Youth, University, and Democracy Dietze, Gottfried

Published by Johns Hopkins University Press

Dietze, Gottfried. Youth, University, and Democracy. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1970. Project MUSE. doi:10.1353/book.72148. https://muse.jhu.edu/.

For additional information about this book https://muse.jhu.edu/book/72148

[ Access provided at 2 Oct 2021 22:56 GMT with no institutional affiliation ]

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. HOPKINS OPEN PUBLISHING

ENCORE EDITIONS

Gottfried Dietze Youth, University, and Democracy Open access edition supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities / Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Humanities Open Book Program.

© 2019 Johns Hopkins University Press Published 2019

Johns Hopkins University Press 2715 North Charles Street Baltimore, Maryland 21218-4363 www.press.jhu.edu

The text of this book is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. CC BY-NC-ND

ISBN-13: 978-1-4214-3684-5 (open access) ISBN-10: 1-4214-3684-1 (open access)

ISBN-13: 978-1-4214-3682-1 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 1-4214-3682-5 (pbk. : alk. paper)

ISBN-13: 978-1-4214-3683-8 (electronic) ISBN-10: 1-4214-3683-3 (electronic)

This page supersedes the copyright page included in the original publication of this work.

YOUTH UNIVERSITY AND DEMOCRACY BY THE SAME AUTHOR

UBER FORMULIERUNG DER MENSCHENRECHTE ( 1956)

THE FEDERALIST: A CLASSIC ON FEDERALISM AND FREE GOVERNMENT (1960)

IN DEFENSE OF PROPERTY ( 1963)

MAGNA CARTA AND PROPERTY (1965)

AMERICA'S POLITICAL DILEMMA: FROM LIMITED TO UNLIMITED DEMOCRACY (1968)

(Editor) ESSAYS ON THE AMERICAN CONSTITUTION: A COMMEMORATIVE VOLUME IN HONOR OF ALPHEUS T. MASON (1964) YOUTH UNIVERSITY A.ND DEMOCRACY

GOTTfRIED DIETZE

THE JOHNS HOPKINS PRESS BAL TIM ORE AND LONDON Copyright © 1970 by The Johns Hopkins Press All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America

The Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore, Maryland 21218 The Johns Hopkins Press Ltd., London

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 77-116349 International Standard Book Number 0-8018-1171-6 For R.M. who has lived by Voltaire's line umals ii faut cultiver notre jardln"

CONTENTS

Preface ix YOUTH, UNIVERSITY, AND DEMOCRACY: Introduction 1

1. YOUTH: Search and Confusion 7 Longing for Youth, 7 The Longing of Youth, 9 The Sorrows, Risks, and Dangers of Youth, 16 Youth, Education, and Democracy, 24

2. UNIVERSITY: Research and Clarity 33 University and Democracy, 33 University, Truth, and Reason, 36 University and Freedom, 47 University and Community, 57

3. YOUTH IN UNIVERSITY: From Confusion to Clarity 63 Youthful University, 63 Youth as a Community of Scholars, 67 Youth in the Community of Scholars, 70 Youth Without Democracy, 75

4. YOUTH AGAINST UNIVERSITY: From Clarity to Confusion 83 Youth in Democracy, 83 Youth Riots, 88 University Order, 99 Order, Riots, and Democracy, 108

DEMOCRACY, UNIVERSITY, AND YOUTH: Conclusion 113

PREFACE

Written a troubled half-century after the publication of Max Weber's Science as a Profession, at a time when the University, already hav­ ing been jeopardized by youthful Communist and Fascist regimes, is being challenged by youth in democracies, the present essay describes the University as a classic institution for the advancement of learn­ ing in freedom. It shows how universities, developing along with con­ stitutionalism, have protected the freedom of the individual against authoritarian popes, kings, and popular demagogues, and urges that they continue their libertarian mission in modern democracies. That mission implies maximal benefits for the community-including youth. For only free universities can serve truth, and only advance­ ment toward the truth can satisfy the perennial quest of a traditionally confused, sad, and brave youth for clarity and bring about the kind of public good youthful idealism has always longed for. While I fear that the University, a reflection of classic liberalism, is on the way out as constitutional government is being replaced by unlimited, social democracy, and while I deplore present deviations in universities from the ideal University, I would also warn of un­ warranted denunciations of institutions which for centuries have proved useful to the progress of learning and the pursuit of happiness. G. D. Baltimore September 29, 1969

YOUTH, UNIVERSITY, AND DEMOCRACY Introduction

Max Weber's Science as a Profession1 stated many truths about the good and bad aspects of academic life. A little over a hundred years after Savigny had written on the need of his time for legislation and legal science, and about half a century after Nietzsche had despaired at the failureof the Christian churches and hoped that scholars would be willing to be martyred for the truth, this now classic essay com­ mented on men's calling forscience and on the humanistic mission of science and the university. Weber's essay was timely. Originally a lecture to students at Mu­ nich, the city that was to become the home of National Socialism and the scene of a student revolt against the Hitler regime, it was ad­ dressed to an anxious, questioning youth that entertained strong doubts about traditional conceptions of science. This skepticism was not surprising. Leading in Nobel laureates and considered the most scientific of nations, Germany had just lost what was then considered the most scientific of all wars. The academic youth which had enthusiastically sacrificed itself singing the Deutsch­ landlied in the battle of Langemarck, now was decimated and faced with a bleak future. Many of them must have thought of the question Franz Marc asked in a beautiful memorial occasioned by August Macke's death in action, a fewmonths before he himself suffered the same fate: "How many terrible mutilations will this cruel war have brought upon our future culture?" As Remarque put it, here was a 1 Max Weber, Wissenschaji als Beruf (1919; reprinted in Gesammelte Aufaiitze zur Wissenschaftslehre, 2d ed.; Tiibingen, 1951). The term Wissenschajicovers study in both the sciences and the humanities. Throughout this book, "science" must be understood in both senses.

1 INTRODUCTION generation that was destroyed by the war even though it had escaped its grenades. Political and economic uncertainty intensified the plight and confusion of this uneasy,erring youth. Martin Niemoller later said that at that time he and his fellow students were so restless that they could stand lifein any one university for just one semester before moving on to another university. It was a time when the young des­ perately sought peace of mind but could not find it. After an often damned war,peace seemed to usher in the damnation of Faust. In his answer to Weber's essay, Ernst Troeltsch could well speak of "The Revolution in Science." As he pointed out,that revolution was not confined to Germany,nor was it only the result of the war. Evi­ dent in many nations since the beginning of the century,it was ac­ companied in art by the fauvesand the expressionists. It decried natu­ ralism and intellectualism, historicism, and the specialization and relativism of dry academic routine. Its tenets were simplification and concentration,liveliness and originality,an artistic spirit,a sense for symbols,liberation from convention,and devotion to the strong per­ sonality. Paradoxically,while favoring dogma and authority,aristoc­ racy and artistic nobility,the movement saw its main task in educat­ ing the masses. Before the Hitler movement had got under way, Nietzsche's Bildungsrevolutionhad turned into a striving forthe super­ humanness of all.2 Today again,the mission of science is paramount. Again,the good and bad aspects of academe are in focus,and one wonders how with their cult of the mediocre the universities can be as good as they are. Again,youth is in turmoil. After a second world war which saw scien­ tificmass killings of civilians with bombs,gas, and nuclear weapons in Auschwitz, Dresden,and Hiroshima,and after a cold war interspersed with hot wars that make plain that eternal peace,often mentioned since Kant,is as far offas ever,youth again has become skeptical towardscience and universities. Again,one hears about revolutions in science. But,with all the probings and suggestions for reform,it is hard to tell what everything is all about. In many respects,the turmoil of today's youth can be compared to that offifty years ago. Still,there are important differences. The stu­ dents have changed and the turmoil has intensified.Although the stu­ dents Weber addressed had just emerged from a cruel war,shattered in body and spirit and materially destitute,they usually were paying their own way and showing the discipline of the war experience. De­ pressed by destruction,they were eager to reconstruct;unspoiled, they 2 Ernst Troeltsch, "Die Revolution in der Wissenschaft," Schmol/ersJahrbuch (1921), XLV, 1003.

2 YOUTH, UNIVERSITY, AND DEMOCRACY refrained from violence when questioning science and universities. They were still practicing the polite forms that were generally ac­ cepted by academic citizens. Although their background was less aris­ tocratic than that of their predecessors, they were not yet the masses which are entering universities now. Reared in mass democracies, to­ day's students are the products of the affluent society. Their studies are generously subsidized by schools and governments. Materially better offthan any previous student generation, they are often spoiled and are seldom disciplined by a military experience. They often are ir­ responsible and violent. Spoiled, they are out to destroy "the estab­ lishment." So many explanations have been offered for today's student unrest that one cannot help but be struck by the versatility and imagination of commentators. New and ever more sophisticated causes forstudent behavior are constantly discovered. The surprise and first shock over riots usually is followed by an intensive and often erratic search for causes. One investigates the conditions in the specific institution where unrest occurs and discovers faultshere and there; but one often becomes aware that by no stretch of the imagination can the institu­ tion be blamed for actions such as student strikes called because parties failed to nominate acceptable candidates for the American presidency. One looks for causes outside the university. One looks at the local scene, at what is going on in the nation. One evaluates inter­ national affairs. The search is as opportunistic as it is desperate. There is no end to it. Just as all too many occasions are used by students as pretenses for unrest, all too many occasions are taken to explain un­ rest. The occasionalist confusion of unrest is matched by an occasion­ alist confusion in explaining unrest. Other observers note certain patterns common to student riots and advance conspiracy theories. They findthat most of these riots are in­ stigated by certain types of students and by certain groups, that these groups seem to share certain ideologies and to pursue similar tactics, and that at times demonstrations take place on specific dates all over a nation or all over the world. When these observers conclude that student riots are coordinated and centrally directed, they are accused of oversimplification. If, furthermore, they maintain that direction and financing comes from Communist countries interested in under­ mining Western governments and that student denunciation of Com­ munist "establishments" is nothing but a trick to broaden the appeal of the rioters and is well compatible with Lenin's recommendation of tactical retreats for the sake of strategic gains, they are decried as illib­ erals, Communist-hunters, and what not.

3 INTRODUCTION

In a search for the causes of student unrest, as in any other search for truth, no explanation ought to be taken lightly as long as it is ra­ tionally advanced and not proved to be wrong. It might well contain a grain of truth, minute though it may be. Still, neither occasionalist nor conspiracy theories are wholly satisfactory. The former, all too often based upon a liberality cult and a feeling that youth can do no wrong, fail to recognize the generality of student unrest and its common pat­ tern. They fail to examine whether and from where riots are coordi­ nated and by whom they are directed. On the other hand, the conspir­ acy theories overlook that, since conspiracies generally presuppose a chance of success, there must exist conditions which form a fertile ground for subversive ideas. They do not sufficiently recognize the general malaise which makes establishments susceptible to attacks and perhaps spawns those who carry out those attacks. It is here suggested that such a malady exists and that it exists in present "establishments." At this point, however, my opinion parts with that of rioting students: the student diagnosis of present societies is a quack diagnosis, for establishments are not sick because they are insufficiently democratic, socialist, egalitarian, etc., but for the very opposite reason-namely, because they have gone too far to the left. Student aims, therefore, are likely to increase the illness of society rather than to heal it, just as a doctor who makes a wrong diagnosis and applies the wrong therapy is likely to worsen his patient's condi­ tion. Rioting students are outcasts of the establishment only on the surface. On closer inspection, they are its products. Student rioters are outcasts of the establishment only insofar as the establishment has re­ mained healthy. Insofar as it has become sick, they are representative of it. They are the poison produced by the infections of the body poli­ tic, out to destroy that body. The malady of existing establishments is the political malaise du sie­ cle, the replacement of limited by unlimited democracy and of liberal by social democracy-developments which are the results of the march of democracy toward mass democracy. This malaise is symbol­ ized by the names of today's best known radical student organiza­ tions. The Students for a Democratic Society and the Sozialistischer Deutscher Studentenbund (both abbreviated SDS) demonstrate the sad truth of a democratic situation: cruelty and an increasing break­ down of law and order. Initiated in the French Revolution and fore­ cast by de Tocqueville, the replacement of constitutional by authori­ tarian democracy progressed toward violence, especially after democratic legislation turned into social legislation, and eroded the respect for the traditional rule of law with its liberal content as con-

4 YOUTH, UNIVERSITY, AND DEMOCRACY ceived by constitutionalists from Bracton to Dicey,from Montesquieu to Hauriou,and from von Mohl to the early Schmitt. Max Weber was well aware of this problem. An enthusiastic pro­ moter of democracy in Germany,he was opposed to democracy in the universities,which he obviously considered rational checks upon the emotionalism of democracy: "Democracy where it belongs. Scientific schooling ...is a matter of the aristocratic mind." 3 A decade later, the problem was recognized by Ortega y Gasset. Having published The Revolt ofthe Masses,he emphasized a few months later the "mis­ sion of the University "as an antidote.4 Karl Jaspers followed suit when he discussed the spiritual situation of the time shortly before Hitler democratically got hold of the German mass democracy and set out to national-socialize the universities,which in his eyes were powerful threats to totalitarianism.5 A century after the death of Jefferson,the founder of the University of Virginia,the advocate of a National University,and the friend of a natural aristocracy who be­ lieved that education was the safest basis for popular government,the survival of the University was threatened by mass democracy. Friends of the University made it plain that the University was not to be equalized or uniformized. tI was not to be a scene for politics but a haven for the pursuit of learning and the promotion of excellence. tI was to be a shelter from politics. This essential fea ture of the University to some degree has been lost as a result of the socialization and democratization of universities that accompanied the general growth of democracy, and this loss is a ma jor cause of today's student unrest. Perhaps it is significantthat the American democracy,in which universities were democratized earlier and more profoundly than those in other nations,witnessed the first ma jor student revolts and that these revolts took place in Berkeley,the university of a state that did more for the social wel fare of its students than any other state of the American union. In Science as a Profession, Weber prophesied an Americanization of science. Perhaps he implied as well the democratization of the University as the major haven of science-and the consequences of that development. An argument against Weber's essay was that it favored a value-free science,that it separated veritas from humanitas. The following pages will examine whether perhaps Weber's approach has a greater human­ izing value than has been conceded by his opponents and will attempt to demonstrate the humanistic mission of the University and its use­ fulnessfor youth and democracy. 3 Weber, Wissenschaft als Beruf, 571. 4 Jose Ortega y Gasset, Misi6n de la universidad (Madrid, 1930). 5 Karl Jaspers, Die geistige Situation der Zeit (1931) (5th ed.; Berlin, 1932, 1953).

5

I YOUTH Search and Confusion

LONGING FOR YOUTH

Youth is in our memories and we are longing for it. As we grow older, we appreciate it more and more; its contours and contents become clearer-and dearer. The time in which we tended to idealize because we could not or would not rationalize is now viewed rationally-and itself becomes idealized. Youthful vacillating emotions now are so­ berly evaluated-and nostalgically thought of. Youthful actions, often eccentric, now are smiled upon with understanding. The distance in time furthersob jectivity but does not totally achieve it, for we cannot free ourselves from emotion. Looking back we see a more or less pure picture which keeps us captive and which we do not want to destroy. As we grow older, we become certain of what we merely sensed in our youth, that nothing can replace experience, yet we want to cry: "Youth can!" Who, after all, does not cherish the memories of his youth? Who does not remember that first attempt to be himself, to assert himself against his fellowmen, teachers, and parents? Who does not recall his youthful exuberance and foolishness? Who could forget youth's friendship and love, the time when he asked many questions, wanted many things, and knew and could do so little, when his responsibility was small and he could always take refuge from the harshness of life in his home? "The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft enterred with their bones," wrote Shakespeare in Anthony's funeral oration to Caesar. In the case of youth, it seems to be the other way around: the pleasant aspects are remembered and the unpleasant ones forgotten. James Harrington's remark that the elders could remember that they had been youth perhaps is an understatement.1 Elders not only remember their youth, they long for it. Homer's venerable old Nestor, always wise in council, was given to exposition of the glories of his 1 James Harrington, Oceana (London, 1656), 204.

