will you do this, that is, By what cause? Also, What are you doing, that is, What will the effect be? The end, the cause, and the effect, are called also the final cause, the mediate cause, and the thing caused; and by the law of causes the end is everything in the cause, and thus everything in the effect, for the end is the very essence of the cause and the effect. So of the Lord; as He is the end, He is everything in the love of uses or charity with man, consequently is everything in the uses done by man, that is, in the uses done through man. From this it is believed in the church that all good is from God and nothing of it is from man, and that God is good itself. It follows, therefore, as a consequence that doing charity is doing uses, or the goods that are uses, thus that the love of uses is charity.

[2] 2. The Lord is the source (a quo) and the neighbor is the object (ad quem).

It is clear from what has been said above that it is from the Lord that the love of uses or charity is and exists. The neighbor is the one for whom, since the neighbor is the object towards whom charity is to be cherished, and to whom charity is to be manifested. As it is said that the neighbor is the object (ad quem), it shall be told what and who the neighbor is. In a broad sense the neighbor is the general or public good; in a more limited sense it means the church, one's country, a society greater or less; and in a restricted sense it means a fellow-citizen, a companion, and a brother. To perform uses to any of these from love is to exercise charity towards the neighbor, for these are loved when this is done. These are then loved because love of uses and love of the neighbor cannot be separated. A man may, indeed, from love of uses or from charity do good to an enemy or to an evil man; but to such he performs the uses of repentance or of reconciliation, and these uses are various, and are accomplished by various methods (see Matt. 5:25, 43, 44, seq.; Luke 6:27, 28, 35).

[3] 3. Love to the Lord exists in charity, because it exists in use.

This the Lord Himself teaches in John:

He that hath My commandments and doeth them, he it is who loveth Me. If any one love Me he will keep My word. He that loveth Me not keepeth not My words (14:21, 23, 24).

In the same:

If ye keep My commandments ye shall abide in My love (15:10).

To keep His precepts, words, and commandments, is to do the goods of charity, which are uses to the neighbor. In the same:

Three times Jesus said to Peter, Lovest thou Me? and three times Peter replied that he loved Him. Three times Jesus said, Feed My lambs and My sheep (21:16-17).

"Feeding lambs and sheep" are the uses or goods of charity with those who preach the gospel and love the Lord. This makes clear that love to the Lord exists in charity, since it exists in use; also that the conjunction of love to the Lord with charity towards the neighbor, and thus the conjunction of the Lord with man, is in use; and that the conjunction is such and as great as is the love of use, for the Lord is in use as He is in the good that is from Him, and the man who is in the love of use is in use as if from himself, and yet he acknowledges that it is not from him, but is from the Lord. For man cannot love the Lord from himself, nor can he love uses from himself; but the Lord loves man and reciprocates His own love in him and makes it to appear to him as if he loved the Lord from himself. This, then, is love of the Lord from the Lord. And from this it is clear how love to the Lord exists in charity, that is, in the love of uses.

[4] 4. Use is to perform one's office and to do one's work rightly, faithfully, sincerely, and justly.

It is only known obscurely and only by some what is really meant in the Word by the goods of charity, which are called "good works," also "fruits," and here uses. From the sense of the letter of the Word it is believed that they consist in giving to the poor, assisting the needy, doing good to widows and orphans, and like things. But such uses are not meant in the Word by "fruits," "works," and goods of charity;" but it means performing one's office, business, and work rightly, faithfully, sincerely, and justly. When this is done the general or public good is consulted, also one's country, a society greater and less, the fellow-citizen, companion and brother, who, as has been said above, are the neighbor in a broad and in a restricted sense. For when this is done every one, whether he be a priest, governor or officer, a merchant, or a laborer, is every day doing uses; a priest by preaching, a governor or officer by his administrative work, a merchant by trading, and a laborer by his work. As for example, a judge who judges rightly, faithfully, sincerely, and justly, is doing uses to the neighbor as often as he judges; a minister in like manner as often as he teaches; so in other instances. That such uses are meant by the goods of charity and by "works" is evident from the Lord's government in the heavens. In the heavens as in the world, all are engaged in some function or service, or in some office or work; and every individual enjoys magnificence, wealth, and happiness, according to his fidelity, sincerity and justice therein. One who is lazy and slothful is not admitted into heaven, but is cast out either into hell, or into a desert place where he lives in want and misery. Such things in the heavens are called goods of charity, works and uses. Every one who has been faithful, sincere and just in his employment and work in the world is faithful, sincere, and just when he has left the world; and he is received in heaven by the angels; and every one has heavenly joy according to the quality of his faithfulness, sincerity and justice; and for the reason that a mind devoted to its employment and work from the love of use is held together, and is then in spiritual delight, which is the delight of fidelity, sincerity and justice, and is withheld from the delight of fraud and malice, also from the delight of idle conversation and feasting, which is the delight of idleness; and idleness is the devil's pillow. Every one can see that the Lord cannot dwell in the love of these; but He can dwell in the love of the former.

[5] 5. There are general uses which are also uses of charity.

The proper and genuine uses of charity are the uses of each one's function and administration, as has been said above. These then become goods of charity, in which love to the Lord exists, or with which that love is conjoined, when man does them from spiritual fidelity and sincerity, which those have who love uses because they are uses, and who believe that every good is from the Lord. But besides these there are other general uses, as faithfully loving the marriage partner, rightly bringing up children, managing the home prudently, and dealing justly with servants. These works become works of charity when they are done from the love of uses; and in reference to a marriage partner when they are done from mutual and chaste love; such uses are household uses which are uses of charity. There are still other general uses, such as contributing proper offerings and dues to the ministry of the church, and such good works become uses of charity so far as the church is loved as the neighbor in a higher degree. Again, among general uses may be included the expenditure of means and labor for building and maintaining orphanages, houses for the reception of strangers, gymnasia, and other like institutions, some of which are matters of indifference. To give aid to the needy, to widows, to orphans, solely because they are needy, widows and orphans, and to give to beggars solely because they are beggars, are uses of external charity, which charity is called piety; but these are uses of internal charity only so far as they are derived from use and the love of use. For external charity without internal charity is not charity; the internal must be there to make it charity; for external charity from internal charity acts prudently, but external without internal charity acts imprudently, and often unjustly.

[6] 6. Uses become uses of charity only with one who fights against evils, which are from hell.

For the uses that a man does so long as he is in hell, that is, so long as the love that makes his life is in hell and from hell, are not uses of charity, for they have nothing in common with heaven, and the Lord is not in them. The love of a man's life is in hell and from hell so long as he has not fought against evils, which are in hell and from hell. These evils are clearly set forth in the Decalogue, and will be made clear in the explanation of it. Such uses as are done either under a show of charity or under a show of piety are described in the Word; such as are done under a show of charity are thus described in Mathew:

Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied by Thy name, and by Thy name cast out demons, and in Thy name done many mighty works? And then will I profess unto them, I know ye not; depart from Me, ye workers of iniquity (12:22, 23).

And such as are done under a show of piety are thus described in Luke:

Then shall ye begin to say, We did eat before Thee and drink, and Thou didst teach in our streets. But He shall say, I say unto you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from Me, all ye workers of iniquity (13:26, 27).

These are meant also by:

The five foolish virgins that had no oil in their lamps, to whom the bridegroom said at his coming, I know you not (Matt. 25:1-12).

For so long as infernal and diabolical evils have not been removed by combat, although man is able to perform uses, yet there is nothing of charity in them and consequently nothing of piety, for interiorly they are defiled.

[7] 7. Since these are contrary to love to the Lord, and contrary to charity towards the neighbor.

