From P.I. Painter (1 October 1946)

From Karl Polanyi
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Text in English to type

Dear old Karli,

It was very good of you to come over ___ ___ to have the enjoyment of your mind. Glad has now typed out the précis of my ideas. These include an attempt to express what I can grasp of your thought about freedom, the necessity of realising that man can only {tried} real freedom {antre} acceptance of truth that of trust comes to him as a severe ___ {tite} the fact of death, which is imp____ on man in virtue of his being a physical organism – Similarly, it is the natured society to 'embody' itself in institutions; as man is a social animal this uneradicable habit of man's social nature imposes on man a social creature a similar necessity to accept society - not the mere fact of society, but the actual concrete historical development in which society expresses itself forms to as the State, the industrial structure of modern society, etc.

I have tried to put down what I have been able to understand of this, after typed to clarify it in the light of a discussion. I'm sending the notes alone because I ___ [112] how critically important it is – that, in fact, there is normal vital obligation imposed on us by a situation today. But I don't … […]

The fact is that my mind is ____ stupid, at least in the sense that it works very slowly. I can only epxress thus sympathy in the form of the Platonic myth. When the Demiourgos (as described in the Timaeus), but busy … […] [113] of mental assimilation … […] of the myth of Timaeus [114] has enabled me to find anew freedom in the understanding & acceptance of what cannot be altered. But I have to explain it to my friends every now then so that they too may understand and expect … […]

The Tortoise found it a {freak} relief when his friends knew he couldn't be a have & accepted him as a Tortoise I assume you will {come/form} the same {hindress}.

Well, to return. […]


Letter Informations

KPA: 48/01, 111-115