7 YOUTH youth. In Cicero's essay on the art of growing old, meant to praise the virtue of age, old Cato is an exceptional man who has never found old age burdensome, whereas to most old men it is so detestable that they say they are bearing a burden heavier than Mount Aetna itself. Je suis tout rejoui de voir cette jeunesse, wrote Racine. The Dedication in Goethe's Faust shows a longing for youth, as does the poet a few pages later:

Then give me back the time of pleasures While yet in joyous growth I sang, When, like a fount, the crowding measures Uninterrupted gushed and sprang! Then bright mist veiled the world before me, In opening buds a marvel woke, As I the thousand blossoms broke, Which every valley richly bore me! I nothing had, and yet enough for youth, Joy in illusion, ardent thirst for Truth. Give, unrestrained, the old emotion, The bliss that touched the verge of pain, The strength of Hate, Love's deep devotion, 0, give me back my youth again!

In his first lecture On the Future of Our Institutions of Learning, Nietzsche nostalgically thinks back to the carelessness of his youth. Seeing Strauss's Rosenkavalier, who would not sympathize with the Marschallin when she sadly realizes that her youth is gone? Even those whose youth was hard often long for it. We need think only of Hermann Hesse. Our fondness of youth, however, does not remain confined to our personal lives. We like to remember, as well, the days of our country's youth. Mazzini's call for a Third Rome derived froma longing for the youth of his country-the Rome of the Caesars and of the popes. The Germans' desire for a new Reich derived from the cherished memory of previous Reichs in the youth of Germany. America, having "come of age" 2 and having advanced in years, made Americans yearn for the good days of their country's formativeperiod. The young of civili­ zations have exercised a peculiar fascination. Whether or not he would agree with the statement that "almost everything that is great has been done by youth," 3 who would not admire and forgive an Alexander? Who would not think of the beauty of youth when he 2 Cf. Andre Siegfried, America Comes ofAge (New York, 1927). 3 Benjamin Disraeli, Coningsby (New York, 1906), 111.

8 THE LONGING OF YOUTH reads Byron, Holderlin, or Schiller? Who would not love Vienna, an old city with one of the oldest universities? In spite of its age, this city, in which Mozart and Schubert lived, to most of us appears as a well of youth in which the Congress danced and people waltz. Edinburgh, guarded by its ancient castle, radiates the austerity of age. Yet, harb­ oring many paintings by young artists such as Raphael and Boning­ ton, it impresses one as youthful-a proper abode for innovators like Hume and Adam Smith. Some trends in modern art are unmistakably motivated by the long­ ing for the simplicity and genuineness of youthful, primitive, art. Hippolyte Taine stated that "antiquity is the youth of the world," and throughout history, men have longed forit. We need think only of the Renaissance, of Winckelmann's praise of edle Einfalt, stille Grosse, of Lord Byron's dreaming in the Doric temple at Sunion of the inde­ pendence of Greece, of Nietzsche's desperation that the classic world might be lost to modernity, of the continuous attempts by devoted scholars to save humanistic ideals. Even the present popularity of Greece could be prompted by a longing for the youth of our civiliza­ tion. In recent times, this nostalgia became complemented by a turn­ ing to America as the most youthful of modern nations. Perhaps it is not accidental that the author of Iphigenie in Tauris also wrote a poem dedicated to the United States praising youthfulness. Perhaps Goethe hoped America would become a new home of the beautiful soul. In­ deed, one could imagine an Iphigenia against the background of colo­ nial architecture or the Jefferson Memorial-reminders of the classic Greek style. Could a beautiful soul also exist among the skyscrapers of the modern mammoth democracy symbolized perhaps by the Ken­ nedy brothers who died young and to many personified good men?

THE LONGING OF YOUTH

At the same time that we long for youth, youth itself has its own longings, its dreams of greatness. Perhaps our longing results from our memory of the latter and the sad realization that the dreams of youth have not come true. Just as Europeans have seen in the United States a rejuvenation of the old world, Americans have been longing for the realization of the American Dream. Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of In­ dependence, a founder of Dickinson College, and the fatherof Ameri­ can medicine, spoke for many of his compatriots when he said that the newly independent nation still faced the problem of consolidating

9 YOUTH

the achievements of the American Revolution and of educating the people in principles which implied an increase of the rights of the indi­ vidual through an enlargement of the popular basis of government. This plan was complemented by the hope that a powerful America would bring the blessings of free government to the world. Much as the American way of life may have changed, the idea of Americaniza­ tion is as strong as ever. Robert F. Kennedy's book, To Seek a Newer World (1967), is only one aspect of it. The Greeks also longed to spread their ideas. Their ideal paideia, so well described by Werner Jaeger, was education in the Platonic sense, meaning the molding of character: education of human beings to be humane beings. Man was at the center of thought, whether we con­ sider the Greeks' anthropomorphic gods, their concentration upon sculpturing the human form, their philosophy moving from the prob­ lem of the cosmos to that of man, their poetry with its ever-recurring theme of man and his destiny, or their polis as an institution which shaped man. Hoping that paideia would triumph, the Greeks put at the disposition of mankind the universality of their philosophy, drama, poetry, music, and gymnastics, the discipline of speech and thinking through style and science. Young Alexander's greatness may well have been due to his desire to expand the universitasof Greek cul­ ture, although the Greeks might have preferred spreading their an­ thropocentric views through erudition and peaceful discipline-a hope which Varro and Cicero transmitted to us through their concept of humanitas. The longings of America and Greece are only examples of the ever­ lasting dreams of men. The Greek achievement has been compared to the torch of Prometheus glowing among troglodytes cowering in dark­ ness, for the Greeks discovered the principles of innovation, the mov­ ing cause of Western civilization. And with innovation came hope, the dream for a better world, and progress. Wherever there is innovation, there is hope, especially if innovation is not marred by hy bris. Similar as American and Greek yearnings may have been, they were, of course, quite different. Clearly, the American way of life is not and could not be that of the Greeks. But no matter how varied these and other demonstrations of cultural youthfulness may have been, they always were accompanied by hope. This does not mean that this hope always was justified. Innovators, always anticipating improvement, can also bring about deterioration. They wield a dou­ ble-edged sword. On the one hand, the student of civilization admires how innovations fulfilled the hopes put in them. On the other hand, he cannot ignore how others disappointed those hopes.

10 THE LONGING OF YOUTH

In his discussion of historicalcri ses, Jakob Burckhardt argued that the Eng li sh Revo ultion was rea lly not a revo ultion because it was not brought about by a youthfu l fantasy that cha llenged the accepted way of li fe. In examining the French Revo ultion,however, he commented : "The power of the origina lvi sion,on the other hand,i s beautifu lly demonstrated in the Cahiersof 1789;it s guiding princip le was Rous­ seau's doctrine of the goodness of human nature and the va ule of fee l­ ing as a warrant of virtue. It was the time of fla gs and festiva sl,whi ch saw its la st bri lliant moment in 1790on the Ch amp de Ma rs. It is as though human nature,at such moments,ha d to give fullrein to its power of hope. We are too prone to take the vision for the specific spirit of a crisis. The vision is mere ly its wedding finery,whi ch must be la id aside for the bitter workaday li fe which folowl s." 4 Ho w true this was ! Th e exhi la ration of the origina lrevo ultionaries about the coming mi ennill um was folowel d by the persecution of the Girondists by their fellow -i nnovators,the Jacobins,in a terror which even swa llowed up a Robespierre. Yo ung Bi.ichner s' Danton's Deathi s a moving examp le of the disilusl ionment of hopefu linnovator s. As imi la r situation ex­ isted in the Russian Revo ultion. The hopes of the Me nshevik inno­ vators were squashed by the terror of the Bo slheviks,who in the end li quidated themselves. Pasternak s' Doctor Zhivagoi s another te lling story of a disenchanted innovator. According to Mo elerl van den Bruck and other optimistic Germans,the Third Reich was to le ad a re uj venated Germany out of the crisis of li bera li sm into a glorious fu­ ture;however, Hi tler s' Tausendjii,hriges Reichwa s not on yl consider­ ab ly shorter than its predecessors but was a catastrophe which even its proponents were ucl ky to survive.

Ha ving mentioned some indications of the youthfu ls pirit in the de­ ve lo pment of our civi li zation, I wi llnow turn to modern youth. I sha ll not,however, c oncentrate on today s' youth. Much as that generation is on our minds,suc h a concentration wou dl be undu ly in fluenced by head neli s and temporary events,an d any resu lt ing eva ulation might be outdated tomorrow. Rather, Ipl an to view the youth of our cu l­ tura lepo ch. This epoch,with its roots in the En li ghtenment,ha s been in fluenced by phi olsophicalsc hoo sl ranging fro m German idea li sm to French-Eng ilsh positivism,an d their twentieth c-entury counterparts , and by revo ultions and wars. In a word, I am concerned with youth in the berali l-democratic era. That era has been a time of youth s' lo nging for idea sl . Th e En li ght­ enment s' quest for truth set fre e the desires of youth,in spired youth 4 Jakob Burckhardt, Reflections on History (London, 1943), 146.

11 YOUTH pe rp et ua lly to seek new enlightenments . Onwa rd from the brave new wo rl d of the enlightenment ,yo ut h ra pidly dreamed of new wo rl ds , disco ve re d new heavens . Yo ut h began moving ,as if propelled by an iresistibler force . Small suprr ise that this en ergy wo uld foc us on or­ gani ationsz ,on yo ut h mo ve ments and, that the libe ra l -d emoc ra tic era wo ul d become an era of movements such as Sturm und Drang (Sto mr and St re ss ), "Yo un g Italy ," "Yo un g Euro pe ,"nihilism , Ge rm an yo ut h mo ementsv ,hippies ,and the New Le ft. Kant ,in stating that the French Revol ut ion "d iscove re d in human nat ure an inclination and an ability to imp ro vement ," 5seems to ig­ no er the significant Sturm und Drangwhich preceded that re vol ut ion . Who wo ul d not be imp re ssed by the Sturm und Drangsta rt ed in 1770 by the twenty -o ne -y ea r-old Goethe ,by He rd e rfive yea rs his senio r, and by Le nzand Klinge r,who we er not yet twenty ? Who wo ul d not have wanted to hea r the yo un g Goethe , then a st ud en t of law at St ra ssb urg,conve rs e with his mento r He der r? Orto bepr esent when he met Me ckr ,eight yea rs his senio rand the oldest membe rof th e group?Who wo uldnot have wanted to sha re the enth us iasm of th e two men forGotz von Be rl ichingen the, "g ra nd fel low "st ri ving forthe re ali za tion of his nat ural abilities ? Lo cke , Hume , Voltai e,r the ency­ clopedists , Richa rd son , Li llo and, Fielding had made explicit the chal­ lenge to traditional tho ug ht . Yo un g , Gray , Pe rc y , Ste ner , and the War tons had groped fora new kind of fee ling . Ro us s aue had depicted nat uralman ,in re volt against his time ,capable of new ra pt ures and grand de si re s ; Ro ussea u' s Heloise re fle cts a dream forthe fullness of lifeand love . Th e Sturmer und Driinger, re senting the ri gidity of burg he rlife, the class st ruct ure,and the re fined French cult ure of the aristoc ra cy exalted, the idealism of yo uth . The yo ung write sr dreamed of a new humanism ;they exalted Shakespea re 's "n at ure"and extolled originality and po we rin eve ry aspect . Schill er's Kabale und Liebeand Don Karlosshow how they fought against mona rc hical ty ra nny and forhuman ri ghts . Following Ro us sea u,they pitted soci et y against pe ­r sonal li feand the inne rneeds of the individ ua l . As is evident in the Gretchen tragedy they, fought forsocial justice and forthe social out­ casts . We ther r co mmitted suicide in a protest against th eexisting so­ cial hie ra rc hy and socially cont ro lled love . Two gene ra tions late r, Ma zzini ,at the age of twenty -s ix ,fou nded the Yo un g Italy movement . In fluenced by He rd e r,his prog ra m also re fle cted the impact of ro manticism and idealism ,schools which fol­ lowed the Sturm und Drangand abso rb ed some of its ideas . Mainly concei ve d as a re action to the ra tionalistic and individ ua listic aspects 5 Immanuel Kant, Der Streit der Faku/toten (Konigsberg, 1798), 149.

12 THE LONGING OF YOUTH of eighteenth -c entu ry thought,the prog ra m of the Giovine Italiawas full of hope. Exhibiting its debt to Rousseau and Co ndo rc et,it stood fordemoc ra cy and re publican gove rn ment and en isagedv indefinite prog essr . It dreamed of a new "s ocial epoch "inspi re d by a new re li ­ gion that would supe rs ede obso le te Ch ri stianity. Freedom and equal­ ity would exist not only as ri ghts but also -and he re the influence of Ge rm an idealism and Saint -Simon is evident -as inst ru ments ena­ bling the individual to pe for rm his duties towa rd the group and thus to pa ticipater in the humanita ri an mission of societ y. The unification of Italy,anothe rdr eam of the movement,was to be followed by a re organi za tion of mankind which would associate independent re pub­ lics unde ra single mo alr law. In a futu re epoch ofhumanity, eco ­ nomic activity would be organi ze d on the basis of a simila rassocia­ tion,and prope rt y would be identified with the fru it of toil . Social classes would natu ra ll y disappea r. Natu ra lly, it seems, the Young Europe movement, founded by Ma zzini in 1834,followed upon the heels of Young It a ly . The new group was composed of va ri ous national "Young " movements ; its dreams we re outlined in 1835in a pamphlet cha ra cte ri stically entit le d Faith and the Future. La te ron, Ma zzini summed up his idea ls in a way that bet ra ys his faithfulness to the longings of his youth: "In ete rn al dignity,stands Rome. That salient point upon the ho ri zo n is the Ca pi­ tol of the Ch ri stian wo rl d. And a few steps from it stands the Ca pito l of the pagan wo rl d. Those two ad jacent wo rl ds await a thi d,r gr eate r and mo re sublime than they,which will ri se from among thei r ru ins . This is the Holy Trinity of Histo ry ,and its Word is in Rome. Ty ra nts and fal se prophets may delay the inca rn ation of the Word,but none can prevent its coming. Although many cities have perished,and alinl tu rn may pass away from this ea rt h, Rome,by the design of Provi­ dence,and as the People have divined,is the Eternal City,to which is ent ru sted the mission of disseminating the Word that wi llunite the wo rl d . He r li fewill be re produced on an eve rwidening sca le . And ju st as,to the Rome of the Caesars,which th ro ugh Action united a great pa tr of Europe,the er succeeded the Rome of the Popes,which united Eu ro pe and Ame ri ca in the re alm of the spi ri t,so the Rome of the Peo­ plewil lsucceed them both,to unite,in a faiththat wil lmake Thought and Action one, Europe, Ame ri ca and eve ry part of the te rrest ri a l globe. And one day,when the Pact of the New Faith sh nesi forth upon the gathe re d peop le s from the Pantheon of Humanity, which will be ra ised between the Ca pito land the Vatican,dominating both , the age -long dissension between ea rt h and heaven, body and soul,

13 YOUTH matter and spirit,reason and faith,will disappear in the harmony of life." 6 In the l 860' s, after Co mpte and Marx had entered the scene, a youth movement with quite different aims came about in Ru ssia. Known as nihilism,aft er the hero in Turgenev's Fathers and Children, its members were chie fly adolescent intellectuals allured by the move­ ment's promise of freedom and its oversimplified solution of prob­ lems. Th ese young disciples rebelled against the sentimentality and ro­ manticism of their fathers. Re jecting the obligations of traditional morality,they tried to free themselves fromthe past. They questioned authority and every principle and ideal. Their leader, Pisarev,who was only twenty in 1860,hoped that social questions could be solved through an increasing enlightenment of the individual. He dreamed of freeing men of pre judice,piety, obligation, and allegiance to ideals. Suspi ci ous of emotion,he considered the fine arts a futile diversion. His co ntemporary, Za itzev,found art even harmful because it dis­ tracted people from the study of the natural sciences. Co ntempt uo us of beauty and refinement,the nihilists affectedrudeness in speech and manners -all in the name of the sovereign individual and the cultiva­ tion of their own personalities. They were anarchists and agnostics. Impressed by Ch ernishevsky's sober rationalism,they worshipped the natural sciences,hoping that these studies would destroy superstition, mysti ci sm,an d metaphysics. If the aims of the nihilists were utilitarian,positivistic, and material­ isti c, the dreams of the German youth movement a generation later pursued the opposite direction. Nietzsche had denounced the men­ da ci ty of traditional standards of bourgeois behavior. Ibsen and Hauptmann did likewise in their naturalist plays which emphasized the rights of the individual as opposed to so ci ety and showed the long­ ings of the indi vi dua lfor happiness. Disgusted with the sti ffness and decadence of bourgeois society as it was demonstrated by Thomas Mann in Die Buddenbrooks, German youth rebelled against turn of- ­ the- ce ntury attitudes. Opposed to the materialism,conventionalism, and insincerity of Wilhe lm ian society,these young people dreamed of a new way of life,of beauty and liberty. Wandervogel,groups of young men drawn together by the warmth of emotional life,urged their fel ­ low- ci tizens to escape the stu ffin ess of daily routine in the cities by making excursions to the meadows,mountains, and castles of the countryside,to return to nature and the genuine. Th ey revived the folksong,folkdan ce ,and folklore. Ste fan George,who wandered to