For all uses that in their essence are uses of charity are from the Lord, and are done by Him through men, and the Lord then conjoins Himself with man in the use, that is, love to the Lord conjoins itself with charity towards the neighbor. That no one can perform any use except from the Lord, He Himself teaches in John:

He that abideth in Me and I in him, the same beareth much fruit; for without Me ye cannot do anything (15:5).

"Fruit" is use. The uses done by a man who has not fought or is not fighting against evils, which are from hell, are contrary to love to the Lord and contrary to charity towards the neighbor, for the reason that the evils that lie concealed within such uses are contrary to the Lord, thus contrary to love to Him and therefore contrary to the love of use, which is charity. For hell and heaven cannot be together, since they are opposites, that is, one against the other; consequently those who perform such uses do not love the neighbor, that is, the common or public good, the church, the country, a society, the follow-citizen, the companion and the brother, who in a broad and in a restricted sense are the neighbor. That this is true has been made evident to me by very many experiences. These uses are such within the man who does them. And yet out of the man they are uses, and are stirred up by the Lord with man for the sake of the general and the particular good; but they are not done from the Lord, and in consequence they are not rewarded in heaven, but are rewarded or will be rewarded in the world.

[8] 8. Uses that have one's own good for their first and last end are not uses of charity.

It has been shown above in this chapter that the end is the all of the effect, that is, the all of use, and that the Lord is that end, and that it is from the end that a use is a use of charity. Consequently when man, that is, his own special good, is the end, he is the all of the effect, or the all of the use; and thus his use becomes a use in appearance but not in essence, in which there is life from the body but no life from the spirit.

WISDOM AND FAITH.

[9] 1. Faith is nothing else than truth.

The Christian world, when charity had ceased, began not to know that charity and faith are one, consequently that no faith is possible where there is no charity and no charity where there is no faith. From this ignorance there sprung a blindness that destroyed all knowledge of what charity is, or what faith is. They then began to separate these, not only in thought but also in doctrine, and thereby to divide the Christian Church, which in itself is one, into many, and to distinguish them according to the dogmas of faith separate; and when charity and faith are separated with man it is not known what charity is or what faith is; for charity must give being to faith, and faith must so teach; moreover, charity must enlighten and faith must see; consequently, if charity and faith are separated man has neither the one nor the other; as when you take away a candle you take away the light also, and there is thick darkness. This is why faith has come to mean that which a man believes and does not see; therefore it is said that this or that is to be believed, and it is seldom said, "I do not see," but it is said, "I believe." Thus no one knows whether what he believes is true or false. So the blind leads the blind, and both fall into the pit. It is acknowledged, indeed, that faith is nothing else than truth when it is said that truth is of faith, and that faith is of truth. But when it is asked whether this or that is a truth, the answer is, "It is a matter of faith," and no further inquiry is made. Thus with the eyes shut and the understanding closed, everything believed where one is born is accepted as a truth of faith. Such blindness was never called faith by the ancients; but their faith was what they could acknowledge to be true from some light in the thought. This is why in the Hebrew language truth and faith are expressed by a single term, amen or amuna.

[10] 2. Truth becomes truth when it is perceived and loved, and it is called faith when it is known and thought

The defenders of faith separate wish to be believed when they say that spiritual things cannot be comprehended by the human understanding because they transcend it; and yet they do not deny enlightenment. This enlightenment, which they do not deny, is what is here meant by perception, thus by the statement that truth becomes truth when it is perceived and loved. And yet it is the love of truth that causes the truth perceived to become truth, for that is what gives life. Enlightenment is that perception because all truth is in light, and into that light the understanding of man can be elevated. All truth is in light because the light that proceeds from the Lord as a sun is truth itself; and for this reason all truth in heaven shines, and the Word, which is the Divine truth, gives to the angels in heaven their common light, therefore also the Lord is called "the Word" and "the Light" (John 1:1-3). It has been granted me to know by much experience that the human understanding can be elevated into that light, even the understanding of those who have no love of truth, but have only a desire for knowing, or who are in an affection for glory therefrom; but with the difference that those that have a love of truth are actually in the light of heaven, and for that reason have enlightenment and perception of truth when they read the Word; while others have no enlightenment and perception of truth, but only a confirmation of their own principles, and they do not know whether these are true or false; and with the further difference that those who have a love of truth, when they read the Word and think from it, keep the sight of their understanding constantly on the principle itself, and thus seek to know whether it is true before it is confirmed. But the others, from the knowledge in their memory, assume a principle, not wishing to know whether it is true, and if they desire a reputation for learning they confirm the principle by means of the Word and the reason. The genius of learning, which is self-conceit, is such that it can confirm any falsity, even so as to make it appear to themselves and to others to be true. This is the source of heresies, dissensions, and the defense of discordant dogmas in the church. And from this comes the difference that those who have a love of truth are wise and become spiritual, but the others remain natural and are insane in things spiritual. Truth is called faith when it is known and thought, because a truth perceived becomes afterwards a matter of memory which is believed. And from this it is clear that faith is nothing else than truth.

[11] 3. The truths of faith look on one hand to the Lord, on the other to the neighbor.

All truths look to these three things as their universal objects, above them the Lord and heaven, near them the world and the neighbor, and beneath them the devil and hell; and truths will teach man how he can be separated from the devil and hell, and can be conjoined to the Lord and heaven, and this by means of his life in the world in which he is, and his life with the neighbor with whom he is; by means of these all separation and all conjunction is effected. That man may be separated from the devil and hell and be conjoined to the Lord and heaven, he must know what evils are and what falsities from them are, because these are the devil and hell; and he must know what goods are and what truths from them are, because these are the Lord and heaven. Evils and falsities are the devil and hell because they are therefrom, and goods and truths are the Lord and heaven because they are therefrom. Unless a man knows goods and truths and evils and falsities he sees no way of egress from hell, and no way of entrance into heaven; these are what truths must teach, and the truths that teach have been given to man in the Word and from the Word; and as the way to heaven or to hell is from the world, and as man's life is in the world and with the neighbor there, therefore that life is the way that truths teach. For this reason if a man's life is according to the truths of the Word, the way to hell and from hell is closed, and the way to the Lord and from the Lord is opened, and the man's life becomes the life of the Lord with him. This is what is meant by the Lord's words in John:

I am the way, the truth, and the life (14:6).

On the other hand, if a man's life is contrary to the truths of the Word, the way from heaven and to heaven is closed, and the way to hell and from hell is opened, and the man's life becomes not life but death. It has been said above respecting charity that the Lord's life with man is a life of charity towards the neighbor, and that conjunction is in the love of uses; and as truths teach that life, it is evident that they look on the one hand to the Lord, and on the other to the neighbor.

[12] 4. Truths teach how the Lord is to be approached, and how afterwards the Lord performs uses through man.

How the Lord is approached has already been told, and it will be told more fully in the explanation of the Decalogue. How the Lord afterwards performs uses with man shall now be told. It is known that man from himself can do nothing good that is good in itself, but he can do this from the Lord, consequently he can perform no use that in itself is use, for use is good. From this it follows that the Lord does every use that is good by means of man. It has been shown elsewhere that the Lord wills that man should do good as if from himself; but how man is to do good as if from himself is also taught by the truths of the Word, and as this is taught by truths it is clear that truths are matters of knowledge and thought, and that goods are matters of willing and doing; thus that truths become goods through willing and doing; for what a man wills and does he calls good, and what a man knows and thinks he calls truth; so in the deed, thus in good, there is willing and thinking and knowing. Consequently the complex of these in the ultimate is good; and this has in itself an external form from truths in the thought and an internal form from the love of the will. But how the Lord performs uses in man which are goods has been told and shown in the explanation of the laws of His Divine providence.

