Alumni Oration

"Maturity as Indicated By Individualism Was Discussed" The Daily Gleaner (13 May 1949): 4. (UA Case 67a, Box 2)

Mr. Chairman, members of the Graduating Class and distinguished guests:

An occasion such as this presents a great temptation to indulge in reminiscences— a temptation to which I shall yield in some small measure.

Many stories are told about Professor W.C. Keirstead of U.N.B., and it must be confessed that he had a slight tendency towards the absentmindedness traditionally associated with professors. I recall especially his adventures with a motor car. I believe that Dr. Keirstead’s difficulties with a motor car are somewhat indicative of the nature of our time. In the field of transportation we have only a rather obvious illustration of how drastic changes have succeeded one another with great rapidity.

My generation was brought up on motor cars. Most of us are completely at home behind a wheel. And yet, I discovered that when I started to learn to fly a plane a few years ago, my instinctive car-driving reactions had a way of carrying over. I suspect that many of the generation now coming up will be completely at home with stick and rudder, and for them the habits required for the safe piloting of aircraft will become ingrained at an early age.

Changes in Society

I believe that human beings can adjust themselves in a relatively short period of time to the kind of change I have been discussing. But more fundamental are the changes which are taking place in the forms of society. Nearly fifteen years ago, Professor Alfred North Whitehead, speaking in commemoration of the founding of the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration, pointed out how widespread skepticism was growing up concerning the adequacy of our inherited forms of society. The effects [
]-ation and remodeling of the inherited ways of life handed down for the past four hundred years. Something had come to an end, said Whitehead, and we had a come to the commencement of a new thrust.

Then he went on to express the conviction that "we all want to continue the aims at our old ideals." But he warned that "we can only preserve the essence of the past by the embodiment of it in novelty of detail." As a liberal he believed "that the best feature of the past was the sturdy individualism fostered by the conditions of those times."

Fashionable to Decry.

I know that it has been rather fashionable in some intellectual circles to decry individualism and I believe that insofar as the opposition was directed against rugged individualism—and all that phrase connotes in terms of selfishness, ruthlessness and disregard for the public weal— the protest was justified. Yet, is it not true that this kind of individualism has been brought within some measure of social control? The social struggle of our time is not so much represented by a struggle between individuals, as it is a struggle between pressure groups, and one of our major problems is how to bring these pressure groups under social control. In this situation, it would be very difficult to find any general agreement as to how to achieve the general practices of a sturdy individualism. The fate of the individual is often to become merely a unit in one or another of the competing pressure groups. And yet I am convinced that the kind of individualism which arises from a profound respect for the essential rights and integrity of the human person—is inseparable from the good life—of man or society.

I agree with Whitehead that past conditions which promoted individualism have disappeared or are on the way out. I have neither sufficient knowledge nor training as a social analyst to attempt to outline what form of society could best guarantee the maintenance of a sturdy individualism. However, I would like to say a few words about the kind of individual who can justify our faith in a sturdy individualism as an ideal even when the social forms which nurtured it in the past are rapidly changing.

First of all, let me state my convictions that this kind of individual is not produced merely through the acquisition of knowledge or through much learning. A short while after I left U.N.B. I went to the University of Chicago to continue my studies, and found that the motto of that university was "Crescat Solentia—Vita Excolatur." "Let knowledge increase that life may be enlarged or uplifted." In those days I was convinced that this was a sound sentiment both for an institution of learning and for one’s own life. I still think so, but now I should like to qualify it.

It is undoubtedly true: as our knowledge increases, our horizons lift revealing further reaches of knowledge. Our vision of life is enlarged as we enter into the history of man, and garner the fruits of an inquiring and disciplined mind. I am not belittling knowledge. The inquiring mind of man is his great glory. But— there is a sobering reflection. Will knowledge itself bring us peace, or freedom, or happiness?

At the present time, is our chief fear the possibility that knowledge will not be increased? Or is it not rather the fear that, with increased knowledge will come greater unhappiness? We remember the writer of the book of Ecclesiastes who said: "He that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow."