6 Giuseppe Mazzini, "Ai Giovani d'Italia," Scritti editi e inediti di Giuseppe Mazzini (Milano, 186 1-9 1), XI, 81.

1 4 THE LONGING OF YOUTH

Pa ri s whe re he was int ro duced to the ci rc le around Ma lla rm e, became thei rpoet . The Wandervogellonged to exp re ss the true and free indi­ vidual in a new,tr ue Gemeinschaftwhich would be a symbol of the re ­ bi thr of the nation . In this new community, freedom could become unive rs al aftera Fuhrerhad re placed conventional autho ri ty . Even though many outstanding leade sr of the prewa rmovement we re killed in Wo ldr Wa r I,youth movements prolife ra ted afterthe con fli ct . But the lo fty dreams of the prewa rpe ri od inc re asingly be­ came cente re d around a re gene ra tion of social life. Hence, the monthly Junge Menschen, which sought to maintain the old libe ra l and human spi ri t,did not achieve its aim . Postwa ryouth dreamed of discipline and autho ri ty,of subme rg ing the individual to society,of a supe r Fuhrerwho would be followed blindly by a Gefolgschaftof su­ pe rm en . Today's youth movements also have thei rdr eams-with and with­ out na rc otics . Inte rn ational in cha ra cte rand pe rh aps organization, they tu rn against the establishment in va ri ous nations . In la rg e mea­ su re composed of the jeunesse doreeof the affluent society,they re volt against the ve yr society that brought them forth . The Ge manr youth dreamed of the Erlebnis,or empathy-the great,unfo rg ettable expe ri ­ ence . To day's hippies trip into a psychedelic dreamwo rl d . The Rus­ sian nihilists had re jected the ro manticism and emotionalism of thei r fathe s.r The hippies,oft en neu ro tic and phlegmatic ru naways from neu oticr and phlegmatic societies, ro mantically and emotionally long fora mode rn nihilistic existence . The welfare state has "released "its child en,r who dream of a life of laziness accompanied by folkand soul music and poet y.r In cont astr to the Russian nihilists,they are indi ­f ferent to scientific achievements . In the atomic age,they have re se rv a­ tions about prog essr . Today's mo er activist youth movements in many ways sha er the dreams of the hippies but advocate violence ra the rthan apathy . In a way,thei r re lationship to the hippies can be compa re d to the re lation­ ship in Russia of socialist ra dicals to nihilists . In many re spects,the y can also be likened to the ra dical Ge rm an youth movements after Wo rl d Wa r I,as distinguished from the movements prio rto that wa r. Mode rn youthful activists dream of violently ove rt h owingr existing orde s.r They admi er scientific mate ri alism, yet they emotionally dream of a wo rl d bette rthan that re alized in the Soviet Union . They desi rethe emancipation of men,yet shy away from emphasizing the freedomof the individual fro m the gove rn ment . Th ey dream of a so­ cialist orcommunist society in which eve ry body will be taken ca er of. Thei rhe oesr are communists who challenged the establishment: Rosa

15 YOUTH

Lu xemburg, Karl Liebknecht, Ch e Guevara, Mao, Ho Ch i Minh,and Dub ekc . The ri goal is a millenn iu m of or ig in al,pu re commun is m . Burckhardt felt that the French Revolut io n produced an "a uthor ­i zat io n for a permanent rev is io n,"dec lar in g that "t he dec is iv ely new th in g wh ic h the French Revolut io n in troduced in to the world is the poss bii l it y of,and the des rie for,changes for the publ ic weal ." 7 Pres­ ent youth movements are true ch lidren of that revolut oni when they follow Herbert Marcuse and his quest for change . Many of today 's youths even dream of change for the sake of change . In large measure, the long in g of youth has become an automat ic ,sou lless mechan is m ­ an empty shell that can be filled with any content at any time . It has become devalued in to someth in g that can be everyth in g and noth in g, turn out to be good,bad, beaut ifu l,ug ly,o r what have you . The often dar in g dreams of free in g defin it e values from bondage have be come in discr im in ate,eve r-chang in g des ig ns freed of all value .

THE SORROWS, RISKS, AND DANGERS OF YO UTH

We now leave the dreams to take a look at the problems of youth . For youth does not just in dulge in wishful th in king . It is torn be tween ch lidhood and matur it y,between dreams and real it y,and by harsh real it ie s . There is probably no other age group so plagued by uncer­ ta in ty,so unsure of it sel f, and so desperately seek in g it s id ent it y . Even if if th si trying per io d does not lead youths to despa ri, it might well be harmful to the ri fellow men . "And in the morn and l iq u id dew of youth contag io us blastments are most im minent," Shakespeare wrote in in Hamlet (I, 3). Jugend kennt keine Tugend. The dreams of the youth movements just descr ib ed often turned in to unforeseen real it ie s . In a way,those dreams share the fat e of the dreams of revolut io nary movements wh ic h often are furthered by the young . They go up in smoke . The Sturm und Drang, wh ic h exalted sel f- destruct io n,de ifi ed cr im e,po lygamy,and ecstat ic in san it y,deve l­ oped in to class ic is m under the gu id ance of the more form-consc io us Goethe . On the other hand, it turned in to romant ic is m wh ic h moved Stiirmen und Driingentowa rd extremes . Herder 's glor ifi cat io n of the folk spawned not only nat io nal movements wh ic h,as shown in Me ­i necke 's Weltbiirgertum und Nationalstaat, were mitigated by cosmo­ pol it an th in k in g . It also or ig in ated the kind of chauv in is m wh ic h made Ja kob Burckhardt fea rful of German un ifi cat io n 8and prompted 7 Jakob Burckhard!, Historische Fragmente (Stuttgart, 1942), 205. 8 Letter to von Preen of July 3, 1870. The Letters of Jacob Burckhard/, ed. Alexander Dru (London, 1955), 140.

16 SORROWS, RISKS, AND DANGERS

Nietzsche's re ma kr in Ecce Homothat the Ge mansr are canaille. Maz­ zini's prog ra m,in flu enced by He rd e rand ro manticism,was brushed aside by the sobe r Ca vou ras a fantasy which appealed just to youth.9 Ye t Mu ssolini,an admi err of Nietzsche,was also captivated by the Yo ung Italy movement. Significantly,the fascist anthem was Giovi­ nezza. Inthe end, Mussolini headed the Italian Socialist Re public. Re ­ belling against thei r fathe rs , the Ru ssian nihilists fathe edr political ra dicalism. Ch ernishevsky's politico -p hilosophical novel, What Is To Be Done?,published in 1863,was followed by Le nin's pamphlet of the same title ; Le nin admi re d the great populist's stead fast mate ri alism. Would the nihilists,who we re intellectuals,have sanctioned the pe rs e­ cution of intellectuals in the Soviet Union ? In Ge rm any,the idealist Gemeinschaftof the youth of the Wilhelmian era was re placed by a de­ si re to pe rp etuate the com ra deship of the battlefield,by a quest for "fronts," "s hock brigades," "s to rm troops," and mate ri alistic com­ munities. In the end, Hitle r' s Volksgemeinschaft,composed of a Fuhrer and a Gefolgschaft,was a farcry fromwhat youth had drea me d of. An aesthete like Ste fan Geo rg e, dreaming of the Erlebnis, would have condemned the "e xciting expe ri ence "of bu ningr books and "d egene r­ ate art,"of beating and ki lling innocent people. We can only speculate as to the re sults of today's youth movements. Toynbee has ventu re d to predict that the hippies will bring about the end of the Am erican way of life. Today's activists could well cont ibuter to the end of Weste rn ivilization.c Yo uth movements following the Enlightenment,then, caused pains out of propo rt ion to the evils against which they originally re acted. And these pains seem to have inc re ased with time. The Sturm und Drang re sulted in a nationalism which was mitigated by the cosmopol­ itanism of people who we er educated,had a sense of measu er and high ethical standa rd s,and believed in the ru le of law. Its late r re sult, chauvinism,was mo er dubious,as was the legacy of the Ru ssian nihil­ ists. Although communist lite ra tu re conside rs nihilism a petty bou r­ geois movement,it also credits it forhaving inspi re d the ra dicalism that brought about the Ru ssian Re volution. The legacy of Ge manr youth movements was as disast ro us, forsome of these movements helped to bring about the Thi rd Re ich. The dete ri o ationr of youth movements ha rd ly can be due exclu­ sively to vagueness,lack of expe ri ence,and exagge ra ted sel f-esteem. While these fea tu re s cha ra cte ri stic of youth movements may have grown in the cou rs e of time,othe r facto sr must have been present. Po - • Camillo B. Cavour, Gli scritti de/ conte di Cavour, ed. Zanichelli (Bologna, 1892), II, 43.

17 YOUTH litical development is an important factor,and since that development was characterized by the march of social democracy, this march, per­ haps more than anything else, increased the dangers of youth move­ ments.

Youth movements remind us of romanticism, a movement in which young people, student fraternities, and such men as Bonington, Byron, Keats, Shelley, Holderlin, Mendelssohn, and Schubert played a role. Perhaps romanticism can be considered a youth movement by definition.This is not surprising in view of the factthat it derived from the Sturm und Drang and, in turn, spawned youth movements. Ro­ manticism also is as varied as youth movements and seems to defy definition. Hardly another movement has been given as many inter­ pretations. It means different things to different people not only be­ cause it occurred in various countries and fields but also because within these fields there existed an unusual variety of interpretations. Isaiah Berlin pointed to this confusion in his Andrew Mellon Lectures and showed how hard it is to disentangle oneself from the romanticist labyrinth. Repeatedly collectivistic in outlook, romanticism frequently is manifested in a highly individualistic if not anarchistic guise. Shel­ ley's lyrical Godwinism is paralleled by the bitter anarchism of Stimer or Bakunin. Schubert's Lieder, Beethoven's Promethean sonatas, Wagner's grandiloquent musical dramas, the enormous orchestrations of Berlioz-they all are romanticist, as are the pious calmness of Cas­ par David Friedrich and the restless motion of Delacroix. The situa­ tion is not different in literature. Romanticism ranges from the deli­ cate poetic diction of Coleridge to the rustic language of Wordsworth, from Novalis's melopoeic phonetics to Uhland's cult of the mediaeval ballad technique and Ruckert's metrical experimentation, and from Hugo and Lamartine to their critics, the Parnassians. "The element of contradiction and opposition which is encountered in romantic phi­ losophy and aesthetics is even more pronounced in the sphere of ro­ mantic political and social theory. Not only was there a wide variety of social and political doctrines as between different schools of ro­ manticism, but the same individual might in the course of his intellec­ tual development embrace a succession of apparently antipodal points of view." 10 Romanticism reflects many a dichotomy, which indicates a schizo­ phrenic nature. Jean-Jacques, the revolutionary, satanic, and passion­ ate enemy of society was matched by a loving, pious Rousseau who 10 G. Ant. Borgese, "Romanticism," Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences (195 1), XIII, 429.

18 SORROWS, RISKS, AND DANGERS quiet ly sou gh t so la ce in solitude and the contemplation of natu e.r In a dramatic re versa lof the sexes , Ma dame de Sta le stated this dichotomy in the pe rs ons of the passive ,submissive Oswald and the active ,ag ­ gressive Co ri nne. Balzac juxtaposed the satanic re volt of Vaut ri n and the Ch ri st -l ike re si gn ation of Go ri ot . Ro manticism shows the dreams and disappointments of youth its, joy and sadness . "Exultin gto Heav ­ ens ,saddened to death ,"wr ote Holde rl in ,who lived a full youth and yet cou ld not see the summe rfor which he was lon ing g,pe rh aps be ­ cause of his despai rove rthe wo rld. Fo rthe ro manticists ,hopeful joy is matched by despondent We/tschmerz. This taedium vitaecan be seen in Goethe 's We ther r, By onr 's Ch ilde Ha ro ld , and Ch ateaub ri and 's Re ne. The ma/ du siec/e,developed by Vi gn y , Sainte -Beuve , Mu sset , and othe rsad youn gmen of the nineteenth centu y,r br ou gh t Flaube tr to the ve rge of suicide befo re he was thi teenr and le d him to write these lines in his ea rl y anecdote , Voyage in Hell:

"Will you show me your kingdom?" I asked Satan. "There it is!" "What do you mean?" And Satan answered: "The world, you see, is hell."

And yet , Goethe also created Gotz ; By ro n , Prometheus ; and Ch a ­ teaub iandr , Eudo re . Flaube rt sha edr the attitude of the Jeunes -F ancer who indul ge d in Dionysian ri tua ls and pseudosatanic excesses. Ro ­ manticists seem to be to nr amon gva lu es ,seekin gideals ,tr yin gto un ­ de rs tand themse lv es ,and tryin gto fin d unde rs tandin gfrom othe rs . Al re ady Dialogues: Rousseau juge de Jean-Jacquesindicated this fac t . Insecu ri ty and unce rt ainty ,often compensated forby an exa ggerated sel f-esteem and an uncomp ro misin gconsistency of ido land action , are cha ra cte ri stic of ro manticists . Ma ny explanations have been gi ven forthe dichotomies of ro manti ­ cism. I would follow the ea rly Ca rl Schmitt and say that the main re a ­ son forthose dichotomies is probably the basic "occasionality "of ro ­ manticism . As he pointed out , occasionality does not necessa ri ly produce insecu ri ty and unce rt ainty. One need think only of Ma le ­ branche 's metaphysics ,in which God is the final autho ityr . Howeve r, insecu ri ty and unce rt ainty are likely to come about once the individ ­ ual the, ge nius "I,"assumes al lautho ri ty and becomes his own priest , his own kin g,his own prophet philosophe, r,and poet and, his own ar­ chitect in the buildin gof his pe sonar li ty ,and once he takes whateve r he happens to notice as an occasion forhis activity. And this hap -

19 YOUTH pened in the era of romanticism. Novalis stated that in romanticism everything becomes "the beginning of an indefinite Roman," a novel in which everything can happen, depending upon the occasio experi­ enced by the author and his inclinations. Just as everything may be­ come the beginning of an indefinitenovel, everything may become the beginning of an indefinitepoem, composition, oration, program, senti­ ment, dream. Everything can be the occasion for everything-with unforeseeable consequences. Everything can become an adventure. Depending upon the occasion of departure and the individuality of the romanticist, one moves-piously or demonically, quietly or en­ thusiastically, timidly or aggressively, and in innumerable other ways -into the realm of the limitless and intangible. The occasion may end with the fantastic. New occasions may create new worlds and new fantasies, and so it goes on and on, under the guidance of nothing but the magic hand of chance. Such an attitude would be ridiculous and impossible in other spiritual spheres and in the reality of life. In ro­ manticism, it produces an "interesting," colorful world. To compre­ hend what this really means one must see not only the idylls of ro­ manticism but also its desperation. One must see the three men whose disfigured faces stare through the colorful romantic veil, Byron, Bau­ delaire, and Nietzsche-three high priests who became the slaugh­ tered victims of romanticism's private priesthood. 1 1 Romanticism has always hovered over youth whether they be­ longed to youth movements or not. Characteristically, Eduard Spran­ ger's study on the psychology of youth12 is framed by poems by Hol­ derlin. As youth is the most romantic of ages, romanticism is the age­ less companion of youth. It is the companion of today's youth. In saying this I do not mean that the young people of today share all the values of the nineteenth-century movement known as romanticism. Whereas many of these values are cherished today, our youth have new values. What I mainly have in mind is that the occasionality of the romantic era is as evident today as it was ever before-perhaps even more so. And this fact is a cause for apprehension. In many ways a youth's lot is not an enviable one. Coming of youth in many respects is harder than coming of age. The latter means enter­ ing a legally sanctioned status which implies some certainty about one's position vis-a-vis one's fellow men. It gives one self-confidence. On the other hand, coming of youth only means crossing the thin bor­ derline between childhood and the vague land of youth, a crossing which legally implies criminal responsibility but no civil rights. The 11 Carl Schmitt, Politische Romantik (2d ed. ; Miinchen, 1925), 23ff. 12 Eduard Spranger, Psychologie des Jugendalters (6th ed. ; Leipzig, 1926).