[13] 5. Both of these are taught by truths, spiritual, moral, and civil.

First, it shall be shown what spiritual truths, moral truths, and civil truths are; secondly, what a spiritual man is, also a moral and a civil man; thirdly, that the spiritual is in the moral and the civil; fourthly, that if these are separated there is no conjunction with the Lord.

(1) What spiritual truths, moral truths, and civil truths are. Spiritual truths are those that the Word teaches respecting God,-that He is the one Creator of the universe; that He is infinite, eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, provident; that the Lord as to the Human is His Son; that God the Creator and the Lord are one; that He is the Redeemer, the Reformer, the Regenerator and Savior; that He is the Lord of heaven and earth; that He is the Divine love and Divine wisdom; that He is good itself and truth itself; that He is life itself; that everything of love, of charity, and of good, also everything of wisdom, of faith, and of truth, is from Him, and nothing of these is from man; therefore that no man has merit because of any love, charity, or good, or because of any wisdom, faith, or truth; consequently that He alone is to be adored; so again, that the Word is the holy Divine; that there is a life after death; that there is a heaven and a hell; a heaven for those who live rightly, and a hell for those who live wrongly; also many things pertaining to doctrine from the Word, as respecting Baptism and the Holy Supper. These and like things are properly spiritual truths. But moral truths are those that the Word teaches respecting the life of man with his neighbor, which life is called charity. The goods of this life, which are uses, have relation, in brief, to justice and equity, to sincerity and uprightness, to chastity, to temperance, to truth, to prudence, and to benevolence. To the truths of moral life belong also the opposites which destroy charity, and which have relation, in brief, to injustice and inequity, to insincerity and fraud, to lasciviousness, to intemperance, to lying, to cunning, to enmity, to hatred and revenge, and to ill-will. These latter are called truths of moral life, because all things that a man thinks be true, whether evil or good, he classes among truths; for that this thing is evil or that thing is good he speaks of as a truth. These are moral truths; but civil truths are the civil laws of kingdoms and states, which have relation, in brief, to many phases of justice that are observed, and on the contrary to the various kinds of violence that exist in act.

[[2]] (2) The spiritual man is also a moral and a civil man. It is believed by many that the spiritual are those who know the spiritual truths enumerated above, and especially those who talk about them, and still more those who perceive them with some understanding. But such are not spiritual, for this is merely knowing, and thinking and speaking from knowledge, and perceiving from a gift of understanding that every man has, and these things alone do not make a man spiritual. There is lacking from these love from the Lord; and love from the Lord is the love of uses which is called charity. In charity the Lord conjoins Himself to man and makes him spiritual, for man then performs uses from the Lord and not from himself. This the Lord teaches in many places in the Word, and thus in John:

Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine, so neither can ye except ye abide in Me. I am the vine, ye are the branches; he that abideth in Me and I in him, the same beareth much fruit; for apart from Me ye cannot do anything (15:4, 6).

"Fruits" are uses or goods of charity; and goods of charity are nothing else than moral goods. This makes clear that a spiritual man is also a moral man. A moral man is also a civil man, because civil laws are uses themselves in act, which are called practices, works, and deeds. Take for example the seventh* commandment of the Decalogue, "Thou shalt not steal." The spiritual meaning in this commandment is that a man must not take anything from the Lord and attribute it to himself and call it his, also must not take away from any one the truths of his faith by means of falsities. The moral meaning in this commandment is that man must not deal insincerely, unjustly, and fraudulently with his neighbor, or cunningly take away his wealth. The civil meaning in the commandment is that a man must not steal. Who cannot see that the man who is led by the Lord, and who is thereby a spiritual man, is also a moral and a civil man? Again, take the fifth** commandment, "Thou shalt not kill." The spiritual meaning in this commandment is, that man must not deny God, thus the Lord; for to deny Him is to kill and crucify Him with oneself; also he must not destroy spiritual life in another, for thus he kills his soul. The moral meaning in the commandment is that man must not hate his neighbor, or desire to have revenge, since hatred and revenge have murder in them. The civil meaning in the commandment is that another's body must not be killed. From this also it is clear that a spiritual man, who is one that is led by the Lord, is also a moral and a civil man. This is not true of one who is led by himself, of whom something shall be said presently.

[[3]] (3). The spiritual is in the moral and the civil. This follows from what has been said above that the Lord conjoins Himself with man in the love of uses, or in charity towards the neighbor. The spiritual is from conjunction with the Lord; the moral is from charity, and the civil is from the practice of charity. The spiritual must be in man that he may be saved; and this is from the Lord, not above or outside of man but within him; it cannot be in man's knowledge alone or from that in his thought and speech, it must be in his life, and his life is willing and doing; consequently when knowing and thinking are also willing and doing the spiritual is in the moral and in the civil. If it be asked, "How can I will and do?" the answer is, Fight against evils, which are from hell, and you will both will and do, not from yourself but from the Lord, for when evils are put away the Lord does all things.

[[4]] (4). If these are separated there is no conjunction with the Lord. This can be seen from reason and from experience. From reason: If a man had such a memory and such an understanding as to be able to know and perceive all the truths of heaven and of the church, but was unwilling to do any of them, is it not said of him that he is an intelligent man but an evil man, yea all the more he should be punished? From this it follows that he who separates the spiritual from the moral and the civil is not a spiritual man or a moral man or a civil man. From, experience: There are such persons in the world, and I have talked with them after death, and have learned that they knew all things of the Word and many truths therefrom, and believed that on this account they would shine as stars in heaven; but when their life was examined it was found to be merely corporeal and worldly, and from the evils and propensities they had thought and purposed in themselves they were merely infernal. For this reason all the things they had known from the Word were taken away from them, and they became each his own will, and were cast into hell to their like, where they talked insanely according to their thoughts in the world, and acted basely according to their loves in the world.

[14] 6. Faith is to know and think these truths; and charity is to will and do them.

It has been shown above that truth is called faith when man knows and thinks it; it shall now be shown that truth becomes charity when man wills and does it. Truth is like a seed; viewed out of the ground it is merely a seed, but when it passes into the ground it becomes a plant or a tree, and puts on its own form and thus takes another name. Truth is also like a garment, which apart from man is merely a piece of cloth fitted to the body, but when it is put on it becomes clothing in which is a man. It is the same with truth and charity. So long as truth is known and thought it is merely truth, and is called faith; but when a man wills and does it it becomes charity, just as a seed becomes a plant or a tree, or a piece of cloth becomes clothing in which is a man. Moreover, knowledge and thought therefrom are two faculties distinct from the will and the act therefrom, and they may be separated; for a man may know and think many things that he does not will and thus does not do. When these are separated they do not constitute the life of man; when they are conjoined they do constitute it. It is the same with faith and charity. All this can be made more clear by comparisons. In the world light and heat are two distinct things, which may be separated or may be conjoined; in the winter season they are separated, in the summer season they are conjoined. When separated they do not produce vegetable life, that is, they do not produce anything; but when conjoined they do produce and bring forth. Again, the lungs and the heart in man are two distinct things whose motions may be separated or may be conjoined. They are separated in swooning and suffocation; and when separated they do not constitute the life of man's body, but when conjoined they do constitute it. It is the same with man's knowledge and thought therefrom to which faith pertains, and with will and deed to which charity pertains, the lungs and also light correspond to faith therefrom, and the heart and also heat correspond to the will and to charity therefrom. From all this it can be seen that in faith separated from charity there is no more of life than in knowing and thinking separated from willing and doing; in this the only life is that man wills to think, and makes himself speak and believe accordingly.

