MODERN PIONEER
Kenworthy, Leonard S.
Modern Pioneer Search for Purpose, by Arthur E. Morgan. Antioch Press. 197 pp. $3. Reviewed by Leonard S. Kenworthy ARTHUR E. MORGAN'S Search for Purpose is a powerful and provocative statement...
...Reviewed by Leonard S. Kenworthy ARTHUR E. MORGAN'S Search for Purpose is a powerful and provocative statement of the personal philosophy of one of the contemporary pioneers of American life...
...Many readers will hope that Arthur Morgan will reveal more of his life in another volume, showing how the search for purpose has been applied in the many movements with which he has been so brilliantly associated...
...Briefly, his philosophy is "loyalty to the adventure of life...
...It is not always easy reading, but it is rewarding for those who are willing to search for answers rather than accept the platitudes of so many popular contemporary writers on peace of mind and soul or on guides to confident living...
...He likens the mind to the engines which move a boat and the emotions to the fuel which makes movement possible...
...As he has searched for a central purpose, he says, "I have come to feel much less keenly a craving for self-perpetuation than for the success of mankind in its search for enduring values...
...But for those who want to know what has motivated this man and what might be a frame of reference for their own lives, this book will be stimulating...
...Morgan has contributed to many fields during his lifetime, including pioneer work in education at Antioch College, frontier work in the development of the Tennessee Valley Authority as a social laboratory as well as an engineering feat, leadership in the small community movement, editorship of Antioch Notes, authorship of several books, and, more recently, work in economically underdeveloped nations in Asia and Africa...
...Although he has placed high value upon an intellectual approach, he has not been unmindful of the impact of emotions...
...Readers of The Progressive should find this an unusually stimulating volume and a good antidote to much of the contemporary writing on philosophy...
...His book is written with the same honesty, sincerity, candor, and spirit of free inquiry which have characterized this giant among men throughout his life...
...His method has been one of cutting loose from traditional thinking and accepted myths and setting out to evaluate ends and means in a daring spirit of free, intellectual inquiry...
...To him "playing with life is treason...
...For those who would like to have had an account of his remarkable life, the book may be a disappointment, as there is little of a general autobiographical nature in this.volume...
Vol. 20 • April 1956 • No. 4