20 SORROWS, RISKS, AND DANGERS you th is no tye tful yl accep te d by his fellow ci ti zens . His status is no t equa l to th ei rs . He wan ts to be independen t, ye twhe re ve rhe lo oks he re alizes th athe is dependen tupon pa enr ts , te ache rs , le gis la to rs ,and so on. Yo uth me ans unce rtain ty ,doub t, and co nfu sion . Itmeans pain . Co ming ofyou th has ri gh tly been conside re d a second bi rth. Ma ny a you th nos ta lg ica lly lo oks back to his chi ld hood . The chi ld knows th athe stilbel lo ngs to th e peop le and th ings th a tsu rround him . Whi el he no ti ces th e re sticr ti ons on his ego wi th sadness,he does no t ye tknow Weltschmerz. His inne r li fe, th e inne r li feof othe rs ,and th e li felessness of th e wo rld are no tye t to rn apa rt. Eve yr th ing is in ha r­ mony,and th e re is a naive confidence in th e pas t, th e presen t, and th e future.The er is th e happiness of chi ld hood . How diffe enr tis you h!t The chi ld may ask whe re he came from,wha texis te d befo er he came in to th e wo rld.The you th asks mo re despe ra te ques ti ons . He wan ts to kn ow why he is,whe th e r th ere is any sense in his being,and wh ethe rit mi gh tno tbe be tterif he and th e wo rld did no texis tat al l. He no lo nge rconside rs himse lf pa rtof th e wo rld th atsu rrounds him . He is a despe ra te lo ne rin a wo rld which he does no tunde rs ta nd and which does no tunde sr ta nd him . The er is no age in which th e individua l wan ts mo re to unde sr ta nd and wan ts to be mo er unde sr to od . The re is no age in which he is mo er confused . The confusio nis comp re hensive . Itexis ts in space and ti me,wi th re ­ spec t to th e presen t, th e pas t, and th e future.As he grows up, th e indi­ vidua lbecomes confused abou twha tis going on in his home,wha the hea rs in his chu rc h and his schoo l, orwha the re ads in th e newspa­ pe s.r As he grows in to socie ty ,he comes to dis li ke its re gu la ti ons and ques ti ons th e preva le n tway of li fe . He wonde rs abou teve ry body and eve ytr hing and often is despe atr e.He ta kes to Wanderlust to conso le himse lf . When th is proves to be ofno use,he seeks conso la ti on in th e assu ra nce th athi s ti me is unusua lly confus in g and di fficu lt. He wan­ de sr in to th e "g ood old pas t, "hoping to find clarity;howeve r, he be­ comes awa re th atth e pas tdoes no toffe rcl arity ei th er, th a t th ere are no ru le s to he pl him ge t his bea ri ngs . He tries re li gion . Co nfu sed abou tcu rren t re li gious be li efs,he may be imp re ssed by fai th s li ke th e young She lley's aes th etica lpan th eism orMa zzini's pos -Ct hris ti an re li ­ gion,on ly to find ou t th atsuch fai hst are no t th e answe rei th e r. His sea chr is any th ing bu ta pi grl im's prog re ss and often lo oks li ke th e pa th to He ll. He tries phi lo sophy and la w and finds th a tfor me rphi lo ­ sophies and la ws are as fullof pr ob le ms as presen tones . He tu rn s to ethics and becomes confused by va ry ing standa rd s . In aes th e ti cs,he finds th atta stes di ffer. In his despe ra ti on he seeks conso la ti on in th e en li gh te ned idea th atth e re has been a con ti nuous prog re ssion from

21 YOUTH theological-mythical thinking via metaphysics to positivism, only to shudder in the end over the latter's inhumanity and coldness. We know of Faust's desperation when after a full life of studies he recog­ nizes that he cannot know. We can imagine how an earnest youth must feel when he comes to the conclusion that his yearning for finding his way has yielded no results in spite of his many attempts. Faust no longer had illusions. A youth thrives on illusions until he be­ comes disillusioned. Uncertainty and insecurity produce a peculiar behavior. Two souls seem to live in the youth's breast. Systolic indications are followed by diastolic ones, saintly by diabolic desires. It is as if the youth had a split personality. A craving for breaking records and for excellence is followed by an incredible laziness. Exulting happiness makes room for desperate melancholy. Tenderness and cruelty, nobility and mean­ ness, sociability and the desire for solitude, belief in authority and in revolutionary radicalism-I could name many more opposites which reflect the attitudes of youths. Mendousse speaks of an "anarchy of tendencies." 1 3 This condition must torment the youth. Again and again he will attempt to overcome that anarchy-and fail. Small won­ der that he will try to compensate for his failures. He will become a martyr, a secessionist, an actor who experiments with characters and situations. Impressed by the heroic, the adventurous, the pathetic, and the passionate, he will be loud, nasty, and demonstrate an exaggerated self-esteem. He will show off. Youth means a search for truth but often becomes a cult of the lie. In his never-ending attempts to dispel his doubts, to prove himself, and to findhis identity, the youngster, ill educated and by no means wise, tends to look upon everything subjectively-and becomes the captive of the objects he discerns. He will grab these objects and consider them occasions for furthering his good or bad ends. Like a romanticist, he wants to be his own priest. The preceding paragraphs mirror scholars' evaluations of youth during the first quarter of this century. It is evident that at that time youth already was confused, probably more so than a generation or two earlier. This would be natural, for later generations face more value alternatives than earlier ones. As choices become more numer­ ous and more difficult, confusion grows. Wer die Wahl hat, hat die Qua!. Still, at the beginning of this century, there prevailed an impres­ sive set of traditional values. Consequently, youth was not too con­ fused. This has changed. Today's youth is faced with a veritable in­ undation of new values and beliefs. As a result of major changes in the economic, political, social, moral, and scientific spheres, the old 13 Pierre Mendousse, L'ame de !'adolescent (Paris, 1909), 223.

22 SORROWS, RISKS, AND DANGERS valu est ucr tu reto a la ger ex tent has co lla ps edan dis about to bere­ pl a cedby a new on e. To mak ethings wo ser ,th e repla cem en t has not yet be en co mpleted. Fu thr ermo re,what th ene w valu es will beis not yet cl ea r. Thus,youth no long eris co n front edme rely with th elab ­ yrinth of th efir m valu es of th eol derge neationr but with an en ormous numb erof vagu ean d ev er- ch anging valu es . Th etr a di tional vagu en es s of youth has beco m e co m pl em nte edby th evagu en es s of adult life. Yo uth is erring in th e da rk mo rethan ev erbe for.e To many young peopleto da y,th e ma/ du sieclehas bene su persedednot merely by th e fin de siecle. Th ye feel that th e ca tast ro ph es of ou r centu ry hav eush ­ eredin th e en dof ci vilization. Sin ceth eag eof ro manti ci sm, Welt­ schmerzhas beco m ea Leviathan. This co ndition is agg ra vat edby th e fact that ocasionalityc is mo re wi despreadthan ev erbe fore. It is a ch aracteistir cfea tu reof ou rtim e. Wear eawa reof it ev ery da y, ev ery hou .r Wh et h erwe look at a news ­ pa per,list en to th e ra di o,or wat ch television,innum erabl eim pres­ sions sto rm into ou rmin ds . A few minut es of news-lo ca l,national, int ernational-on po liti cs , crim e, sports,an dwhat not,ar efollow ed by a few minut es ,oft en only seonc ds ,of musi c, advetisr em en ts, da n c­ ing, pray er,funni es ,talk, song, an dso on an don. Th e co ck tail pa rt y, in whi ch men fli msily mov ear oun dsu perficial grou ps ,has repla ced seiousr di scussion. Th e job is su perseding th e profession,th emultiv er­ sity th euniv ersity. Fli rt ation is as cen da nt ov erlov e, sex ov er eros,an d freelov eov erma rriag e, an institution whi ch in th eag eof di vo rcehas beco m emo rean dmo retr ansito y.r Wehav ebe co m eins ecurein th e crow d, errati cfollow ers of slogans. Wehav elost ou r ro ots. Wehav e beco m ewan derers who go from station to station,only to bedi sa p­ po int edagain an dagain. Wear eto nr betw een isms an d dest ro y edby schisms. In 1897,aft erth e pl ea sant illusion of im pressionism, Gau ­ guin ask ed, "Wh ere do weco m e from ? What arewe ? Wh ere do we go ?" Th ey beca meth e desperat equ es tions of ou r centu ry . Aft ervan Gogh shot hims lfe, th e ex pressionists depicted men an d th ire su r­ ro un di ngs in th e desolation of human ex ist en ce; how vee ,r in th ire wo rk s on estill ca n recogniz eme n an dmatt er. Who ca n now that ab ­ st ra ct ionism has ledus into a no man 's lan d? Wenot only suff er from an oppo rt unisti cus ean dabus eof valu es . Wese evalu es in things that hav elittl evalu ean din an oppo tunistir cway mak eth emost of th em . An dwh ereis youth- co nfus edby definition-in this tu rm oil that brings des peration ev en to di sciplin ed,matu read ults ? Th ire co nfusion must hav egr own imm en sely-an dwith it,th ire po tential th reat. Fo r th egr owth of un certainty an dins ecu ri ty is lik el y to in creas eth e desi re to co mpnsate e. Du ri ng Sturm und Drang an d ro manti ci sm, Welt-

23 YOUTH schmerz drove youth to suicide and mild reforms. Youth today go beyond that. The dreams of youth have been replaced by fantastic ob­ sessions. Mild reforms have been superseded by wild plans, the thought of suicide by that of murder. If God is dead, why not the world?

YO UTH, EDUCAT ION, AND DEMOCRACY

The dangers of youth have always been recognized and prompted educational measures. Aristophanes, considering himself a youthful rebel against the sophistic corruption of his time, has given us a de­ bate between philosophy and sophistry, in which Philosophy says:

Gentlemen, I propose to speak of the Old Education, as it flourished once beneath my tutelage, when Homespun Honesty, Plainspeaking, and Truth were still honored and practiced, and throughout the schools of Athens the regime of the three D's-DISCIPLINE, DECORUM, and DUTY- enjoyed unchallenged supremacy. Our curriculum was Music and Gymnastic, enforced by that rigorous discipline summed up in the old adage: BOYS SHOULD BE SEEN BUT NOT HEARD. This was our cardinal rule, and when the students, mustered by groups according to region, were marched in squads to school, discipline and absolute silence prevailed. Ah, they were hardy, manly youngsters. Why, even on winter mornings when the snow, like powdered chaff, came sifting down, their only protection against the bitter weather was a thin and scanty tunic. In the classes, posture was stressed and the decencies firmly enforced: the students stood in rows, rigidly at attention, while the master rehearsed them by rote, over and over. The music itself was traditional and standard- such familiar anthems and hymns as those, for instance, beginning A Voice from Afar or Hail, 0 Pallas, Destroyer I-and the old modes were strictly preserved in all their austere and simple beauty. Clowning in class was sternly forbidden, and those who improvised or indulged in those fantastic flourishes and trills so much in vogue with the degenerate, effeminateschool of Phrynis, were promptly thrashed for subverting the Muses. In the gymnasium too decorum was demanded.

24 YOUTH, EDUCATION, AND DEMOCRACY

The boys were seated together, stripped to the skin, on the bare ground keeping their legs thrust forward, shyly screening their nakedness from the gaze of the curious .... At table courtesy and good manners were compulsory. Not a boy of that generation would have dreamed of taking so much as a radish or the merest pinch of parsley before his elders had been served. Rich foods were prohibited, raucous laughter or crossing their legs forbidden.... 14

Ph ilosophy 's id ea l of edu ca t ion,then, was ch ara ct er iz ed by disc­i plne,i de corum,and duty. Th si paideiawas genera lly aceptedc by the Romans,wh obe lieved in the pr nci pi le , "a hea lt hy mind in a hea lt hy body." Bas icalyl san tic nedo by the Ch ur ch , it preva iled unt ilthe En­ lightenment as "h uman is t ic"edu ca t ion. Since then, it has been super­ seded by edu ca t iona lmeth od s wh ich put le ss emphas is up on th os e va lu es. Goethe, judg in g the tw o ch ildren of Sturm und Drang, felt that class icism was hea lt hy and romant icism,si k.c For him,di scip lined, de corous Masswas pre fer ab el tothe und sci pli ned,i occas iona lmess of Schwiirmerei. Edu ca t or s, on the ot her hand, in cr eas in g ly followed the man wh ohas been cons id ered the father of romant icism- Rousseau. Kn ow n alsoas the father of modern dem ocra cy ,he stands in the mid­ dle of edu ca t iona lreforms between John Locke and John Dewey the, former liv in g at the beg in ning of const it ut iona ldem ocra cy in Eng la nd and the la tter at the beg nni in g of abs olute dem ocra cy in the Un it ed States. After the effor ts of Rabe la is , Monta ig ne, Ba con, an d Comen iu s, John Locke be ca me the ma jor sp ok esman fora new con ce pt ion of ed­ ucat ion in a rev olt aga in st the high ly discip linary meth od s of the "h u­ man is ts." Advan cing most of his id eas in An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)and Some Thoughts Concerning Education (1693), Locke cons id ered discip line a prerequ is it e tothe phys ical,mo ra l, and in te lle ct ua l deve lopment of the in dividua l. Be liev in g that a sound mind cou ld best flour is h in a sound body,he formu la ted str ict ru le s for body cu lt ure : frequent cold baths, op en air, light cloth in g, fruga l mea ls ,ear ly tobed and on a hard bed,and plenty of exer cise. Disc­i plnei of the b od y was tobe comp le mented by mora ldi scip line: im me­ diate and willing ob ed ie n ce toel ders,se lf-cntro oland se lf-d en ali ,to be enfor ce d,as a la st res or t,by corp or a lpun is hment. Great im por-

14 Aristophanes, The Clouds, trans. William Arrowsmith (Ann Arbor, 1962), 73f. The permission of the University of Michigan Press to reprint is appreciated.

