Education for Tomorrow: A Series of Lectures Organized by the Committee Representing the Teaching Staff of the University of Toronto

The threat of utter tragedy does not arise directly out of man’s greater mastery over nature, it comes, as Sir James Jeans has so pointedly stated, from the absence of man’s moral control over himself. That control can be accomplished only through, and by, education. By the word education in this context, I do not mean merely increased expertness. It has to do with man’s moral, as well as his intellectual, development. The end of learning is not knowledge but virtue. Where shall wisdom be found and where is the place of understanding? is ever a searching entirety. There are those who say that the universities should develop the intellects of their students. Of course, that statement is true but it is not the whole truth. While we despise Hitler’s exhortation to German youth, Think with your blood, we must bear in mind that it is a proper part of any educational process to help the student to harness his emotions. If by any weird whim of fate we were faced with choosing either first-class brains and second-class characters of second-class brains and first-class characters, surely there could be no doubt about our selection. A weak character not only unfits a man for living in a free society but it also warps the thinking of the most brilliant intellect. I must add that I would be one of the first to oppose strenuously the replacing of tough intellectual effort by evangelistic fervour.