[15] 7. Therefore when the Divine love of the Lord exists with man in charity, which is to will and do truths, the Divine wisdom of the Lord with man exists in faith, which is to know and think truths.

What is meant by the Divine love of the Lord and what by His Divine wisdom has been told above; charity and faith and the conjunction of the Lord in the love of uses, which is charity with man, have also been defined; now the conjunction of the Lord with the faith that is with man shall be treated of. The Lord conjoins Himself with man in charity and from charity in faith, but not in faith and from faith in charity. The reason is that the conjunction of the Lord with man is in the love of man's will, which makes his life, thus in charity, which makes his spiritual life. From this the Lord gives life to the truths of thought, which are called truths of faith, and conjoins them to the life. The first truths with man, which are called faith, are not yet living truths, for they are only in the memory and in thought and speech from the memory, adjoined to man's natural love, which is led to imbibe them by its craving to know; and by its craving for a reputation for knowledge and learning it calls them forth into thought or speech. But these truths begin to be living truths when man is regenerating, and this is effected by a life according to them, and such a life is charity. Then man's spiritual mind is opened, in which a conjunction of the Lord with man is effected, and thus the truths of man's infancy, childhood, and early youth are made alive. Also a conjunction is effected of the Divine love and wisdom with charity in man, and of the Divine wisdom and the Divine love in the faith in him, making charity and faith to be one in man, as the Divine love and Divine wisdom are one in the Lord. But on this more will be said in the explanation of the Decalogue.

[16] 8. The conjunction of charity and faith is reciprocal.

This has been explained above, where the reciprocal conjunction of love and wisdom was treated of, and has been illustrated by its correspondence with the reciprocal conjunction of the heart and lungs.

* Seventh for fifth. ** Fifth for seventh.

NJHD 28

Man has two faculties which make his life; one is called the Will, and the other the Understanding. These faculties are distinct from each other, but are so created that they may be one; and when they are one they are called the Mind. Of these, then, the human mind consists.

NJHD 29

As all things in the universe, which are according to Divine order, have relation to good and truth, so all things with human beings have relation to the will and the understanding; for good with people is of their will, and truth with them is of their understanding; for these two faculties, or these two lives of people, are their receptacles and subjects. The will is the receptacle and subject of all things of good, and the understanding the receptacle and subject of all things of truth. Goods and truths with people are nowhere else; and because goods and truths with people are nowhere else, so neither are love and faith elsewhere; for love is of good, and good is of love; and faith is of truth, and truth is of faith.

TCR 397

(1) The will and understanding. 1. Man has two faculties which constitute his life; one called the will and the other the understanding. These are distinct from each other, but so created as to be one, and when they are one they are called the mind; consequently these are the human mind, and in them the whole of man's life resides in its principles, and therefrom in the body. 2. As all things in the universe which are according to order, have relation to good and truth, so all things in man have relation to the will and understanding; since good in man pertains to the will, and truth to the understanding; for these two faculties or these two lives of man are their receptacles and subjects - the will being the receptacle and subject of all things of good, and the understanding the receptacle and subject of all things of truth. Here and nowhere else are the goods and truths in man, and as goods and truths in man are nowhere else, so love and faith are nowhere else, since love belongs to good and good to love, while faith belongs to truth and truth to faith. 3. Again, the will and understanding constitute man's spirit, for in these his wisdom and intelligence reside, also his love and charity, and in general his life. The body is mere obedience.

4. Nothing is more important than to know how the will and understanding make one mind. They make one mind as good and truth make one; for there is a marriage between the will and the understanding the same as between good and truth. The nature of that marriage will be made clear in what is now to be set forth respecting good and truth, namely, that as good is the very being [esse] of a thing, and truth its manifestation [existere] there from, so is the will in man the very being of his life, while the understanding is its manifestation therefrom; for good, which belongs to the will, takes form in the understanding, and there presents itself to view.

A frequent argument made by Swedenborg is that the will and the understanding always act together in such a way that the will directs the understanding, which in turn directs one's overt behavior. In dualist science, all things of the body correspond to all things of the mind or spirit. In this case, the will corresponds to the circulatory system while the understanding relates to the respiratory system. This correspondence between the physical and the spiritual offers a rational and objective method for describing features of one in terms of the other.

Here is one of many examples one can find in his writings:

Quoting from Swedenborg:

DLW 384

Since all things of the mind have relation to the will and understanding, and all things of the body to the heart and lungs, there are in the head two brains, distinct from each other as will and understanding are distinct. The cerebellum is especially the organ of the will, and the cerebrum of the understanding. Likewise the heart and lungs in the body are distinct from the remaining parts there. They are separated by the diaphragm, and are enveloped by their own covering, called the pleura, and form that part of the body called the chest. In the other parts of the body, called members, organs, and viscera, there is a joining together of the two, and thus there are pairs; for instance, the arms, hands, loins, feet, eyes, and nostrils; and within the body the kidneys, ureters, and testicles; and the viscera which are not in pairs are divided into right and left.

Moreover, the brain itself is divided into two hemispheres, the heart into two ventricles, and the lungs into two lobes; the right of all these having relation to the good of truth, and the left to the truth of good, or, what is the same, the right having relation to the good of love from which is the truth of wisdom, and the left having relation to the truth of wisdom which is from the good of love. And because the conjunction of good and truth is reciprocal, and by means of that conjunction the two become as it were one, therefore the pairs in man act together and conjointly in functions, motions, and senses.

The Primacy of the Affective over the Cognitive

In psychology there is an important debate that has not yet been resolved by generations of researchers. This is the question whether the affective or the cognitive is primary.

To say that the affective is primary is to say that feelings cause thoughts. Or, that feelings direct thoughts. Or, that thoughts are from feelings. Or, first there is a feeling -- then there is a thought. Etc.

To say that the cognitive is primary is to say that thoughts cause feelings. Or, that thoughts direct feelings. Or, that feelings are from thoughts . Or, first there is a thought -- then there is a feeling. Etc.

It is easy to see why some psychologists say that feelings are from thoughts. This is exactly what it looks like to external observation. For instance, we can observe ourselves get angry when we recall an unpleasant situation. It seems then that first, the unpleasant thought comes into our awareness, second, we react to it emotionally. Or, in another situation, we ask someone to explain why an action and the person replies "I thought he was picking on me, so I felt bad and left." It seems here that, first the person has a thought or conclusion ("he is picking on me"), and second, an affective reaction ("so I felt bad").

Swedenborg refers to this appearance of the cognitive being primary as the Jacob and Esau story. In the Old Testament of the Bible, Jacob and Esau were twin brothers born to Isaac and Rebecca. Esau was positioned to be born first, but at the last moment, Jacob displaced him and was born first. In the language of spiritual-natural correspondences, all names, objects, and events have reference to the mind or spirit. Jacob always refers to the cognitive and Esau to the affective. The significance of this historical episode, as analyzed by Swedenborg, is that the affective (Esau) is primary in reality, but in appearance, as viewed externally, the cognitive (Jacob) is seen first.

The drama of Jacob scrambling to come out ahead of Esau represents the battle we have in becoming wise and loving adults. As children, we begin life in apparent innocence. We are lovable and attractive affective (right-brained) creatures. Our appeal as infants lies in the fact that we are happy to obey the wisdom (or cognitive) of the adults and authority figures. With an immature cognitive, an infant has no other choice but to obey the rule of authority, and their willingness to do so (affective) makes them irresistible to most parents and adults.