25 YOUTH tan ce was pla ce d on good br eeding . The formation of ch ara ct er and a fine persona li ty were more important than the cu lt ivation of mere in­ te llecuat l faculties . It ca nnot be denied that Lo ck e's emphasis on dis­ ci pline,virtue, wisdom, breeding, and le arning co mes close to the clas­ si c, humanisti cidea lof edu ca tion . And yet,the phi lo sopher of the Ameri ca n Re vo lu tion made inroads upon that idea l. Su bo rdinating co mprehensive le arning from bo oks to down-to-earth things su hc as reading,writing, and arithmeti c, and su bo rdinating the study of La tin to Fren ch and the mother tongue, Lo ck e's edu ca tiona lmethod was main ly geared to preparing the young forpra ct i alc li fe. It was li ke ly to prevent an acquaintan ce with phi lo sophy and humanisti cva lu es . It re­ du ce d dis ci p li ne by the sheer fact that it no lo nger required dis ci pline for the le arning of "n on -p ra tic alc "matters . It hampered edu ca tion in the sense of paideiaand made it harder for the youth to strike phi lo ­ sophi alc roots, to gain clarity,to find his be arings,to be co me a hu­ mane,as distinguished from a mere human, be ing . It was li ke ly to make him a mere obje tc of,and ad juster to,the ocasionsc of dai ly rou­ tine,an opportunisti cand co nfused errand bo y . This possi bi li ty in cr eased with Ro usseau's Emile (1762). Be li eving that everything degenerates in the hands of man,the phi lo sopher of the Fren ch Re vo lu tion le ftedu ca tion to nature itse lf. Placed under the ca re of a tutor about his age, Em ile grows up a hea lt hy anima l. Far re­ moved from so ci ety,he yie ld s to no authority bu t that of his own in­ stin ct s . He never is for ce d to do anything he does not wish . He is not taught by his tutor who mere ly she lt ers his free deve lo pment . His own experien ce s tea ch him what is wise and good,what le ads to su ccess and what to fai lu re . Body and mind grow natura lly in various stages . Having deve lo ped a strong bo dy, Em ile obtains most of his inte lle c­ tua ltraining . He engages in pra ct i alc studies, in scientifi corientation, manua l la bo r,and ex cu rsions into nature . One dis co very le ads to an­ other . In time, le arning be co mes more systemati cbe ca use the youth le arns to judge and reason . At eighteen, the "a ge of humanity," Em ile's so ci a land mora edul ca tion intensify through histori alc studies and the reading of fabesl . He now ca n be exposed to re li gious ques­ tions so that he may free ly ch oose a re li gion . At twenty,he engages in more refined studies . He le arns La tin, Greek,and Ita li an and reads drama and poetry in their origina ltongues . He be co mes a gent le man, abel to head a househo ld and to be a distinguished ci tizen . His mora l va lu es wi ll be re la tive to need,time, and place.In a word,they wi ll be determined by the ocasionsc of dai ly li feand routine . Li ke Lo ck e's youth, Ro usseau's youth is supposed to ad just himse lf to fle eting,tem­ porary va lu es . Sin ce a humanisti cedu ca tion from the twentieth year

26 YOUTH, EDUCATION, AND DEMOCRACY on can har dl y make up for the earlier neglect of humanistic stu di es , Rousseau's youth is likely to be as confuse das Lo cke's. As a matter of fac t he, probably is worse off. Whereas Lo cke , di scouraging humanis­ tic stu di es ha, donly de crease d di scipline , Rousseau largely eliminate d it. Putting his trust in a du bious sel -df iscipline of chil dr en an dyoung­ sters ,he left an unstable youth lonely in a corrupt society. In spite of their lightening of di scipline , Lo cke an d Rousseau coul d still hope to approach the humanistic ideal of paideia. They believe d in the existence of fixe did eas an dconsi de re ded ucation a means to achieve some kin d of humanistic , genuine virtue which coul d ai d youths' orientation an d provi de them with confi de nce. For John Dewey who, wrote at the height of American de mocracy there, are no fixe dbeliefs. He consi de re dthe search for certainty a "c ompensatory perversion " 15-a n illusion which di verts men's attention an dabilities from the possible an dpractical realities within their comprehension. He subor di nate dthe en dto the means an deven abolishe dthe di stinc­ tion between them. Li feis meaningless ,the aimless lifeis to be com­ men ded. The same principles of explanation apply to animal an d human life. There is no realm of en ds . Everything is provisional. Ch ange is a fruitful category. The act prece de s the thought. Small won de r that Dewey became an advocate of an educational metho d which negates di scipline an dpermits the chil dto dr ift accor di ng to his instincts an d de sires. The youth Dewey ha din min dis surroun dedby nothing but provisional values. He fin ds himself living in a worl din which every value is as provisional an das important as every other -a worl dcompose dof provisoria which are equally ina de quate. Robert Hutchins summe d up this situation : "To da y the young American comprehen ds only by acci de nt the intellectual tra di tion of which he is a part an din which he must live ... hol di ng that nothing is any more important than anything else that, there can be no or de r of goo ds an d no or de r in the intellectual realm. There is nothing central an dnoth­ ing peripheral nothing, primary an dnothing secon da ry nothing, basic an dnothing superficial." 1 6 On the face it, looks as if this conglomera­ tion of equalities woul dput youth at ease. If all things are equal ,then accepting one must be as goo das accepting another. If nothing is bet­ ter than anything else , nothing can be worse than anything else. Weltschmerzmust lose its rationale. But this is not the way it works. Equalities exclu de values , an d youths are de sperately looking for values. They will be di sappointe dwhen they fin dnothing. When an empty worl dstares into their face th, ye will stare back an dask the ol d question : "Why am I an dwhy is the worl d?" The pro du ct of "p rogres- 15 John Dewey, The Quest fo r Certainty (New York, 1929), 228. 16 Robert M. Hutchins, Education fo r Freedom (Baton Rouge, 1943), 25f.

27 YOUTH sive education," an undisciplined and spoiled youth sooner or later must fall into complete confusion. Dewey's The Way out of Educa­ tional Confusion, published in 1931, fifteen years after his Democracy and Education, indicates the dilemma which his educational theories helped to bring about. It sometimes is argued that the increasing loss of discipline in edu­ cation could be compensated for by compulsory public education, which came about in most nations after the eighteenth century and re­ ceived its greatest boost during the French Revolution. Indeed, it is conceivable that a guaranteed minimum of education fora large part of the population might have prompted a lessening of discipline. Per­ haps there is significance in the fact that Locke, a disciplinarian, was lukewarm about public education; that Rousseau, less disciplinarian, wanted it; that Dewey, not disciplinarian at all, took it for granted. It appears doubtful, however, that the imposition of education upon more and more people justifies less and less discipline in education, for it basically amounts to an expansion of quantity at the cost of quality. And this is too high a price to pay. Whereas education is de­ sirable for as many people as possible, it must remain genuine educa­ tion and not become diluted. "Education forall is no education at all" is a specter which cannot be dismissed lightly. Public education, then, did not alleviate the basic decline of education even if we see public education at its best and discard the warning of John Stuart Mill's ar­ ticle "Endowments" that, if permitted to replace private education, public education would mold all men into the same intellectual pat­ tern. In answer to Mill's fear, disciplinarians will argue that such mold­ ing is exactly what the young need if they are to be delivered from confusion and despair and to be brought to clarity and hope. Others will add that such a molding must be especially effective if it is fa­ vored by, and in turn favors, the new deities which in modern times have replaced the church, such as nationalism, socialism, and democ­ racy. We can dispose of the former two easily. Our interest is in the free education of men to be free men, and both nationalism and socialism have hardly proved to be conducive to this aim. While the nationalism of a Fichte or a Mazzini was compatible with the humanistic idea which at that time was threatened by Napoleon and British imperial­ ism under the slogan, "my country, right or wrong," German and Ital­ ian nationalism later degenerated into the opportunism of Hitler and Mussolini. Under their regimes nationalism no longer was disciplined

28 YOUTH, EDUCATION, AND DEMOCRACY byhumanism bu tdisciplined humanism ou tof exis te nce. As to social­ ism a, dic ta to rship of hte prole ta ria t,or of htose who pre te nd to speak for itis, incompa ti ble wi ht tr ue educa ti on. Italso has been shown htat forms of socialism htatare mi ti ga te d or, disciplined by, liberal democ­ rac ylead to ser fdo m. 1 7 Our hope , hten res, ts upon democracy. Co uld hte grow ht of democ­ rac ymake up for hte loss of discipline in educa ti on ? Co uld democrac y have become an ideal so overpowering htatit would ins ti ll hte yo ung wi ht so grea ta de ov ti o n,gi ve htem so grea ta sense of belonging and direc ti on ,as to alle vi a te hte risks and da ng ers of yo u ht ? Is htere sig­ ni ficance in hte fac t htatLo cke ,h opi ng for limi te d democracy,st ill belie edv indiscipli na r yme htods ; htatRo usseau ,desiring a less lim­ ited democrac y,belie edv in "nega ti ve educa ti on "; htatDewe y,seei ng hte ac tu al progression in hte United States from li mited to unlimi te d democrac y, favored "p rogressi ve educa ti on "? Did democrac ybeware of hte pi tfalls of na ti onalism and socialism ? Did itremain disciplined byhuma ni sm in order htatmen migh tbe freel yeduca te d to be free ? Wi htou tmuc h doub t, htis had been hte hope of democra ti c educa to rs. Lo cke hte studen tof Co ke , Ro usseau hte con te mporar yof Co ndorce t, Dewe y hte studen tof effersonJ -theyall fel t htatpopular go ve rnmen t should pro idev for hte righ ts of man and htus be limi te d ,or disci­ plined ,by ht ose righ ts . Theyall hoped htatdemocra ti c de elopmenv t would make democrac ya safer and sa fer haven for paideia. Increasing par ti cipa ti on byht e indi vi dual in go ve rnmen twould resul tin increas­ ing emancipa ti on of hte indi idualv fromgo erv nm en t. The indi idualv 's freedom would no tbe hte freedom of anarch ybu t hte freedomun der hte rule of law. Educa ti on for a liberal democrac yin a liberal democ­ rac ywould bring clari ty to hte mind of yo u ht gi, ev hope to yo u ht and, elimina te hte dangers of yo u ht. In hte las tanal ysis , htis hope was based upon hte specula ti on htat liberal democrac ywould remain free of hte occasionali tyc harac te ris­ ti c of roman ti cism. Itwas a va in hope. To begin wi ht ,democrac yh as a roman ti c burde n,for itwas ti ed up wi ht his to rical roman ti cism. Rousseau , hte father of modern democrac y,w as also a father of ro­ man ti cism. Even after acobinJ democrac yand Napoleon 's democra ti c caesarism had made room for a more liberal democrac y,democrac y remained connec te d wi ht roman ti cism. As a ma tter of fac t,democ­ rac ycan be said to be hte alter egoof roman ti cism. As la te as hte 1870's , Taine co ns idered roma nticism a bourgeois mo emev nta gai nst hte aris to cra ti c rule of hte eigh te e nth ce ntur y,a democra ti c re olv tat a ti me when hte human mind was becoming plus capable d'abstraire,a 17 F. A. Hayek, TheRoad to Serfdo m (Chicago, 1944).

29 YOUTH

re vol twh ic h denounced trad itional forms as artific ia l and sea rc hed forth e tru th ful and na urt al -of te n atth e cos t of all form. When spe kia ngof democ ra cy,he had in mind th e th en ex sti ngi libe alr de ­ moc acy,r a democ ra cy th atfound its pu rp ose and limist in th e righ ts of man,a democ ra cy wh ic h th e bou rgeo is ie in 1789cr ea te d in a re vo­ lu tion agains t th e aris to cracy and in 1848de fen ded agains t th e prole ­ ta ria t. Roman tically, Ta in e hoped th a t ro man tic is m would brin g abou ta new orde r-bu t fea re d th atit would end in chaos.18 Ev en ts have shown th a t Ta in e's fea rs we re mo er jus tified th an his hopes . The leade shr ip of democ acy,r at hi s time bas ic ally confined to an educa te d bou rgeo is el ite,has since been trans ferred to th e less edu ­ ca te d ma sses. Whe re as th e libe ra l democ ra cy of th e ro man tic era was la rgely de ert mined,as Ta nei pu t it,by th e plebeien occupe a parvenir, mode rn democ ra cy became mo er and mo er th e doma in of plebe ia n pa rv enus. The re volu tion of th e bou rgeo is ie has been supe rs eded by th e re vol tof th e masses. 19 Now th is developmen tdoes no tnecessa rily preven t th e crea tion of a new orde .r It is probable th a t th e masses in th e irown democ atr ci orde rwi ll be ru n by th e irki nd orby a dem ­ agogue re presen tingth em-who like Stal in , Mussol in i, orHi tl ermay well be a plebe ia n pa rv enu. No one would doub t th a t th is would con ­ stitute an orde ,r if only an orde r in wh ic h people stew in th e irown ju ic es. Such an orde ,rhoweve r, is likely to be so au hot ritarani and so in compa tible wiht a human sti ci educa tion th a twe need no telabo ar te on it. Wha t is of in te re s t to us is democ ra cy as itex sti s in Wes ert n na ­ tions . Whe re as some of th ese democ acr ie s pe rh aps have al re ady re ached th e stage of absolu te ma jo rity ru le, th ere are stlli libe alr ele ­ men ts presen t in th em to qual if y th em as po te n tial havens forhuman ­ is m. Re gretably,t th ese democ acr ie s no tonly have failed to ach ie ve th e orde rwh ic h Ta in e hoped th ey would bu thave become in c re as ­ in gl y formless. Mode rn mass democ ra cy,be ngi less ra tional th an th e el itistlibe ra l democ acyr of th e nine te en th cen tu ry ,has become con ­ fused and con fus ngi , in sp ite of th e fac t th a t th e mos t "c on fus ngi " in ­ na te aspec ts of libe alr democ ra cy,di v is io ns of powe ,r in la rge measu re have been disca rd ed. Mode rn democ ra cy has become an emp ty shell to be filled wiht th e con te nts va rious occas io ns may demand and to be emp tied again on new occas io ns. We need th in k only of campa ign prom is es wh ic h are forgo tten afterelec tions and re placed by new prom is es diecr te d to wa rd winn ngi com ngi elec tions. Mode nr democ ra cy in la rge meas ­ ure has become an oppo rtun sti ci ra ce to in flu ence th ose na vei re cep ta -

18 Hippolyte Adolphe Taine, Histoire de la litterature anglaise (3d ed.; Paris, 1873-74), IV, 233ff. 19 Jose Ortega y Gasset, La rebe/ion de las masas (Madrid, 1929).

30 YOUTH, EDUCATION, AND DEMOCRACY cles of wishful th inking,the voters 'bra ins. Or co ns id er the decl ine of that trad tiional stro ng hold aga inst co nfu s oni an d uncerta inty �t he law. Everyth ing seems fit to be poured into legal forms today. Modern leg is lators seem to be obsessed with rev sii ng old and mak in g new laws. Worse st il l,leg is lat iv e acts increas ingly have become comple­ mented by execut iv e rules and regulat io ns. Inview of th is in undat io n with laws and regulat io ns, I asked a few years ago whether the "m o­ tor iz ed "lawmaker, no ticeable since World War I, is not about to be replaced by the "jet "lawmaker. 20 Today,the situat io n is worse st il l. The opportun is t ic att it ude of lawmakers has been followedby oppor­ tun is tic att it udes of judges,wh o are obv io usly reluctant to enforce the law in a way that would secure law and order. Th si has resulted in an in creas in g disregard for the law and inthe deplorable breakdown of law and order wh ic h has occurred in the past years in the ma jor democrat ic nat io ns. As can hardly be otherw is e,the decl in e of the law was accompan ie d by a decl ine of morals,wh chi are ina state of con­ fus io n and are rap id ly approach in g a complete breakdown. Many of these aspects of modern democracy st il l are concealed by facades,but these fac ades only enhance the bas ic dece it of our time. An d woe to the youth who looks beh in d them ! If a yout hhopes to find a democracy similar to that descr ib ed in Per ic les ' Funeral Orat io n,a way of lifewh ic hprov id ed paideia in a firm order,he will see in stead human is t ic id eas trampled by neurot ic and in cons id erate masses in an env ir onment that approac he s chaos. Instead of Winckelmann 's "noble simpl ic it y,si lent grandeur," he will find vulgar pompos it y and loud pett in ess. Instead of a refined democ­ racy,di sc ip l in ed for the sake of the ind iv id ual by divisions of power, he will encounter a coarse and und is c ip l in ed ma jor tyi rule wh chi has discarded const it ut io nal safeguards and in dulges in abuses of power . He finds pol it ic al sc ie nce replaced by pol it ic s. He will become aw ar e that the noble cit iz en,wh o took the place of the noble savage and de ­ fen ded democracy,has been pushed as id e by the savage cit iz en,th e petty bourgeo is . He becomes conv inced that the vo ic e of the people cannot poss ib ly be the vo ic e of God. Th is ,th en, is the lot of youth today. Rat he r than amel io rat in g the co nfus io n natural to youth,moder nde mo cracy ha s en ha nc ed it and has in creased yout h's desperat io n. Bor nwi thromant ic is m,democracy has reduced romant ic is m to it s skeleto nof occas io na lism,to it s bare, value -fr ee essent ia ls. Yo uth inth e era of romant ic is m st il l saw id eals, beauty, and harmony around themselves, id eals wh ic h could make them for get the occas io nal it y of the ir time. Today 's youth,wh lei th ey

20 See the author's In Defense ofProperty (Chicago, 1963), 152.

31 YOUTH like to dream on,see themselves su rrounded by mate rial is m,ugl in ess, and disha rm ony and are constantly awa re of life' s occas io nal it y. Yo uths in the ro mant ic era comm it ted su ic id e out of Weltschmerz. To­ day's youth st rikes out aga in st the pa in ful wo rl d. The ro mant ic youth bas ic ally was gently pass iv e. Today's youth is unseemly act iv e ;how­ eve ,rthe iract iv is m is likely to in crease the irconfus io n and despe ra ­ tion. Sch leil 'sr Riiuberknew what they wanted. Today's youth are too con fus ed to know what they want. They want to have a vo ic e in eve y­r th in g,but the irvo ic e bet ra ys in dec is io n. It adds anothe rdi mens io n of con fus io n to a soc ie ty that al re ady is confused and fast mov in g in to the tu rb ulence of ana rc hy and collapse.

