1. Understanding is the invoking by reason of a set of values (a morality) to recognise right from wrong , good from bad.

i. It cannot take place until a set of values has been adopted.

ii. And once adopted all understanding must reflect these values. For every time a man attempts to grasp the meaning of what he has seen, it is by invoking his founding values. A process that is similar to the use of a lever that always requires a fulcrum. The lever is reason and the fulcrum is values. The lever cannot be employed without the fulcrum. And as reason is the almost mechanical application of logic, the resulting understanding depends on the values employed, which makes reason the servant of values. Which in turn means that once a human understanding is formed (at the age of reason — seven years of age), it is for the life of that individual. And reason can never be used to change founding values (morality) because the process of reason automatically invokes the values of infancy.

2. The most crucial human value is the one formed first in infancy, which is the decision to be selfish or not. If the child is not taught that there is something more important than their own private demands, they become selfish. But if they are taught there is something more important than themselves they become unselfish.

i. It is for life for once this value has become resolved it becomes the parent of all other values.

ii. A crucial difference between the states of selfishness and unselfishness is their ability to recognise right from wrong:

a. The selfish are insane: as they are ruled by the tyranny of their emotions, which distorts their understanding. Right is what is they like, wrong is what they do not like, which of course changes with circumstances. If a murder realises private profit it is right; if it uncovers a threat to their survival, it is wrong. But they cannot form the understanding that something has a value independent of their own interests, which undermines their understanding of the world. The selfish cannot form a clear and constant understanding.

b. The unselfish are sane: as they are ruled by a fixed set of values which is more important than themselves and therefore independent of their feelings. This moral code allows them to resist the tyranny of their emotions and form a stable understanding of the world.

3. The condition of selfish or unselfishness of a citizen is decided by the experiences of infancy, which is when the foundations of understanding (morality) are established.

4. Language is understanding.