Things begin to go wrong at around the age of 7 or 8, when the permanent "adult" teeth push their way out, and the young individual begins a life of cognitive independence. Now the child suddenly changes interaction styles and begins to act like "I'm in business for myself now." It ushers in the age of arguments. For a young mind, this developmental phase begins the Golden Age of the Cognitive. The mind's computing power grows at a dizzying rate. The cognitive soars into the stratosphere of self-reliance and becomes rebellious to authority, disdainful of tradition, and fills itself with fake sentiments of grandeur or dejection. It is the period of Jacob setting forth in life and doing his thing no matter who gets stepped on. In human development, the cognitive appears to be first. But this is an illusion, like the appearance that the sun moves around us instead of the other way round. It is a characteristic of the mind that thoughts are more visible to our awareness than feelings. We are expected to know what we are thinking about something (that's part of one's IQ), but only mature well-put together people know how they feel about many things. When we act like thoughts precede feelings, that is, when feelings remain invisible in the background, we operating in full or partial blindness.

This state of mind and character is represented by the wily Jacob who maneuvers himself to come out of the birth canal first, talks Esau out of his birth right, deceives his old father into giving him the blessing intended for Esau, enriches himself at the expense of his uncle Lavan who hires him to tend his flock, and so on. But in the end, reality prevails. In adult life, Jacob fears Esau, humbles himself before him and calls him "My Lord." This is the recognition of the cognitive that the affective is in reality primary.

What about the appearances? The famous James-Lange theory of emotions says that first, we see a bear, then we decide it is dangerous, as a result of which our adrenaline begins to pump, which we then sense in our body, which feels like fear, and that finally makes us run away. The sequence seems to be:

The Apparent (not Real) Sequence

external stimulus ----->cognitive interpretation----->physiological response----->sensing physiological response----->affective state----->sensorimotor act

Without prejudice, let us try to accept the other model, namely where the affective is primary, and see if we can give a rational account of events as we can observe them. We see a bear. Assuming it is unexpected and unchained, we become aware of our thoughts -- "what's it doing here; it's unchained; it's mad; it's gonna get me, etc." In fact however, the sight of the bear instantly arouses the affective, whose explosive activity gives rise to these various thoughts. This scenario requires the assumption that the affective is faster, more differentiated, more integrated, and less visible to awareness than the cognitive.

The Real (not Apparent) Sequence

external stimulus ----->differentiated affective states----->congruent cognitive interpretations----->physiological responses----->sensing physiological responses----->sensorimotor acts

The sequence affective--->cognitive--->sensorimotor is found everywhere in Swedenborg's writings, as in the following samples:

For additional maps of this kind, see here. For related maps applied generally, see here.

Swedenborg was always meticulous in respecting the primacy of the affective. In the paragraph quoted above (DLW 384), the following stands out:

Moreover, the brain itself is divided into two hemispheres, the heart into two ventricles, and the lungs into two lobes; the right of all these having relation to the good of truth, and the left to the truth of good, or, what is the same, the right having relation to the good of love from which is the truth of wisdom, and the left having relation to the truth of wisdom which is from the good of love.

Note his care with the expressions "the good of truth" and "the truth of good." First, he specifies that "the good of truth" (right brain) is the same as "the good of love from which is the truth of wisdom." Translating, we have "the affective of the cognitive" = "the affective from which is the cognitive." It is thus explicitly stated that the cognitive is from the affective. The affective is primary. Second, it is specified that "the truth of good" (left brain) is the same as "the truth of wisdom which is from the good of love." Once again the directionality is strictly maintained: the cognitive (truth or wisdom) is from the affective (good or love).

The A/C connection is discussed in Swedenborg in the analysis of Chapter 25 of Genesis n the Old Testament, which treats of the birth of Jacob and Esau, and their early rivalry starting in the womb. In Swedenborg's exegesis of Verses 26 to 34, the principles are laid down for the primacy of the affective (or good) over the cognitive (or truth).

Note:

While reading these passages from Swedenborg, I recommend that you mentally substitute the word "affective" wherever you see the words "good," "love," or "charity", and to substitute the word "cognitive" wherever you see the words "memory-knowledge," "truth," or "faith." In this way you can discover many psychological, medical, and aesthetic principles governing the connection between our feelings (the affective) and our thoughts (the cognitive). The word "church" generally refers to the church within, or the mind composed of the affective and cognitive combined. The numbers within the passages refer to Numbers in AC (the multi-volume book called "Arcana Coelestia") and allows more detailed exploration of each issue mentioned.

AC 3293

Two nations are in thy womb. That this signifies the natural as to interior and exterior good, that there is conception, is evident from the signification of "nations," as being goods, especially the goods of the church (see n. 1159, 1258, 1260, 1416, 1849); and that here the goods which are in the natural are signified, is evident from the fact that Esau and Jacob, who were then in the womb, represent the Divine natural, as will become very evident from what follows, where they are treated of.

The natural, like the rational, consists of good and truth; the good in the natural is all that which is of natural affection, and is called delight; but the truth is all that which is of the memory, and is called memory-knowledge. These two must be in the natural for there to be any natural.

By itself, memory-knowledge abstractedly from any delight which is of affection, is not anything; for the natural has its life from the delight within it; and from this derives its ability to know anything; whereas delight, which is the good of the natural, is something without memory-knowledge; but only such a vitality as infants have. In order therefore for the natural to be human it must consist of both, the one being perfected by the other; but it has its real life from good.

[2] As regards this good which is here treated of, it is twofold, interior and exterior; the interior good communicates with the interior man, that is, with the rational; while the exterior good communicates with the external man, that is, with the things of the body, and makes the life in the external senses, and also in the actions. Without this twofold communication, we cannot live either as to the reason or as to the body. It is the interior communication which abides with each individual after death, and then makes our natural life, for as spirits also we have natural life, inasmuch as our spiritual life is terminated in the natural as in an ultimate plane; for immediately after death we are not able to think spiritually, except from the things that belong to our natural.

AC 3289

And the sons struggled together within her. That this signifies combat as to which, is evident from the signification of "struggling," as being combat; and from the signification here of "sons," as being the natural as to good and as to truth; for that Esau and Jacob, who were the sons, represent the Divine natural, Esau the Divine natural as to good, and Jacob as to truth, will become evident from what follows. This struggling or combat is treated of in this chapter, being concerning the priority, as to whether good or truth is prior, or what is the same, whether charity which is of good, or truth which is of faith, is prior. From the earliest times there has been much contention in the spiritual church concerning this question; and because this priority is treated of in what follows, it is said that the "sons struggled within her," and by this is signified combat as to which.

AC 3304

"And his hand laid hold on Esau's heel". That this signifies the lowest of the good of the natural to which it adhered with some power, is evident from the signification of "band," as being power (see n. 878; and that it is predicated of truth, n. 3091); from the signification of "laying hold of," as being to adhere; from the signification of "heel," as being the lowest of the natural (see n. 259); and from the representation of Esau, as being the good of the natural (see n. 3302). Hence it is evident that "his hand laid hold on Esau's heel" signifies the lowest of the good of the natural to which truth adhered with some power.

[2] As regards truth adhering with some power to the lowest good of the natural, the case is this: The natural, or the natural man, when being regenerated, has its conception as to good and truth from the rational, or through the rational from the spiritual; through this from the celestial; and through this from the Divine. Thus does the influx follow in succession, and beginning from the Divine descends until it terminates in the lowest of the natural, that is, in the worldly and corporeal. When the lowest natural is affected with faults by what is hereditary from the mother, truth cannot be united to good, but can only adhere to it with some power; nor is truth united to good until these faults have been driven away.

This is the reason why although good is indeed born with us, truth is not; and therefore infants are devoid of any knowledge of truth; and truth has to be learned, and afterwards conjoined with good (see n. 1831, 1832).