32 2 UNIVERSITY Research and Clarity

UNIVERSITY AND DE MOCRACY

In the tu bulenr ce of mode rn demo cra cy ,the id ea of the un iv ersity must stand out as a ra y of hope. Th e sapientia universitatismust eme rg e as a wel co me ch eck upon the confusio multitudinis of the plu alr is t icso ciety. An in st it ut io n wh ich embod ie s the fus io n of the sci­ en ce s must be greeted as an ant id ote to the co nfus io n of popula rop in ­ io ns. Th e un it y of lea nir ng must be ha il ed as a re pla ce ment of the oc­ ca sional it y of the people's da il y ro ut in e. Lux et veritas:as the to rch of Prometheus let the troglodytes see the truth,un iv ersit ie s co uld shed light and brngi truth in to a demo crat icwo ldr wh ich has be co me in ­ creas in gly obs urc e an d false. Un iv e sir t ie s are the oppos it es of mode nr demo cracesi in many re ­ spe ct s. Th e co nst it uents of demo cracesi are cit iz ens ;those of un iv ersit ie s are academ ic cit iz ens. De mo crat ic co mmun it ie s are co mposed of the mass of the people ;un iv ersit ie s,of a fra ct io n of that mass. De mo cra­ cies are egal it a rian ;un iv e sir t ie s, el it is t. Th ese bas icdi st in ct io ns have preva edil to ou rday. Whe re as mo er people are in un iv e sir t ie s now than eve rbefo e,r mo er people also pa tir cipate in the demo crat icpr oc­ ess. Th e growth in the numbe rof academ ic cit iz ens has not substan­ tially affe ct ed the el it is t ch a ra ct e rof un iv ersit ie s. Th e aim of un iv ersit ie s is the sea rch aftertr uth ;that of demo cra­ cies, co nven ie n ce . When pronoun cing the prin ciple salus populi su­ prema lex esto, Cice ro may well have sha re d the bel ie f that the welfare of the people only ca n ex is t in truth. Howeve ,rwh il e th is bel ie f re co g­ nizes the poss ib il it y that the people will rise towa rd the sea rch of the truth,the ch an ce s are that the irai ms will be of a less exa ct in g natu re . Even Cice ro fel t that the sea rch aftertr uth would co me only after phys ical wants have been sat is fied. 1 One ca n dispute the id ea ex­ pressed in Hegel's Philosophy of Lawthat the people do not know 1 Cicero, Offi c. init.

33 UNIVERSITY what they want.2 They know pretty well what for the time being is convenient for them. Marx regretted that the people are unwilling to make sacrifices for a revolution. Be that as it may, they generally are unwilling to make sacrifices for the search after truth. They like to consume, but are unable to create, the fruits of research. Universities, while not immune to emotion, are strongholds of ra­ tionality. Modern democracies, while not devoid of rational features, in a large measure have become theaters of emotions. Whereas de­ mocracy could be a rational form of government-and was so con­ ceived by its modern founders in England, the United States, and France according to principles laid down by such men as Coke, Locke, Montesquieu, and the authors of The Federalist-modern de­ mocracies, having become mass democracies, have tended toward emotionalism and irrationality. By the time of Ortega y Gasset, de Tocqueville's fears had been borne out. Ariosto's and Goethe's skepti­ cism toward the rationality of the masses,

Che'! volgare ignorante ogn' un riprenda E parli piu di quel che meno intenda.

Zuschlagen kann die Masse, Da ist sie respektabel; Urteilen gelingt ihr miserabel, appears to have been more justified than the neutralism Hegel ex­ pressed at a time when men still harbored great hopes forrational de­ mocracy.3 On the other hand, due to the advance of the natural sci­ ences and their research methods, universities have become more, rather than less, rational. Even Ortega, critical as he was of modern universities, recognized them in his Mission of the University as strong­ holds of rational behavior which stood in sharp contrast to the irrati­ onality of modern mass rule. Democracies have become unstable. Universities have remained re­ latively stable. It is true that in recent years universities have been facedwith problems of stability; nevertheless, instability in universi­ ties is still exceptional. By contrast, instability has become the rule in modern democracies in spite of the survival of various stability fac­ tors. Having often been plagued by instability (the cities of ancient Greece and the American states under the Articles of Confederation are examples), democracy in the twentieth century has tended toward 2 Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Siimtliche Werke (Stuttgart, 1949), VII, 409. See also 383f., 413f. 3 Ibid., 425.

34 UNIVERSITY AND DEMOCRACY instability on account of the irrationality of politics and the srowing elimination of checks upon those in power. Democratic governments change fast according to popular whims and desires. University ten­ ure regulations prevent a frequent turnover of personnel. To please their constituents, democratic governments increasingly have engaged in changing the laws. With a few exceptions, universities have ob­ served time-honored customs, rules, and regulations. Paraphrasing Coke's distinction between natural and artificial reason,4 it could be said that in democracies the natural reason of the citizens can always determine what the law is and what it ought to be. On the other hand, the natural reason of academic citizens always is under the rules and regulations of science, under some kind of artificial reason which has been compiled by great minds over generations. Modern democracies have become challenges to law and order. In spite of outbreaks of violence on several campuses, universities gener­ ally have retained their laws and orders. The predicament of democra­ cies is not surprising, for it follows from the natural instability of de­ mocracy. As long as constitutions were recognized as supreme laws controlling democratic processes, the issue of law and order could not easily arise. It was bound to arise when constitutions were no longer unequivocally so recognized, and when, due to the march of democ­ racy, the contents of constitutions became determined by legislation or judicial adjustment. Constitutional legitimacy was replaced by a mere legality under which rulers could transmute into law ideas that could challenge law and order. Finally, modern democracy has accepted equality for its faith, whereas universities have continued to believe in liberty. In the democratic revolutions in England, the United States, and France, de­ mocracy was conceived as a liberal democracy in which equality meant equality before laws which permitted the free use of unequal abilities. In modern times, de Tocqueville's prediction that the march of democracy would move toward egalitarianism has been borne out. The primacy of liberty increasingly has become replaced by that of equality. The latter no longer means equality beforethe law but equal­ ity through the law. This development has not taken place in universi­ ties. While universities are more egalitarian today than previously be­ cause the influx of students has led to a certain levelling of requirements, universities in general still emphasize the free develop­ ment of the individuals' unequal abilities over the equal development of all. If one looks for a common denominator in the features which dis-

4 Coke on Littleton, § 97b.

35 UNIVERSITY tinguish modern universities from democracies,one could say that it is clarit y. In contrast to convenience,the ma jor aim of democracies, the inherent aim of universities, truth, implies clarity . Wahrheit, Klarheit; Klarheit, Wahrheit. Ch aracteristicall y,truth is depicted as a nude holding a mirror clearly showing herself .5 If truth means clarity, then an academic communit y,devoted to the search for truth,must re fle ct greater clarity than a community of ordinary citizens,who are primarily interested in the en joyment of the Garden of Eden �a veritable labyrinth of the conveniences of daily life. There cannot be much doubt that rationality is clearer than emotions,that there is greater clarity in stability than in instability, that law and order represent clarity better than anarch yand disorder . Also,liberty is clearer than equality . It stands out in an egalitarian environment,an environment which usually is devoid of clarity . Furthermore, it is questionable whether in an egalitarian environment,tending as it does towardpassivity, there can be achieved as much as in a libertarian one,conducive as it is to activity .6

UNIVERSITY, TRUTH, AND REASON

Cl arity factors in today 's universities re fle ct the original idea of the university . They exist because throughout history universities,while never absolutely realizing the ideal University,have done their best to approach it . To Hegel 's dictum, "w hat is reasonable is real;and what is real is reasonable," 7can be added that what is,in large measure is reaso na ble because universities have upheld the idea of the university . Hegelian reasoning might not have achieved its dominating position had no t friends of the idea of the university, Wilhelm von Humboldt, Fichte, Schleiermacher,and Steffens,helped to fou nd the University of Berlin . In turn,that university never could have been fou nded had not the idea of the university bee nkept alive and had universities not successfully defended that idea against outside encroachments . In his lecture "On the Ca lling of the Scholar,"delivered at the Uni­ versity of Jena shortly after the French Revolution, Fichte considered the scholar "a priest of the truth,"a man committed to do,dare, and su ffer anything for the truth,willing to be persecuted,hated, and even 5 "Hinter dieser Augen Klarheit/ruft ein Herz in Lieb' und Wahrheit"-Goethe./ "Du weisst, Betrug und Tand umringt die reine Wahrheit/verfalschtihr ewig Licht und dampfet ihre Klarheit"-Haller. 6 See the author's In Defense ofPropert y, esp. 139ff. 1 Hegel, Philosophy of Law, 33.

36 UNIVERSITY, TRUTH, AND REASON to di e in its se rv ice.8 He ha din min da pe rs onality quite di ffe re nt from the occasionalist ro manticist who was his own priest,who woul dan ­ nounce an dar ra nge his own truths orhal f-t ru ths,an doft en adve rt ise them as the only un di sputable truth. He ha din min dthe kin dof he or Niet schez want ed -a man willing to be ma rt y edr for th e tr uth. Un e­ quivocally committe dto the sea rc h fortruth, the Unive rs ity was to be a ro ck of trustwo thinessr an da symbol of cla ri ty. We may well maintain that it is. Truth,of cou rs e,may cause pain . Still,the saying, "w ho inc reases knowle dg e,inc re ases pain,"is du bi ­ ous. The ve yr fact that the re is truth gives us assu ra nce. Truth pro­ vi des secu ri ty becaus e it is in de st ru ctible. Truth gives confi de nce: "When the wo ldr is about to drown,it must be save dth oughr a re ve ­ lation of truth " (Mong Dsi .) Truth encou agesr :once we have sense d it,we wa nt to search forit restl es sly,hoping that th emind will find peace th oughr its di scove ry .9 Pilate's question "What is truth ?"suggests that the reis no such thing. In deed,this question has been answe re d in such a va ier ty of ways that do ubts about the ex istence of truth seme to be ju stifie d; howeve r, the question has been answe redin a va ri et y of ways only be ­ cause men are fallible. From an ob jective point of view,th erecan be only one truth,although men may not know what it is. Goeth e, who wrote Reinha rd "t hat the va ri ous mo de s of thi nking are ro ote din the di ffe encesr of men and forthis re ason a gene ra l unifo rm conviction is impossible,"still wrote in "Zahme Xe nien :"

Wenn ich kennte den Weg des Herrn, ich ging' ihn wahrhaftig gar zu gem; fiihrte man mich in der W ahrheit Haus, bei Gott! ich ging' nicht wieder heraus.

The fact that men are unable to di scove rthe truth do es not prove that it do es not exist.10 Erro rs prove the existence of truth. Error multiplex, veritas una. Intellectual histo ry is a histo ryof di scove ri ng erro rs and re placing them by truths,a continuous diminution of erro r, a neve r­ en di ng prog re ss towa rdtr uth. Pehapsr Pilat esense dthis. His question, while re vealing do ubts whethe rme n can know the truth,also re veals hope in the existence of truth. Wh ereas men may not know the truth, they may st ri ve towa rd knowing it. In the last analysis,th ire se arch 8 Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Uber die Bestimmung des Gelehrten (1794), in Siimmtliche Werke, ed. J. H. Fichte (Berlin, 1845-46), VI, 333f. 9 Karl Jaspers, Von der Wahrheit (Miinchen, 1947), 453. IO See ibid., 733; Max Scheler, Der Formalismus in der Ethik und die materiale Wert­ ethik (4th ed., Bern, 1954), 70, 204.

37 UNIVERSITY cannot be disappointing. It may often yield few results. It may be difficult and frustrating. La verite ne se decouvre qu'avec peine. Still, there always will be satisfaction in having progressed a little further toward one's aim, and even the awareness of errors will result in a pride for having advanced. The search forthe truth has been given high ranking throughout the history of Western civilization. Cicero considered it the most impor­ tant intellectual endeavor. The passage where he mentions this is, ac­ cording to Cardinal Newman, but one of the many similar passages by a multitude of authors. 11 Serving the truth has generally been con­ sidered the major aim of the University, from its inception in ancient Greece to the studies of Jaspers and Ortega and others in our era. The University's aim forclarity, following from its commitment to the search after truth, is enhanced by the way it goes about that search. There can be no doubt that many a truth has been discovered by mere speculation. Without speculation there is no advancement of learning; however, even the results thus foundare accepted only upon scientific verification. The search forthe truth is a scientificpursuit. Its aim for clarity is advanced through clear methods. Implying clear methods to attain the clarity of truth, science has certain assumptions. The slogan "science assumes nothing" is justified only insofar as science cannot admit any restrictions upon its ad­ vancement. It must be skeptical not only toward such things as reli­ gions and Weltanschauungen but also toward generally accepted be­ liefs, even if they are held by respected scientists. Verile dans un temps, erreur dans un autre, wrote Montesquieu. Science refuses to accept anything as an absolute truth, just as it refuses to consider anything unworthy of scientific investigation. Science assumes that nothing lim­ its the scope of inquiry. Scientific inquiry is endless. The scientist is a Faustian by definition. Wer immer strebend sich bemiiht, den konnen wir erlosen, the angels sing when they admit Faust into Heaven. In the lecture referred to, Fichte said that the scholar as the servant of science must forgetwhat he has done as soon as it is done and think only of what else there is to be done. Science is ruthless. It takes on Gods, it deprives saints of their haloes. It destroys the myth of popular heroes. It challenges the results of scientific investigation. As a priest of the truth, the scientist is without mercy. Unlike the blindfoldedeyes of Justitia, his eyes are wide open, always looking to findfault and to condemn. Obsessed with discovery, he need not care about conse­ quences. Sir Arthur Fleming discovered penicillin, and Otto Hahn split the uranium atom, opening the way forunfore seen blessings and 11 John Henry Cardinal Newman, The Idea of a University (New York, 1947), 92f.

38 UNIVERSITY, TRUTH, AND REASON destructions. In good faith,leading scientists awarded the Nobel Pri e,z made possible by the inventor of dynamite,to both. Des royingt and building,the scientist provides the dynamics of learning . cientificS research assumes daring. It assumes that the scientist let himself be guided by the "s chemes of ideas " Kant had in mind,by ideas and hypotheses which might enable him to gain new insights ­ often by pure chance. He must offer het discovery of truth a chance, remote as it may be,even though the chances of coming closer to the truth by mere daring may be slim. While scientific work presupposes daring,it also assumes that het scientist determine the direction and scope of his investigation. Fur hert more,it assumes hatt he is open ot criticism . The scientist canno tdeny het principle of con radict ion.t As a search for the truth,science presupposes the validity of the rules of logic. Th e scientist controls his plans and is controlled from the out­ side. His daring and devotion are complemented by discipline. The latter is related to wha thas been considered inseparable from and the equivalent of science -method. Co mplementing the ap­ proaches of Grotius, Hobbes, pinoS za , Pufendor ,fand Wol ff, Des­ cartes,in his Discours de la methode,gave classical advice for research in clarity : resolve every problem into i st simplest elements ;proceed by the smallest steps so that each progress of the investigation may be apparent and compelling; take for granted only what is perfectly clear. Th ese remarks,which Descartes believed to be generali ationsz of the process by which he had discovered an al ytical geometry,were similar to hoset one finds in Galileo's dialogues on mechanics. The method proposed came to be applied by scientists generally. The de­ ductive method was complemented by the inductive method. Ch arac­ teristically,the discovery of new scientific truths was matched by an ever -i ncreasing inven iont of new names and types of methods. But ir­ respective of whether scholars have fel t hatt a method was,or should be,regressive, analytical, progressive, synthetic, syste matic,heuristic, genetic,critical, dialectic, akroa matic,erotematic, and what not,there has always existed consensus concerning the necessity of some kind of method,suited to the sub ject m- atter to be investigated. Methodenstreit has not disparaged but aided method. Mere guesswork or planless at­ etmpts which result from sub jective ideas and mere whims have been generally re jected.1 2 Methods contribute to the cogency of scientific knowledge,which exists on account of purely ra ionalt evidence. cientificS knowledge re­ quires no personal commitment. Galileo could well recant be for e the Inquisition. His retracting the hypothesis that the earth moves in no 12 See Henri Poincare, Science et methode (Paris, 1908).