Dr. Keirstead

Let me refer again to Professor Keirstead. I said that he was almost a one-man faculty of arts. When I came to U.N.B. he was teaching philosophy, psychology, economics, political science, and courses in education. His intellectual interests were exceedingly wide and yet not superficial. He maintained an agile mind and, in a remarkable way, was able to "keep up" with developments in the fields of his man disciplines.

Under him, one found an incentive to browse widely in writings which were not always found on the required reading lists, and I can remember plunging into a volume of Whitehead’s philosophy. Like most students, I was somewhat attracted by the possibility of stumping the professor and when I came across one of Whitehead’s less lucid passages I thought I had something. He simply said: "I don’t know— I haven’t had the time to become aquainted with Professor Whitehead’s special vocabulary."

This incident made a great impression on me— conveying as it did the sense of personal qualities of integrity, independence, maturity. The impression still remains, and it completely transcends any consideration of Professor Keirstead’s knowledge or lack of knowledge.

Maturity

Let me refer to one possible statement of the problem. It was that made by Dr. Brock Chisholm, former Deputy Minister of National Health of Canada, and presently executive secretary of the World Health Organization of the United Nations. Dr. Chisholm has been saying repeatedly of late that there have never been, nor are there now, enough mature people in the right places.

As to what Dr. Chisholm means by maturity he has suggested the definition offered by Strecker and Appel. I quote: "Maturity is a quality of personality that is made up a of a number of elements. It is stick-to-it-iveness, the ability to stick to a job, to work on it, and to struggle through until it is finished or until one has given all one has in the endeavour. It is the quality of capacity of giving more than is asked or required in a given situation. It is this characteristic that enables others to count on one; thus it is reliability. Persistence is an aspect of maturity; persistence to carry out a goal in the face of difficulties. Endurance of difficulties, unpleasantness, discomfort, frustration, hardship. The ability to size things up, to make one’s own decision, is a characteristic of maturity. This implies a considerable amount of independence. A mature person is not dependent unless ill. Maturity includes determination, a will to achieve and succeed, a will to live. Of course, maturity represents the capacity to co-operate; to work with others, to work in an organization and under authority. The mature person is flexible, can defer to time, persons, circumstances. He can show tolerance, he can be patient, and above all he has the qualities of adaptability and compromise. Basically, maturity represents a wholesome amalgamation of two things: 1—dissatisfaction with the status quo, which calls forth aggressive, constructive effort, and 2—social concern and devotion. It is morale in the individual."

Brief Comment

I should like to comment briefly on this outline of what constitutes a mature person. Maturity involves "the ability to size things up; make one’s own decisions…a considerable amount of independence." In short, a mature person grows into a sense of responsibility.

Now, it is obvious that a child may be so shielded in the home, so dependent, so accustomed to having others make decisions for him, that he never develops a sense of independence of responsibility. This spoon-feeding may be continued in school and college—all tending to develop a person who dodges unpleasant problems and flees from personal responsibility.

Yet, a person to become mature, must learn to face life honestly; learn to size things up, make his own decisions and accept responsibility for them. When parents, the school, the church, the state—claim to be right about everything, and exercise autocratic control over individuals young or old—those very qualities which are required in a mature person are destroyed.

Again, going back to our definition of maturity: "Maturity represents the capacity to co-operate: to work with others, to work in an organization and under authority… (the mature person) can show tolerance, he can be patient, and above all, he has the qualities of adaptability and compromise."

With this in mind, it is quite easy to trace many immature attitudes. And once again we have to remember to what extent the atmosphere—and the teaching of home, school, church and state—tend to block this growing maturity. Young people are told that one particular set of rules, one religious group, one political part, one nation, demand their final loyalty and that all other groups are wrong—or even wicked! Thus the seeds of fear, prejudice and suspicion are sown early. The conviction that you or your group has the whole truth is never a mature attitude.

