1959 Fredericton Encaenia
Graduation Address
Delivered by: Whitehill, Walter Muir
Content
"Class of '59 Told Individual Efforts Vitally Important" Daily Gleaner (14 May 1959 Extract). (UA Case 67, Box 2)
Dr. Whitehill, who received the degree of doctor of letters, said he has a profound conviction that one man’s inadequate and lonely intellectual efforts are still vitally important, even in 1959 "with a great war only 14 years behind us, living in an uneasy truce, with scientific developments and means of destruction rushing forward at an ever-increasing pace."
Reflection
"The man who gives himself to reflection who pursues learning for its own sake may have little to do with saving the world from whatever ideology is the current bugbear of the day: he may hold himself apart from humanitarian, charitable and civic enterprises; he may seem to those engaged in organized good works an antisocial and unprofitable nuisance," Dr. Whitehill said.
"It is my conviction that, whether he is engaged in the humanities or the sciences, he is the best assurance of the growth of knowledge and the transmission of ideas to the future."
Stifling
Dr. Whitehill intimated that an intensified circulation of increased number of people, not only at university, but later in the business world, together with the advent of complex thinking machinery is tending to stifle individual thought.
"This dilemma of our time, challenging institutions and individuals alike, tempts me to recall the advantages of small numbers and of solitude. Numbers affect quality, and multiplied communication in the end overreaches itself," the speaker said.
The Encaenial speaker said both the Maritime Provinces and the New England States have a good proportion of opposite-minded individualists. He said that past history and present circumstances find many similar qualities in both areas.
"Indeed, if an archangel were given the task of revising international frontiers on grounds of general amity and common sense, New England and the Maritime Provinces would very likely find themselves untied. Even without an archangel, they do pretty well, so close is their geographical proximity and so intimate their historical intertwining."
UNB Fortunate
The speaker said that the University of New Brunswick is fortunate in still having the climate conducive to the individual thought and reflection he believes important to the transmission of ideas to the future.
"Here, to the visitor at least, there appears to be time, opportunity and inclination for courteous and civilized exchange between friends," Dr. Whitehill concluded.
Dr. Whitehill, who received the degree of doctor of letters, said he has a profound conviction that one man’s inadequate and lonely intellectual efforts are still vitally important, even in 1959 "with a great war only 14 years behind us, living in an uneasy truce, with scientific developments and means of destruction rushing forward at an ever-increasing pace."
Reflection
"The man who gives himself to reflection who pursues learning for its own sake may have little to do with saving the world from whatever ideology is the current bugbear of the day: he may hold himself apart from humanitarian, charitable and civic enterprises; he may seem to those engaged in organized good works an antisocial and unprofitable nuisance," Dr. Whitehill said.
"It is my conviction that, whether he is engaged in the humanities or the sciences, he is the best assurance of the growth of knowledge and the transmission of ideas to the future."
Stifling
Dr. Whitehill intimated that an intensified circulation of increased number of people, not only at university, but later in the business world, together with the advent of complex thinking machinery is tending to stifle individual thought.
"This dilemma of our time, challenging institutions and individuals alike, tempts me to recall the advantages of small numbers and of solitude. Numbers affect quality, and multiplied communication in the end overreaches itself," the speaker said.
The Encaenial speaker said both the Maritime Provinces and the New England States have a good proportion of opposite-minded individualists. He said that past history and present circumstances find many similar qualities in both areas.
"Indeed, if an archangel were given the task of revising international frontiers on grounds of general amity and common sense, New England and the Maritime Provinces would very likely find themselves untied. Even without an archangel, they do pretty well, so close is their geographical proximity and so intimate their historical intertwining."
UNB Fortunate
The speaker said that the University of New Brunswick is fortunate in still having the climate conducive to the individual thought and reflection he believes important to the transmission of ideas to the future.
"Here, to the visitor at least, there appears to be time, opportunity and inclination for courteous and civilized exchange between friends," Dr. Whitehill concluded.
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