39 UNIVERSITY way affected the truth wh ic h so on ga in ed un iv er als va lidity . Fo llow in g histr ali ,he isreputed to have sa id , "But it move sneverthe esl s." That sc ie nt ific find in g scan be ver ified by anyone make s sc ie nce an out­ st and in g demon st rat io n of clar it y wh ic h mu ts give asurances to the mind . Th isas urances willpreva il in sp it e of the fact that what isun i­ ver sa ll y accepted at a part ic u la r time willnot nece ssar ily alway sbe con sidered va lid.Ho wever , every sc ie nt ifi c re su lt , sh ort-l iv ed asit s un iv er als acceptance may be , isa st ep toward the fina ltruth . It will give usthe sa t isfact oni of hav in g ach ie ved what our mean senab le d us to . Wh ile sc ie nt ifi c dicovers esi oft en are of a temporary natu e,r they form ba ess of clar it y upon wh ic h we can bu il d a clearer better, wor d.l Die klare Welt bleibt klare Welt, im Auge nur ist's schlecht bestellt (Goethe ). Sc ie nce mean sa perpetual st riving to arr iv e and cont in uou s arr iv a l. It willbe argued that what ha sbeen sa id app liesma in ly to the natu­ ra l sc ie nce s,to sc ie nce in the Engl ish se nse of the term ,but not to Wissenschaft. The genera lpur su it of know le dge ,however ,al os can be undertaken in a sc ie nt ific manner and isconcom it ant to the se arch after truth . Aswa s sh own ,that se arch often will yield re uls tswh ic h so oner or la ter willbe no lo nger con sidered truth sbut mere know l­ edge . Even then ,the se re su lt scont in ue to se rve the truth , if only be­ cau se we know that they are not truth s. Simila r ly , the pur su it of know le dge ,undertaken to find the truth , is likely to yield truth s. The in clusoni of the natura l sc ie nce s in Wissenschaft is in dicated when , in the fir st sc ene of the drama , Fau st enumerate swhat he st ud ie d of the natural sc ie nce s,the so cial sc ie nce s,and the human tiiesand dep lo re s "t hat we cannot know ." Wh ile knowledge and truth perhap s sh ou ld not be id ent ifi ed ,truth isas much the aim of Wissenschaftas of the natura l sc ie nce s. A Wissenschajtdi parags in g truth would be a contra­ dict io n in term s,for it wou ld de fythe natura l sc ie nce s- that is,the very component swh ic h have grown mo st con sp ic uou sly and who se re se arch method shave in crea sing ly in flu enced other component dicis ­ pl in e s. Even before the growth of the natura l sc ie nce s,other dicis pl in e s were advanced sc ie nt ifi ca ll y . The ri advance wa sba se d upon sc ie nt ifi c assu mpt io n s,and they employed sc ie nt fici method s. The ir find in g s were arr iv ed at rat io na lly.It istrue that the se find in g soften were not un iv er als yl accepted . Frequently ba se d upon sp ecu la t io n ,the y were more difficu lt to ver if y than the find in g sof the natural sc ie nce s. Th is doe snot mean however, ,that they defied ver ifi cat io n foreve rand that they cou ld not come ascl ose,or even clo se r ,to the truth than the fin ding s in the natura l sc ie nce s. Ju st asthe re su lt of a do/us eventualis

40 UNIVERSITY, TRUTH, AND REASON migh t be mo er seve re th an th a tof a plain do/us,a veritas eventualis migh twell tu rn ou t to be close r to th e tru th th an a te mpo arr ily ac­ cep te d veritas evidentissima. The frus tra te d schola rin th e humani ti es who forsome ti me fai ls to have his ideas unive rs ally accep te d in th e end may well be re wa rd ed forhis effo rts and find th a the has come close r to th e tru th th an many a cele bra te d na tu ra l scien ti s t. As to th e re la ti onship be tw een science and philosophy, Jaspe rs co ­r re ctly finds close ti es be tw een th e tw o. One canno texis twi th ou t th e othe r. Philosophy mo ivat te s th e will to know. Itfur nishes th e ideas from which th e scien ti s tde ri ves his vision, th e ideas which de te rm ine his choices. In tu rn ,philosophy acknowledges its bond to science. It does no tpe rm i tit self to igno er re ali ti es. Itdemands to know wha tis cogen t. Those who philosophize are impelled to wa dr th e sciences and seek expe ri ence in scien ti fic me th ods. 13 Since th e atittude of th e scien­ ti s tgua ra n te es tru th fulness,philosophe rs as love sr of th e tru th mus t be as in te re sted in th e pro te ction of science as scien ti sts as pu suer rs of th e tru th mus t be in te re sted in philosophy. In a way, th e true scien ti s t is a philosophe rand th e true philosophe r, a scien ti s t. Since,like th e scien· ti s t, th e philosophe rse rv es th e tru th ,he be longs to th e Unive rs i ty as much as th e scien ti s t. Li ke th e scien ti st,he con tribu te s to wa rd mak­ ing th e Unive sir ty a haven forcla ri ty .

Home of th e sea rc h fortru th , th e Unive sir ty has been a haven of cla itry th ro ughou this ort y. Its ve yr beginnings in th e middle of th e tw elf th cen tu ry ma kr itas a cla ri fying force. Iteme rg ed as an an idot te to to th e tu rb ulence of th e inves ti tu re con trove rs y. The ques tfor studies came abou tin a wo rl d which was to rn by a dogma ti c stuggler be tw een empe orr and pope. Abou ta hund re d yea rs la te r, studiumhad become firmly es ta bl ished nex t to sacerdotiumand imperium. Its legi ti macy was conside re d as valid as th atof th e pope and th e empe orr . The con­ cep tof his to ri cal transla ti on was applied to studies as much as to th e papacy and th e empi e.r Jus tas, acco rd ing to th e Le tter to th e He ­ brews,pr ies th ood was trans ferred from th e Old to th e New Tes ta men t and fro m Je ru salem to Rome,and jus tas empe or rs hip was trans ferred from Troy to Rome and Ge many,r studium was trans ferred from Greece to Rome and th en, by Ch arlemagne, to Pa ri s. The Unive rs i ty of Pa isr be came th e prototype of th e Unive rs i ty as a haven forth e pu rs ui tof studies. Studiumwas supposed to complemen t sacerdotiumand imperium, to be an equal in a trini ty of powe sr exp essingr a trini ty of vi rtues -the spi itrual, th e te mpo al,r and th e ra ti onal. The study of th ings divine 13 Karl Jaspers, The Idea of the University (Boston, 1959), 25f.

41 UNIVERSITY and human,of theology and law,and of the reason behind them,was hoped to bind together the spiritual and temporal powers which were about to fal l apart. It was to reconcile fai th and temporal justice and to restore clarity to a world which had become confused through the investiture controversy. Fu rthermore,studying was to restore clarity not only to the relationship between pope and emperor but also within the church and the empire. The University as the main seat of studying stood out as a demonstration of clarity not only in the confu­ sion of the investiture controversy but also in the confusions of the In ­ terregnum and the Great Schism. Fu rthermore,the University became a clarity factor fro m the mid­ dle ages to modern age. Ju st as the co -i mperium provided by St. Au­ gustine 's two swords theory erupted in the investiture controversy,the new triune theory,rather than reconciling sacerdotiumand imperium through studium,resulted in a challenge of the formerby the latter. As it turned out, studiumwas not just a mediator between but became a competitor of the church and the empire. This was natural. While an ad hoc task of studying,such as the reconciliation of the spiritual and temporal realms,could be conceived in the speci fic historical situation of the investiture controversy, studium, due to its unlimited nature , was to emancipate itself fro m any limitation of scope. Meaning a nev­ er-ending search for the truth,studying was bound to question institu­ tions which could, and often did, veil or restrict the truth. It was bound to challenge fai th with reason in both the spiritual and tempo­ ral realms. It was bound to question church and state. Since the pur­ suit of studies was located mainly in the universities,the latter became an important power after the church and state,aiding both in their at­ tempts toward rationali ationz and clari fic ation and at the same time admonishing them to remain within the scope of their respective ratio. In In Reflections on History, Burckhardt spoke of the three powers,the state,religion, and culture. As the central institution for studying,the University can be considered a formidable exponent of culture,con­ stantly furthering and limiting the other two powers. Pl ato 's academy was closed on orders of Emperor Ju stinian. The School of Alexandria was destroyed by Ka lif Omar. The University has survived so far . Since the twelfth century, its development has been continuous. This longevity may well be due to the fact that studying,implying rational inquiry and a constant quest for truth,is innately immune to dogma and shifts in power. Co nsidered the child of the church and the empire and usually founded with papal sanc­ tion,universities originally were based upon Ch ristian belief. This rule was not questioned by the fac t that the "a ntichrist " Fr ederic II

42 UNIVERSITY, TRUTH, AND REASON

fou nded the Un iv ers it y of Na pl es to aid the em pe ror aga in st the po pe , that the Un iv ers it y of He id elberg resulted from the Great Schism,or that the Un iv ers it y of Wittenberg was establ is hed without pa pa l sanc ­ tion . Under Ch arles V,the Unversi it y of Paris assumed the title "e ld­ est daughter of the King ." In due time,the universit ie s adm it ted lib­ eral and ant ic hr is tian po sit io ns . They became pl aces of tolerance an d the free search for the truth . Humanism,the Renaissance,an dthe En­ lightenment not only "s ecularized "but also liberalized the Univers it y . In the name of the free mind,the pu rsuit of knowledge strove for an "o pe n "conce pt ion of truth . Originally the child of the church and the state,the University out­ grew both . Equi pped with ne it her a po werful clerical nor tem po ral or­ ganization,the University stood for nothing but the po wer of reason . Ye t reason conquered dogma and the sword . The Ca thol ic church fou nded many universit ie s for the furtherance of it s dogma but was unable to withsta nd the po wer of reason wh ic h clar ifi e dan doften challenged dogma . The pr ecursors of the Re for matio n, Wyclif and Hus, were un iv ersity men . Lu ther taught theology at a university when he nailed his theses to the church do or at Wittenberg . In the nineteenth century, Ca rdi nal Newman, di scussing the sco pe and aim of a un iv ersit y,came out in fav or of "k nowle dg e which is its own en d, ...liberal knowledge,or a gentleman 's knowle dg e, ...Knowle dg e which I have es pe cially calle d Philoso ph y or,in an exte ndedsense of the wor d, Science ." "Liberal Educat io n,"he state d, "m akes not the Ch ristia n, no t the Ca tholic,but the gentlema n. It is well to be a ge nt le­ man,it is well to have a cultivate din tellect,a de licate taste,a ca ndid, equitable,dis pa ssionate mi nd ,a no ble and courteous beari ng inthe conduct of li fe;-these are the connatural qualities of a large knowl­ edge ;they are the ob jects of a University ." 14 To this da y, Ca tholic and Protestant in stitutions of learning have te nded towar dliberalizing and rat io nal iz ing relig io us do gmas, thus bringing clar it y into the world of faith . The situation is similar with respect to the state . Emperor Fre de ric IIma yhave fou nded the Univers it y of Na pl es to train men for the im­ pe rial serv ic e . Absolute kings may have fou nde dun iv ers it ie s in order to educate civil serva nt s who would su pport the ir regimes . If universi­ ties worked toward these aims,they generally did so in or de r to con­ tr ib ute to the rat io nal government of the state rather than to the pu r­ su it of reason of state . As a matter of fac t, for the sake of reason, un iv ersit ie s would pu rsue po lic ie s that could challenge pr evalent po lit­ ic al systems. Whereas it appears open to doubt whether the Univer - 14 Newman, Idea of a University, 98, 107.

43 UNIVERSITY sity an, ideal ,can ever be absolutely realized ,by the nineteenth cen­ tury many universities approached that ideal. They had beco me strongholds for rational thinking ,institutions in which ma n's knowl­ edge was accumulated and handed down to new generations. Through an ever-growing revelation of the truth , they gave to the world an ever-increasing clarity. Since the idea of the university was realized through a growing emancipation from faith ,modern trends toward ma king universities representative of new faiths mu st be steps backward. A university re fle cting the outlook prevalent in a state ,the outlook of a govern­ ment ,of an establishment ,is likely to lose its quality as a University unless the established order is permeated by an unequivocal recogni­ tion of the value of rational investigation and instruction. Jeffersonand Wilhelm von Humboldt could well conceive of a uni­ versity in the service of a state which recognized the value of per mi t­ ting citizens to think rationally ,saw the rationale for its existence in the protection of rational pursuits ,and was ,to use an expression by Robert von Mohl ,a Verstandesstaat-astate governed by reason ,a state of reason. As that name implies ,there is in such a state no con­ fli ct between reason and state. Jefferson saw this kind of state ap­ proached in the United States whose, founders checked irrational pol­ itics by applying principles of political science. Von Hu mb oldt saw it approached in the Germany of Beethoven , Goethe , Hardenberg , Sa­ vigny , Schiller ,and Stein. Both Jefferson and von Hu mb oldt hoped that the "s tate of reason "would prevail in the future because it pre­ cluded con fli ct between reason and state. The situation was to be differentas soon as the Verstandesstaatwas replaced by a Weltanschauungsstaatwhich ,while it could rationalize its organization into an effective power structure ,no longer consid­ ered the pursuit of reason its raison d'etrebut made individuals follow a Weltanschauung. Rationalized as the latter mi ght be ,such a state would not suffer the unrestrained existence of reason. Instead of sub­ ordinating the state to reason , it would subordinate reason to the state. The state of reason would give way to reason of state. In such a situation ,universities either would lose their quality as universities or become estates in defense of reason in a state of antireason. The experience of National Socialism de mo nstrated the possibility of both alternatives. Under that regime ,the universities in ma ny re­ spects lost their quality as strongholds for the cultivation of reason. The exodus of scholars like Einstein , Kelsen , Ropke and, others aided in reducing the universities' acade mi c standing. Hitler's progra mof Gleichschaltungand the surveillance of university administrators and

44 UNIVERSITY, TRUTH, AND REASON professors through the Gestapo and student leaders further promoted the decline. Yet the universities probably remained the most rational of public institutions, matched perhaps only by the judiciary, which incurred Hitler's anger because the judges would not pass judgments according to the gesunde Volksempfi nden-the "sound popular senti­ ment." Much as the brown fire, which burned all of Germany, may have injured the universities, it was unable to destroy them. As in the past, reason proved to be stronger than faith. A short semester at the University of Berlin made me aware that the neoclassic spirit of Wil­ helm von Humboldt was not dead even in the Third Reich. The Freiburg School of Economics, the student revolt at Munich, and many other manifestationsbear witness to the factthat even in a most oppressive Weltanschauungsstaat, universities guarded the idea of the university and remained harbors for rational pursuits. This is borne out again in our own day. Participants in international conferences are impressed by the fact that the delegates of universities in totalitar­ ian nations often act in a way that indicates a relative immunity of their academic institutions to the irrational slogans of political life.