Hence also it is said that they "struggled together in the midst of her," that is, they fought (n. 3289). From this it follows that from the first conception truth supplants good, as is said of Jacob in regard to Esau:

Is not he named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times (Gen. xxvii. 36).

And in Hosea:

To visit upon Jacob his ways, according to his doings will he recompense him; in the womb he supplanted his brother (xii. 2, 3).

[3] They who keep the mind solely in the historicals, and who are not able to withdraw it from them, do not know but that these and former passages simply foretell the events which came to pass between Esau and Jacob, and this conviction is confirmed also by what follows. But the Word of the Divine is of such a nature that the historicals are in their own series, while the spiritual things of the internal sense are in theirs; so that the former may be viewed by our external self, and the latter by the internal self, and that in this way there may be a correspondence between the two, namely, between our external self and our internal; and this by means of the Word, for the Word is the union of earth and heaven, as has been frequently shown. Thus in every one who is in a holy state while reading the Word, there is a union of one's external self which is on the earth, with one's internal self which is in heaven.

AC 3321

[2] Hence it is that our rational can be accommodated to truths and receive them before our natural, as may be plainly seen from the fact that with one who is to be regenerated the rational part battles much with the natural; or what is the same, our internal self with the external. For as also is known, the internal self can see truths and also will them, but the external refuses assent and resists; for in the natural self there are memory-knowledges which are in a great measure derived from the fallacies of the senses, and which, despite their being false, we believe to be true.

There are also things innumerable which the natural self does not apprehend; for that part is relatively in shade and thick darkness, and that which it does not apprehend, it believes either not to exist, or not to be so; there are likewise cupidities which are of the love of self and of the world, and all things that favor these the natural self calls truths; and when we yield to these the dominion, all things that result are contrary to spiritual truths.

There are also in our natural self reasonings that are grounded in falsities impressed from infancy. Moreover, we apprehend by manifest sense what is in our natural self, but not so what is in our rational, until we have put off the body. This also causes us to believe the body to be every thing; and all that does not fall into the natural sense, we scarcely believe to be anything.

[3] From such causes and many others, it results that we receive truths in the natural self much later, and with greater difficulty, than our reception of truth in our rational self. Hence arises combat, which continues for a considerable time, not ceasing until the vessels recipient of good in our natural part have been softened by temptations, as before shown (n. 3318); for truths are nothing but vessels recipient of good (a. 1496, 1832, 1900, 2063, 2261, 2269), which vessels are harder in proportion as we are more fixedly confirmed in the things which have been mentioned; and if we are to be regenerated, the more fixedly we have been confirmed, the more grievous is the combat.

AC 3324

[2] The good itself which is of life is prior; the good which is of life being the very ground in which truths are to be sown; and such as is the ground, such is the reception of the seeds, that is, of the truths of faith. Truths may indeed be first stored up in the memory, like seeds in a granary, or with birds in their crops; but they do not belong to the man unless the ground is prepared; and such as is the ground, that is, such as is the good, such is their germination and fructification. But see on this subject what has been already shown in many places, which will be here cited in order that it may be known what good is and what truth, and that the priority belongs to good and not to truth:

[3] Why there is no distinctive idea as between good and truth (n. 2507). That good flows in by an internal way unknown to us, while truth is procured by an external way down to our conscious self (n. 3030, 3098) That truths are vessels recipient of good (n. 1496, 1832, 1900, 2063, 2261, 2269, 3068, 3318). That good acknowledges its truth, with which it may be conjoined (n. 3101, 3102, 3179); and that most exquisite exploration is made and precaution taken lest falsity be conjoined with good, and truth with evil (n. 3033, 3101, 3102). That good makes for itself the truth with which it may be conjoined, because it does not acknowledge anything as truth except that which agrees with it (n. 3161). That truth is nothing else than that which is from good (n. 2434).

[4] That truth is the form of good (n. 3049). That truth has in itself an image of good; and in good the very effigy of itself from which it exists (n. 3180). That the seed which is truth is rooted in the good which is of charity (n. 880). That faith is impossible except in its life, that is, in love and charity (379, 389, 654, 724, 1608, 2343, 2349). That from love and charity we can look to the truths which pertain to the doctrinal things of faith, but not the reverse; and that to look from faith, and not from love and charity, is to look behind one's self, and to turn back (n. 2454).

That truth is made alive in accordance with the good of each person, thus in accordance with the state of innocence and charity in each individual (n. 1776, 3111). That the truths of faith can be received only by those who are in good (n. 2343, 2349). That when we are in states of no charity we cannot acknowledge the Divine, thus not any truth of faith; and that if we profess an acknowledgment in such a state, it is something external without an internal, or is from hypocrisy (n. 2354). That there is no faith where there is no charity (n. 654, 1162, 1176, 2429). That wisdom, intelligence, and memory-knowledge are the offspring of charity (n. 1226). That in the angelic state of mind we are in intelligence and wisdom because we are then in the state of love (n. 2500, 2572).

[5] That angelic life consists in the goods of charity, and that as angels, we are forms of charity (n. 454, 553). That love to the Divine is a "likeness" of God, and charity toward the neighbor an "image" of God (n. 1013). That through love to the Divine, as angels we perceive whatever is of faith (n. 202). That nothing lives except love and affection (n. 1589). That when we have mutual love, or charity, we have the Divine's life (n. 1799, 1803). That love to the Divine and the neighbor is heaven itself (n. 1802, 1824, 2057, 2130, 2131). That the presence of the Divine is according to the state of love and charity (n. 904). That all the commandments of the decalogue, and all things of faith, are in charity (n. 1121, 1798).

That knowledge of the doctrinal things of faith effects nothing unless we exercise charity, for doctrinal things look to charity as their end (n. 2049, 2116). That neither the acknowledgment of truth, nor faith, is possible unless we are in good (n. 2261). That the holy of worship is according to the quality and quantity of the truth of faith implanted in charity (n. 2190).

[6] That there is no salvation by faith, but by the life of faith, which is charity (n. 2228, 2261). That the heavenly kingdom is given to those who have the faith of charity (n. 1608). That in heaven all are regarded from their charity and the derivative faith (n. 1258). That none are admitted into heaven except by willing good from the heart (n. 2401). That they are saved who are in faith, provided that in their faith there is good (n. 2261, 2442). That the faith which has not been implanted in the good of life altogether perishes in the other life (n. 2228). That if the faith of thought were saving, all would be brought into heaven; but because the life opposes they cannot be brought in (n. 2363).

AC 3325

"Sell me as this day thy birthright." That this signifies that as to time the doctrine of truth was apparently prior, is evident from the signification of "selling," as being to claim for one's self; and from the signification of "as this day," meaning as to time, for in the internal sense of the Word "this day" signifies that which is perpetual and eternal (n. 2838); and in order that it might not be so in the present case it is said "as this day," thus by "as" it becomes only apparently so; and from the signification of "birthright," as being prior, namely that the doctrine of truth, which is represented by Jacob, is so (n. 3305).

[2] By prior, or priority, which is signified by "birthright," is meant not only priority of time, but also priority of degree; that is, as to which should have the dominion, good or truth. For such is always truth before it has been conjoined with good, or what is the same, such are we always when we are merely in truth, that is, before we are regenerate and believe truth to be both prior and superior to good, and so indeed it then appears.

But when in us truth has been conjoined with good, that is, when we have been regenerated, we then see and perceive that truth is posterior and inferior; and then in them good has dominion over truth, which is signified by what Isaac his father said to Esau:

Behold of the fatness of the earth shall be thy dwelling, and of the dew of heaven from above; and on thy sword shalt thou live, and thou shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck (Gen. xxvii. 39, 40).

