Editing Robert A. Heinlein (section)

===Philosophy===
In ''[[To Sail Beyond the Sunset]]'', Heinlein has the main character, [[Maureen Johnson (Heinlein character)|Maureen]], state that the purpose of [[metaphysics]] is to ask questions: "Why are we here?" "Where are we going after we die?" (and so on); and that you are not allowed to answer the questions. ''Asking'' the questions is the point of metaphysics, but ''answering'' them is not, because once you answer this kind of question, you cross the line into religion. Maureen does not state a reason for this; she simply remarks that such questions are "beautiful" but lack answers. Maureen's son/lover Lazarus Long makes a related remark in ''Time Enough for Love''. In order for us to answer the "big questions" about the universe, Lazarus states at one point, it would be necessary to stand ''outside'' the universe.

During the 1930s and 1940s, Heinlein was deeply interested in [[Alfred Korzybski]]'s [[general semantics]] and attended a number of seminars on the subject. His views on [[epistemology]] seem to have flowed from that interest, and his fictional characters continue to express Korzybskian views to the very end of his writing career. Many of his stories, such as ''[[Gulf (Heinlein)|Gulf]]'', ''[[If This Goes On—]]'', and ''[[Stranger in a Strange Land]]'', depend strongly on the premise, related to the well-known [[Linguistic relativity|Sapir–Whorf hypothesis]], that by using a correctly [[constructed language|designed language]], one can change or improve oneself mentally, or even realize untapped potential (as in the case of Joe in ''Gulf''—whose last name may be Greene, Gilead or Briggs).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.heinleinsociety.org/concordance/books/gulf_hc.htm|title=Gulf—Heinlein Concordance|website=www.heinleinsociety.org|access-date=May 22, 2019|archive-date=February 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224153829/https://www.heinleinsociety.org/concordance/books/gulf_hc.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

When [[Ayn Rand]]'s novel ''[[The Fountainhead]]'' was published, Heinlein was very favorably impressed, as quoted in "Grumbles&nbsp;..." and mentioned John Galt—the hero in Rand's ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]''—as a heroic archetype in ''The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress''. He was also strongly affected by the religious philosopher [[P. D. Ouspensky]].<ref name="aolbio"/> [[Sigmund Freud|Freudianism]] and [[psychoanalysis]] were at the height of their influence during the peak of Heinlein's career, and stories such as ''[[Time for the Stars]]'' indulged in psychological theorizing.

However, he was skeptical about Freudianism, especially after a struggle with an editor who insisted on reading Freudian sexual symbolism into his [[young adult fiction|juvenile novels]]. Heinlein was fascinated by the [[social credit]] movement in the 1930s. This is shown in ''[[Beyond This Horizon]]'' and in his 1938 novel ''[[For Us, the Living: A Comedy of Customs]]'', which was finally published in 2003, long after his death.

====Pay it forward====
On that theme, the phrase "[[pay it forward]]", though it was already in occasional use as a quotation, was popularized by Robert A. Heinlein in his book ''[[Between Planets]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.heinleinsociety.org/pay-it-forward/|title=Pay It Forward|publisher=The Heinlein Society|access-date=February 26, 2019|archive-date=March 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190318155828/http://www.heinleinsociety.org/pay-it-forward/|url-status=live}}</ref> published in 1951:

{{blockquote|The banker reached into the folds of his gown, pulled out a single credit note. "But eat first—a full belly steadies the judgment. Do me the honor of accepting this as our welcome to the newcomer."

His pride said no; his stomach said YES! Don took it and said, "Uh, thanks! That's awfully kind of you. I'll pay it back, first chance."

"Instead, pay it forward to some other brother who needs it."}}

He referred to this in a number of other stories, although sometimes just saying to pay a debt back by helping others, as in one of his last works, ''Job, a Comedy of Justice''.

Heinlein was a mentor to [[Ray Bradbury]], giving him help and quite possibly passing on the concept, made famous by the publication of a letter from him to Heinlein thanking him.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://io9.gizmodo.com/amazingly-touching-1976-letter-from-ray-bradbury-to-rob-5840242|title=Amazingly Touching 1976 Letter from Ray Bradbury to Robert Heinlein: 'Your influence on us all cannot be measured.'|first=Charlie Jane|last=Anders|date=September 14, 2011 |publisher=[[io9]]|access-date=May 22, 2019|archive-date=September 27, 2019|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190927051417/https://io9.gizmodo.com/amazingly-touching-1976-letter-from-ray-bradbury-to-rob-5840242|url-status=live}}</ref> In Bradbury's novel ''[[Dandelion Wine]]'', published in 1957, when the main character Douglas Spaulding is reflecting on his life being saved by Mr. Jonas, the Junkman:

{{blockquote|How do I thank Mr. Jonas, he wondered, for what he's done? How do I thank him, how pay him back? No way, no way at all. You just can't pay. What then? What? Pass it on somehow, he thought, pass it on to someone else. Keep the chain moving. Look around, find someone, and pass it on. That was the only way…}}

Bradbury has also advised that writers he has helped thank him by helping other writers.<ref>{{Cite news |url= https://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/there-are-no-rules/interview-jonathan-maberry|title=Writers Helping Writers: Interview With Jonathan Maberry|last=Moss|first=Tyler|date=August 26, 2016|website=Writer's Digest|language=en-US|access-date=September 5, 2019 |archive-date=September 5, 2019|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190905151904/https://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/there-are-no-rules/interview-jonathan-maberry|url-status=live}}</ref>

Heinlein both preached and practiced this philosophy; now the [[#Heinlein Society|Heinlein Society]], a humanitarian organization founded in his name, does so, attributing the philosophy to its various efforts, including Heinlein for Heroes, the Heinlein Society Scholarship Program, and Heinlein Society blood drives.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.heinleinsociety.org/pay-it-forward/|title=Pay It Forward |publisher=The Heinlein Society|access-date=November 26, 2017 |archive-date=December 22, 2017|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171222055640/http://www.heinleinsociety.org/pay-it-forward/|url-status=live}}</ref> Author Spider Robinson made repeated reference to the doctrine, attributing it to his spiritual mentor Heinlein.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.heinleinsociety.org/CentennialReader/heinleinsociety.html |title= Centennial reader |publisher=Heinlein society |access-date= November 26, 2017|archive-date=September 24, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150924025543/http://www.heinleinsociety.org/CentennialReader/heinleinsociety.html|url-status= dead}}</ref>