Two main aspects of maturity are then: I. –The ability to make one’s own decisions, to face facts honestly, to have a measure of independence and to accept responsibility. II.-To be able to co-operate with others, to work with them to show tolerance and patience, to have the qualities of adaptability and compromise. If we add the qualities of stick-to-it-iveness, reliability and persistence in the face of difficulties, we have some idea of the psychologist’s conception of maturity. To sum up, he says that maturity represents a wholesome amalgamation of two things: 1.—dissatisfaction with the status quo, which calls forth aggressive, constructive effort, and 2.—social concern and devotion. It is the combination of these two factors which makes possible a political democracy and parliamentary institutions. Under them, there is not only a party in power; there is also His Majesty’s loyal opposition. This I believe represents a high degree of maturity in the development of political institutions.

Time No Guarantee

In the beginning I suggested that we need knowledge, ever increasing knowledge, but we require something more. The nature of that "something more" is indicated, I believe, by the qualities which go into maturity. Perhaps younger men and women object: "What have we in life’s morning to do with maturity? Maturity comes later; it is the fruit of many years of living and experience." Nothing could be more false. Actually it is possible to tell very early whether you give evidence of reliability, stick-to-it-iveness, persistence in the face of difficulties. You know whether you have begun to make your own decisions, have a measure of independence, accept responsibility. Already you know whether you are willing to co-operate and work with others, whether you are patient, tolerant and willing to adapt yourself to changing circumstances. At a very early age it is possible to understand these qualities of maturity and assume the lifelong and difficult task of cultivating them. And it is a task which goes on as long as life continues. Length of years is no guarantee of maturity. One of our difficulties concerns those who are adult in physical and mental development, but who, when judged by these standards of maturity, live the lives of children, and they are found not only in humble, but in high places.

The chief task of home, school, university, church, state—is to provide the conditions under which mature individuals may develop. This means a wide degree of freedom and independence for individuals, coupled with a deep sense of responsibility. It means that individuals come to have a high regard for their own integrity and independence, combined with a profound respect for the selfhood of others.

Maturity or Character

If you don’t like the word "maturity" let us use the word "character" for that is what I have been discussing. Indeed, I would go farther and say that the qualities I have outlined are the qualities of that sturdy individualism which I should like to have survive through all the changing conditions of our time. Ultimately, the only basis on which the philosophy of individualism can be justified is: that it produces more individuals of maturity and character than any other.

New Brunswick Project

For generations young people have come from the homes of New Brunswick, passed through its schools and universities in a steady stream. Many of them have left their native provinces to assume posts of responsibility and leadership in many parts of the world. A very high percentage of them have risen to the top in their chosen spheres of work.

I am inclined to think that this record is due to the fact that, in New Brunswick have existed the conditions which make possible the development of a sturdy individualism, and individualism rooted in a profound sense of human values—in respect for one’s own independence and integrity and equal regard for the freedom and selfhood of others. Because of conditions in New Brunswick there has been little opportunity for the development of an aristocracy of money. Rather, individuals are judged by and large, for their qualities of character, by what they are.

I could imagine no higher mission for this University than to send out graduates, not only well-equipped with knowledge, but men and women who are representatives of this kind of individualism, having those qualities of mind and character which are its hallmark; men and women, proud of their heritage of freedom and dedicated to maintaining it through all changed which are coming and which must come.

Religion

Now without discussing religion specifically, let me share with you a fundamental religious conviction. All of us, young and old, are growing. We are unfinished beings, living in an unfinished world. It is a world of difficulties, problems, frustrations; but also a world where great possibilities are inherent, and deep fulfillment possible. I believe our deepest purpose, the reason we find ourselves here, is to grow, not only in knowledge, but in character. And if some measure of life could be stated, it would not be in terms of years, possessions, success or happiness. It would be in our inner growth of character, in the reach of our understanding, depth of our sympathy, richness of our love, and quality of our purpose. The world is waiting for a generation of men and women in whom the qualities of maturity are more fully developed than ever before.

We do not know what lies beyond the grave. But I am convinced that from the cradle to the grave we can grow; the process is never finished. As we grow, we contribute to the growing life of humanity and fulfill ourselves in the greater Life of a Living God.