[4] But that good is the firstborn (that is, the good of love to the Divine, and of love toward the neighbor, for there is no other good than that which is good from these loves) is evident from the fact that there is life in good, but none in truth except the life which is from good; and that good flows into truths and causes them to live may sufficiently appear from what has been stated and shown above concerning good and truth (n. 3324). Wherefore all are called "firstborn" who are in love to the Divine and in charity toward the neighbor, and these were also represented in the Jewish Church by what is firstborn, that is, they are meant by it in the relative sense, because God is the Firstborn, and all that are firstborn are likenesses and images of the Divine.

[11] When we are in that state of mind called the spiritual church, in the beginning, or when it is about to be planted, the doctrine of truth is the firstborn with the external church, and the truth of doctrine is the firstborn with the internal church; or what is the same, the doctrine of faith is the firstborn with the external church, and faith itself with the internal church. But when the church has been planted, that is, when it exits with us in life and practice, the good of charity is the firstborn with the external church, and charity itself with the internal. But when the church within us does not suffer itself to be planted, as is the case when our mind can no longer be regenerated, by successive steps it recedes from charity and turns away to faith, being no longer studious of life but of doctrine; and when this is the case it casts itself into shades and falls into falsities and evils, and thus becomes no church, and is of itself extinguished.

DP 11

It is known, indeed, that all things in the universe have relation to good and truth; for by good is understood that which universally comprehends and involves all things of love, and by truth that which universally comprehends and involves all things of wisdom; but it is not yet known that good has no reality unless united to truth, and truth has no reality unless united to good. It appears, indeed, as if good has reality without truth, and as if truth has reality without good; but still they have not. For love, all things pertaining to which are called goods, is the being (esse) of a thing, and wisdom, all things pertaining to which are called truths, is the existing (existere) of a thing from that being, as is shown in the treatise THE DIVINE LOVE AND WISDOM (n. 14-16). Since being has no reality without existing, and existing has no reality without being, so good has no reality without truth and truth has no reality without good. So, too, what is good that is not related to anything? Can it be called good, since it is subject neither to affection nor to perception?

[2] The principle in intimate connection with good which affects, and which causes itself to be perceived and felt, has relation to truth, for it has relation to what is in the understanding. If you say to anyone simply "good", and not that this or that thing is good, has good any reality? It has reality when it is used of something which is perceived to be good. This union with good takes place nowhere but in the understanding, and every thing of the understanding relates to truth. It is the same with willing. To will, without knowing, perceiving, and thinking what one wills, has no reality; but together with these it takes on reality. All willing is of love, and has relation to good; and all knowing, perceiving, and thinking are of the understanding, and have relation to truth. From this it is clear that to will has no reality, but to will this or that has reality.

It is the same with every use, because a use is a good. Unless [3] a use is determined to something with which it may be one, it is not a use, and thus it has no reality. Use derives from the understanding that something as its own; and that which is united or adjoined to the use from the understanding has relation to truth; and from this the use derives its quality. From these few illustrations it may be evident that good [4] without truth has no reality; and likewise truth without good. When it is said that good with truth and truth with good have reality, it follows from this that evil with falsity and falsity with evil have no reality; for the latter are opposite to the former. Now opposition destroys, and in this case it destroys that which has reality; but this will be treated in what follows.

Good & Faith

Religious Psychology has two principal components: good and faith. By good is meant spiritual loves or affections. and by faith is meant spiritual cognitions or beliefs. Our loves and our religious beliefs or standards are the two kingdoms of religious psychology. These two are to the mind as circulation and respiration are to the body. Good or love provides the impulse to act, the motivation, or first end, which is served by the act. The religious affections of a person have, as their content, the person's deepest emotions, highest ideals, strongest longings; they include a desire for immortality, for life after death, for eternal happiness and progress, for peace, tranquility, inmost creativity and fulfillment. Religious affections govern our morality, our ideals, our lifestyle, our conduct. They are embedded in our early childhood emotions and feelings of security, innocence, love of obedience, happiness, and freedom. A child is happy and free because reliant on adult care; the idea of God, sin, punishment, angels, heaven, hell, are rock foundations upon which the adult rational will be built.

The Good of religion consists of the affections received in childhood; these include, love toward parents, caretakers, peers, pets; enjoyments of food, play, reading, story telling; industry in making things, building things, discovering things; elementary [earnings such as labels, grammar, topic focus, and many others which are basic and enter into all later [earnings and skills. These childhood "remains" are implanted and remain there for future use both in this life and in the afterlife. These remains are the Good given each person by God; in this Good 'God can dwell in us because it is His Good which appears to be our own.

Faith is the total complex of one's ideals, principles, and beliefs regarding all fundamental matters of life and the self. Faith lives in our cognitions about religious teachings or doctrines. These include the identity of God, the content of Sacred Scriptures which record God's revelations to humans, the explanations in creeds, doctrinal classes, sermons, commentaries to the Word, and the various attitudes and opinions we hold regarding God, death, the Commandments, abortion, crime, altruism, war, and anything relating to religion, church, sacraments, education, customs.

Faith is the handmaiden of Good; Good governs and rules, while Faith submits and serves. Good is the origin or first end, while Faith is the cause or intermediate end; both together then determine the effect or last end. Good corresponds to Divine Substance or Love, while Faith corresponds to Divine Form or Truth (Wisdom). The following table may help establish the distinction:

things having to do with                        things having to do with

             GOOD -----------------------------------------> FAITH

__________________                                __________________

Circulation of the blood ----------------------> Respiration of air

Loves ---------------------------------------------> Beliefs

Affections ---------------------------------------> Cognitions

Perception (by intuition) --------------------> Seeing by reasoning

Impulse to act ----------------------------------> Planning the means

Motivation (purpose) ------------------------> Intended outcome

Affective skills ---------------------------------> Cognitive skills

Will -----------------------------------------------> Understanding

Good ---------------------------------------------> Truth

Origin (celestial) ------------------------------> Cause (spiritual)

Worship of the Word ------------------------> Wisdom (rationality)

Substance --------------------------------------> Form

Internal ------------------------------------------> External (intermediate)

Charity ------------------------------------------> Faith

etc.                                                                etc.

Once we understand the basis of this distinction we can generate an endless list of examples since all created things have reference to these two, and there is nothing in the universe which does not centrally fall into Good or Faith, and there is nothing in the individual which does not centrally relate to either the will (good; blood) or the understanding (faith; respiration). In the Third Testament this basic distinction is elected to that of first and foremost in all things created, and is explained in numerous ways; it permeates all other ideas we can draw from the Word. We shall attempt to describe the distinction further, particularly in respect to religious psychology.

    In general terms, all of creation is divided into two Kingdoms of the Lord: the celestial and the spiritual. These two enter into the inmost of every object or event in the spiritual and natural worlds. We might say that every object and event are effects, or consequences stemming from celestial and spiritual things within them. The celestial thing within each object or event is called the origin or essence; the spiritual thing in each object or event is called the cause or instrument. Thus, the sequence of reality is

ORIGIN-ESSENCE (celestial) => CAUSE-INSTRUMENT (spiritual)=> EFFECT-CONSEQUENCE (natural)

The celestial is prior, within, behind, and above; the spiritual is intermediate; the natural is posterior, external, forward, and below. These relations indicate the ratio between the two Kingdoms and the three zones, or the ratio between what is eternal and ubiquitous, on the one hand, and on the other, what is temporal and place-bound. Celestial things of Good and spiritual things of Faith are eternal and ubiquitous; they correspond to states within us; natural things are temporal and place-bound. Descriptions of the Good are in general terms; of Faith, in specific terms; and of natural works, in particular terms.

    The celestial Kingdom of Good is patterned after the Lord's Divine Love which is Infinite and Perfect. The spiritual Kingdom is patterned after the Lord's Divine Truth or Wisdom, which is also Infinite and Perfect. In the Lord's Divine Human these two are in union or conjunction, forming a One. Because of this Divine Union all created things are also images of this Union, which is called the Word of God, or Logos, because it comes to our conscious in the form of the written Word and its spiritual Interiors.

    The Divine Union of Good and Truth comes to us through the Interiors of the written, historicalized Word or Testament. At first, we are involved in the literal, historical sense of the Word, and we do not see spiritual things in them; the literal sense of the Word is not obviously Divine,and many for this reason have fallen away from Faith. Nevertheless, when we reactivate our childhood religious "remains" we are prepared to see the Interiors of the Word, that is, its spiritual and celestial sense. All things in the Word, whose Interiors regard Good or Love, pertain to the celestial sense, and all things in the Word whose Interiors regard Truth or Wisdom, pertain to the spiritual sense. The Third Testament teaches the intellectual skills and correspondences which we need to be able to perceive the translucent things of the Word's Interiors. For instance, historical-natural details involving geographical places in the Holy Land and journeyings therein, all involve coded references to things of Faith, the Church within us, the development of our intellect, the steps of our regeneration and how we are to cooperate in them, and many such things. When the historical natural details in the Word involve transactions between particular characters mentioned, such as Abraham binding Isaac, or Joseph's brothers selling him into slavery, or David's plot against Uriah, and so on, then the Word is making coded references to things of Good, of love, of worship, of confirmation, of intention -- and these are either harmonious with Good or antagonistic to it (evil).

    To religious psychology the value of learning to perceive the Interiors of the Word is paramount. Through these perceptions and insights we begin to feel or experience a new kind of participation in life. We have new ideas, new attitudes, new thoughts, new feelings, new sensations, new intentions. These new activities are however entirely dependent on the Word. The newness has no independent life of its own; as soon as we distance ourselves a bit from the Word, we are plunged back into darkness, back into our former way of thinking, feeling, and sensing. This is painfully obvious since our old familiar thoughts and feelings are far less in value and power than the new will and understanding we obtain from the Interiors of the Word.

    When we have confirmed this organic relation to the Word's Interiors, we feel a new powerful love for the Word. This pew love stems from the confirmation that our celestial states of heaven on earth are organically dependent on spiritual food and oxygen from the Interiors of the Word. When oxygen, blood, heat, and light are withdrawn from the body, it dies right away; similarly when the interior Trues of the Word are withdrawn from the mind, it dies and becomes a thing inert and insensible. Even in our states in hell, some heat and light from the spiritual Sun, as they descend and are perverted, must be provided, or else we are turned into inanimate stocks. The interiors of the Word provide heat and light necessary for life. Life on this planet would long have been extinguished had it not been for the revelations and doctrines, trues and correspondences, faith and good, that civilizations received from the Word. Without knowledges and rationality, without guides and commandments, as issued from the Word, no society could survive, no government could exist, no science, no communal life. All philosophical ideas, all scientific knowledge, all societal governments, take their origin from the ideas and facts given in the Word. The Third Testament reveals that there were several versions of the Word in the history of humankind on this earth. Each new Word was given through special revelations and inspiration after the old Word had been adulterated and its Trues were no longer understood. At the time of Moses, the Old Testament was given as a new Word, though remnants of the Ancient Word were still extant and used by Moses (specifically, the entire first eleven chapters of Genesis). At the time of the First Coming of the Lord, a second portion of the new Word was given as the New Testament. Finally, in 1757, at the time of the Lord's Second Coming, the third portion of this new Word was given as the Writings of Swedenborg. These three Testaments now constitute the new Word in its fullness and completion, and we are assured in the Third Testament that this Word is both infinite and eternal in its Interiors, even though its external is of course limited and finite.

    To many this notion may be a difficult one, namely, that the Infinite can lie within the finite. But the difficulty is purely natural, when the natural is removed from the spiritual. The lower rational, fed only by material ideas from the senses, cannot comprehend the infinite, or the infinite within the finite. Instead, the material idea is that the finite is within the infinite; for example, one might think of planet earth, which is large but finite, and one thinks that earth is within space, and space may be infinite; so, it appears as if the finite is within the infinite. This appearance is acceptable at the natural level separated from the spiritual; and indeed it is true that earth is within space. However, it is only an assumption that space is infinite and without boundaries or causes; many scientists dispute this notion. Certainly, scientists in the positive bias, such as Swedenborg and religious psychologists, do not assume that space is infinite; instead, they rationally see the connection between the natural and spiritual worlds, seeing the natural world as limited, temporal, and inert, while seeing the spiritual-celestial world as unlimited, eternal, living. This quality of the spiritual world is a reflection of the Infinity of the Lord's Good and Truth, since the spiritual world is closer to the genuine Good and Truth than the natural world. To the rational mind, the natural world is finite while the spiritual world is infinite; and the infinite is within the finite since the spiritual world is within the natural world.

    The notion of "within" is also difficult to comprehend purely from the natural, material ideas of the lower rational. To the natural mind, space is the interior of all objects, or else, space-and-energy. To the rational mind, space is a consequence, a phenomenon of prior forces which establish it and maintain it. The forces that maintain space are within space, and so a whole new universe of infinity is reachable through space, through its interiors. This is what the Lord teaches when He says that the Kingdom of God is within us. Our dual citizenship is such that we are born into the external-natural world, but then realize that we also exist in the internal-spiritual world, and it is to this state that we go to when we die in the external world. Our thoughts, feelings, ideas, sensations, consciousness, memories, are all in the interior world and it only appears to the natural mind that they are in the physical-natural world. However, a thought cannot exist in the natural, inert world; a thought is eternal and cannot perish or be destroyed. Yet thoughts are organized and dwell within the brain, which is limited, external, and temporary. Upon death of the brain, the thoughts that dwell in it are reorganized and released into the spiritual body and atmosphere.

    These matters are understood by the rational mind when the rational self is awakened or "opened." This is an organic process and there is no other way that it can occur except through the Word, through its Interiors or spiritual senses as given in revealed correspondences, and, their confirmation in one's daily living situations. When the spiritual senses of the Word are withdrawn or falsified through misapplication, the newly opened rational becomes insane and perverted: what is false now appears as true, and what is true now appears as false. The reason this happens is that only the good can conjoin with the true; when we are in evil and attempt to come to the Word so as to justify our evil, we only see falsities in it and further continue to pervert our life, even to damnation, or a state of bestiality and insanity. When the rational is insane individuals exhibit pathological syndromes in both spiritual and natural things: such are evil, selfish, cruel, obsessed, full of hatred and revenge, irrational, and filled with all sorts of scandalous fetishes and filthy abominations. The ills of society and the individual are direct products of spiritual insanity -- the rational gone insane.

    All forms of psycho-therapy -- the healing of the insane rational within us -- must therefore be oriented toward helping the person return to the Word, to its holy Interiors. Religious psychologists themselves cannot heal the insanity of the spiritual-rational self; their objective is to help the person return to the source of health, from which they will be healed. There is thus an organic relation between spiritual-rational sanity and the Interiors of the Word. Religious psychology helps the person return to the Word in such a way as to give the lower rational an opportunity to investigate and confirm the claim of dual citizenship. In general, the Bible is not considered by pastoral or religious counselors as the sole means for curing the ills of individuals and society; they feel that psychology (not