That the University is conducive to clarity because it cultivates rea­ son is not altered by modern trends toward specialization and the "multiversity." At first sight, such trends suggest confusion. As was shown, the aim of the University is to find the truth (singular!). This is what Fichte had in mind when he called the scholar the priest of the truth and what is meant by the mottoes of American universities: veritas (Har­ vard), lux et veritas (Yale), veritas vos liberabit (Johns Hopkins). People might argue that if it is the aim of the University to find the one truth, then a specialized school will only find a specificpart, and a multiver­ sity, specific parts, of that truth. Such parts must be mere part-truths or perhaps half-truths. It might be asserted that partial or half-truths must confuse men, that specialization and the multiversity must add to the turbulence of youth in our time. While these arguments ought not to be dismissed lightly, they can be countered. Trends toward specialization probably are not condu­ cive to a general education. They will be detrimental to the educa­ tional ideal of paideia. They will lead to an alienation of the individual by providing him with too narrow a Weltbild and will result in frustra­ tion and confusion. However, a genuine and comprehensive educa­ tion perhaps is no longer possible. We may have to put up with spe­ cialization. And perhaps trends toward specialization are not even as bad as they appear. They hardly are detrimental to the pursuit of truth

45 UNIVERSITY and the achievement of clarity . In a way ,they are even implied in the idea of the uni ve rsity . The Un iversity it, must always be remembered , is universitas scientiarum-theuniversity of sciences (p lural ),the union of various disciplines . While one could think of exploring all disci ­ plines together ,one can also examine them separately without con ­ tradicting the idea of the university . If the latter method was possible when there were relatively few disciplines and when it still was possi ­ ble to know them all then, it must recommend itself when the various disciplines on account of their growth in number and complexity no longer can be mastered together . The truths foundthrough specialized investigation in the end may well do more for the discovery of the truth than attempts to master all disciplines at once . Accumulated , these truths form an impressive mass of evidence . They also can be made fru itful by interdisciplinary collaboration ,which appears to be a modern possibility of demonstrating the unity of the sciences . The viability of special research has been demonstrated in the his ­ tory of the University . The studium generateoriginally was established as a general place of study for the whole province of a monastic order because the studia particularia,the local monastic schools ,were con ­ sidered insu ffic ient . The universities originally cultivated general ,as distinguished from special ,studies . The deductive method prevailed . With the expansion of knowledge and academic disciplines particular, studies were emphasized ,and the inductive method gained ground . Specialization resulted fro m the desire for scientific investigation . Special studies seldom hurt general studies . Specialization goes back to an early age . Medieval Salerno specialized in medicine ,and Bologna ,in law . This did not prevent these schools from becoming full -fledged un iv ersities . Gottingen in large measure was fou nded in order to provide education for the pu blic service . It soon had a Li chtenberg a, Gauss and, a Weber and became a good all -r ound uni ­ versity . In the twentieth century it, became the Mecca for mathemati ­ cians and physicists. Hilbert , Planck , Hahn ,and Heisenberg taught there . The latter also became known for his philosophical writings . Another physicist ,von Weizs ac ker ,now holds a chair in philosophy . As Planck said ,universal science no longer stands at the beginning but at the end of specialized research . There is a new universal science in the ma king "w hich is continually oriented and perfected by partic ­ ular sciences ." 1 5 This verdict of a scientist is matched by the state ­ ment of the philoso ph er Alois Demp f, who fee ls that the process of 1 5 Sitzungsberichte der Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Philosophisch-Histo­ rische Klasse (Berlin, 1932), liiif.

46 UNIVERSITY AND FREEDOM differen ti a ti on will au to ma ti cally resul tin a uni ty of th e sciences.16 As a mul ti ve rsi ty , th e Uni ersiv ty has held on to its mission ina socie ty th a t to a large ex ent thas become a mul ti -s ocie y.t

UNIVERSITYAND FREEDOM

The advancemen tof th e tr uth was due no tonly to th e ad av nc emen t of reason bu talso to th a tof freedom. For a ra ti onal disco ve ry of th e tr uth is no tpossible wi th ou t freedom. Freedom is th e al te r ego of tr uth and reason:it is th eir end as well as th eir prerequis ite. Whereas th e tr uth makes us free, freedom also le ts us know th e tr uth. Freedom is roo te d inth e open ne ss to tr uth,bu tit also aids th e disco eryv of th e tr uth. Inmai ntaining th is I do no twan t to co ntradic t John 8: 32. I merely dis int guish freedom as a reward for know ing th e tr uth fro m freedom as a condi ti o nfor doi ng so. Ch ris t, th inking he knew th e tr uth,could well say, "Ye shall know th e Tru th and th e Tru th shall make you free."For mos tmor ta ls,how­ ever, th e tr uth is no tsome finished produc tge ne rously gi env to th em, some th ing th atcan be found alo ng th e road and picked up casually. Ra th er, itis to be disco ve red th rough anun endi ng and laborious search. Perhaps th e passage ju s t quo te d implies such a search. If Ch ris tspoke th es e words,he may well ha ev real iz ed th a trepor ts on his te achings migh tblur th e tr uth and th a tfut ure genera ti o ns would ha ve to labor to ward coming closer to it. Perhaps his sta te men t, con­ nec te d as itis wi th men's struggle agains tsin, was mea nt to be anim­ pera ti ve to begin wi h.t Ce rtai nly th e scien ti s tknows th athe does no t know th e tr uth and th athe mus tst ruggle forit . He se ns es th atwi th ou t effor t th ere will be no reward. Know ing th a tma tter does no tdisap­ pear,he also knows th atno th ing comes abou twi th ou tpu tting some­ th ing in to it. Rien pour rien. Ohne Fleiss kein Preiss. If th e reward for knowing th e tr uth is freedom,he will expec t to ha ve to pay in kind and use his freedomfor th e disco ve ry of th e tr uth. Itis impor ta n t to realize th a tonly th e freedomof th e indiidualv ca n aid in th e disco ve ry of th e tr uth. Evenamong th ose who belie ev th at tr uth is a sleep in g beau ty th atwas kissed awake by th e So nof Go d and Ma nfor th e sal av ti o nof th e human race,many realize th a tmen have si nc e obscured th e tr uth. Others re ecj t th e idea of re elav ti o nal to ­ ge th er. Ye t, mos tpeople belie ev th a t th ere is such a th ing as th e tr u th . They are eager to know it,al th ough th eir desire is direc te d to ward an 16 AloisDempf, Die Einheit der Wissenschaft(Stuttgart, 1955), 51. See, however, Rich­ ard Schwarz, Wissenschaft und Bi/dung (Freiburg, 1957).

47 UNIVERSITY ideal that cannot easily be realized. If knowing the one and only truth carries comprehensive freedom as a reward, and if men can receive only what they give, then freedom can be earned only through the total use by the human race of its total freedom for the discovery of the truth. It is obvious that this aim cannot be achieved easily. The ideal can be approached only through individual effort. This follows from the very nature of the human race. Since that race is composed of individuals, its freedom is the sum of the liberties of the individuals. The freedom of humanity thus presupposes the liberties of the individ­ uals who compose it. In using their liberties for the discovery of the truth, individuals aid the human race in becoming free. The individual, then, in order to help emancipate the human com­ munity, must be free in the specificorganizations of that community. Leaving the individual freeto pursue the discovery of the truth is the price a community has to pay for the finalreward of freedom forthose who compose it and, in the last analysis, for the freedom of mankind. Within a given community, this implies that the government or any group must abstain frominter fering with a climate which is indispen­ sable forthe progress of science, including not only the natural and the so-called "positive" sciences but also philosophy and theology. For a philosopher's search for the truth may prove to be as important as that of a positive scientist, and the search for God may well prove to have been a search for truth. Whereas the freedom of philosophy is not more important than that of the so-called positive sciences, it may warrant a greater emphasis on account of its smaller immunity from restrictions. The "value-free­ ness" of the positive sciences generally will not bring them into con­ flict with external powers. Moreover, that the findings of those sci­ ences can be proved rather easily provides them with a certain immunity because interference appears peculiar or ridiculous. This was as evident in Hitler's attempt to create a "German" physics as it was in Stalin's emphasis upon a "Communist" natural science. On the other hand, philosophical thinking often will favor values which con­ flictwith those of the existing powers. Moreover, philosophical think­ ing cannot easily be verifiedand is rather vulnerable to attack. Since a philosophical inquiry often will pass beyond objectivized thought, it will hardly be possible without a dialogue which is "open." Perhaps philosophical knowledge is advanced more through the confrontation of thoughts than knowledge in the positive sciences. From the clash of ideas light is born. The situation is similar in theological thinking which also requires a climate of freedom if it is not to degenerate into a soulless formalismthat is a caricature of faith. This has been recog-

48 UNIVERSITY AND FREEDOM niedz not only by Protestant but also by Ca thol ic leaders. As Le o XI II sa id in Immortale Dei, it is important "t o watch with the greatest ca re lest anyone be compelled to embrace the Ca thol ic Fa it h aga in st his will, foras St. August in e wisely re ma rks, ma n is able to bel ie ve only by ful l consent." Important as freedo m fro me xte rn al in te rfe encer is forfind in g the truth, it is not su ffic ie nt. It prov id es forthe env iron me nt necessary for the pursu it of the truth but does not secure that pursu it . It is the legal guarantee of the freedom to seek the truth but not a co mmand to the mo ral will to ma ke use of that freedo m. It is a dev ic e for the scholar 's secur it y but not for the da ring sacr ifi ce wh ic h is a prerequ is it e for find in g the truth. Th si sac rifice mu st be ma de by the in div id ual. With­ out the in div id ual 's will in gness to dare and sac rifice,ex ternal freedo m will be meaningless. For that freedom implies noth in g but an absten­ tion by external powers fro m in terference. To make sense, it s bas ic ally negat iv e characte r mu st be pos it iv ized by those who profit fro m it . Govern me ntal pass iv it y mu st be co mp le me nted by the in div id ual 's act vii ty. Here lies an im portant difference betwe en liberal rights in gene ra l and the pa tr ic ular liberal right of seek in g the truth. The forme rri ghts protect but do not requ ire spec ifi c act io ns. As a matter of fact,the protect io n of freedo mof speech is perhaps as valuable in the absence of speech as in it s presence,for fre edom of speech often has spawned nonsense, in sult,and obscen it y. The situat io n is sim il ar in in the case of such liberal rights as freedo mof asse mb ly,rel ig io n,the right to carry arms,etc. On the other hand,the protect io n of the right to seek the truth is without value if the truth is not actually sought. The fre edo mto seek the truth impl ie s the duty to seek the truth. Just as law is an "e th ic al minimu m" only,e xte rn al freedo mto seek the truth prov id es foran "a cade mic min im um "only. And ju st as the in di­ vidual citienz is expected to ma x imi ze the eth ic al mi nimum by le ading not only a law -a b id in g but a mo ral life, the academ ic citienz is ex­ pected to max im ize the acade mic minimum in to a max im um by com­ plement in g his legal,e xternal freedom by a moral, in te rn al fre edo m. The latter can man ifes t it self in a var ie ty of ways. Although exte rn al fre edom establ is hes certain legal limitations, these lim it at io ns often are blur re d. Fo r in stance,a un iv ersity ad minist atr io n,perhaps unde r pressu re from a state gove rn me nt ora boa dr of trustees,while not openly oppos in g the wo rk of a professo r, ma y do so dev io usly. It will not dismssi him or re duce his salary,but it may hu tr him by not ra s­i in g his sala ry ,a means wh ic h in our age of tenure and rises in the cost of liv in g is a subtle but effect iv e way of in te rf er in g with academ ic free­ dom. The professo rmust then do all he can to promote the pract ic al ,

49 UNIVERSITY and not just theoretical,existence of freedom . He must denou nc e ev­ erything which in his opi ni o nin any way interferes with the free pur­ suit of the truth. External freedom must be nourished conti nu ally by the individual's unwavering willingness to assert it vis- a-vis the powers that are: he must demonstrate his internal freedom by ruthlessly ex­ posing and challenging those above him. If he cannot muster the courage to do so,he must assert his internal freedom by continui ng his work irrespective of disadvantages. The same applies to his relations with his peers. The scholar must re frain from ingratiating himself with the members of his profession. Fo r the sake of truth,he must not be afraid of deviating fromwhat is generally accepted by them. He must be willing to go far out in criti­ cizing established ideas,eve nat the risk of being ridiculed and of be­ coming unpopular. This attitude may cost him offers from other insti­ tutions and bring him other disadva nt ages . All of this must not deter him from mai nt ai ni ng his internal freedom. As the scientist demonstrates his inter na l freedom from the powers above and around him,he also must assert it against those under him. He must resist the temptation of becoming a "p opularizer "if that in any way makes him swerve from,or slow down,his pursuit of the truth. He must refuseto give in to popular tastes,be they expressed by the peop el at large,or, as happens fre qu ently,by his students. The sci­ entist must be willing to sacrifice popu arityl for his beliefs. He must acclaim truth,not men. He must strive for the truth,not for popular ac caim.l Fo r instance,in an environment of chauvinism during a war, he must be as willing to advocate pacifism,as in a climate of pacifism he must be willing to favor war.17 He must approve research for pur­ poses of war as much as for purposes of peace,for the search after truth is independent of war and peace. Discoveries useful for war usu­ ally wi ll prove to be usefulin peace, and vice versa. Nobel's inventio n of dyamiten proved to be as much of a blessing in times of peace as it proved destructive in war. Even where such blessings ca nn ot be dis­ covered immediately,and irrespective of whether they will ever exist, the scientist must always assert his inner freedom to search for the truth. Nobel prizes for peace are matched by those for the sciences, and the winners of the latter are not judged by the popularity of their dis co veries. Some of the inner obligations of the scholar were prescribed by Fi chte: "He should be motivated and confess to be motivated,by the love of his profession and of science only,irrespective of his own,or others ', interests .... I could not imagine a priest of science,who 1 7 Cf. Weber, Wissenschaft als Beruf, 584f.

50 UNIVERSITY AND FREEDOM thi nk s of ordaining new priests of science,not saying what the latter do not like to hear because they do not like to hear it,in order that they may continue to listen to him. . . . Every word the academic teacher announces must re flect science and his eagerness to spread it. Every word must unveil his dearest love for his audience-not as his listeners,but as the future servants of science. Science and the living avidity to make it comprehensible,not the teacher,shall speak. Aspir­ ing to talk in order to talk,to talk be autifully in order to talk be auti­ fully so that others may know it ;the mania for forming wo rds and be autiful words,is undignifiedfor any person if he does not say any­ thing on the su bject matter,especially for an academic teacher who represents the dignity of science to future generations." 18 What Fichte called the priest of the truth,then, must ha ve the inner courage to question. The scientist must have the internal freedom to "wonder why the universe should be as it is,"to reduce "the actual to fluidity by breaking up its literal sequences in his imagination." 19 He must take a new look at the wo rld and challenge existing knowledge for the promotion of the truth. The freescholar must "let be ing be." 20 He must leave reality and truth alone and contest everything that obs­ cures reality and the truth. The freedomto discover the truth makes the most sense if it is exer­ cised rationally. Just as freedom is the end as well as the prerequisite for truth,it is the end as well as the prerequisite of reason. Seeking the truth implies judgment. Just as the judge,confronted with fac ts and laws,renders a judgment and,by obeying the legal im­ perative,frees himself and his fel low men from legal dispute and un­ certainty,so the scientist, fac ed by fac ts and laws,through his judg­ ment ful fills his obligation to the scientific imperative and frees him­ self andhis fel low men fromscientific dispute and uncertainty . In dis­ tinction to the scientist,howe er,v the judge may bring a sacrificium intellectus. Following Kant's statement that "a legal,although not very legitimate,constitution is better than none," 21he judges in conform­ ity with the laws,irrespective of whether he considers them just or not. In In passing a verdict,he may pronounce a legal truth which by the standards of ultimate truth is an error. He may do so with a relatively good conscience,for he is not a lawmaker and his obedience to the ex­ isting,if un just,law fulfills an important function of the law,namely, 18 Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Ueber das Wesen des Gelehrten, und seine Erscheinungen im Gebiete der Freiheit (1805), Siimmtliche Werke, VI, 437. 19 William James, Psychology (New York, 1892), 369. 20 "Freiheit enthiilltsich jetzt als das Seinlassen von Seiendem ...das Sicheinlassen auf das Seiende." Martin Heidegger, Vom Wesen der Wahrheit (Frankfurt, 1954), 14. 21 Immanuel Kant, Zum ewigen Frieden (Konigsberg, 1795), Appendix I.

51 UNIVERSITY

le ga lse cu rity . Plutot une injustice qu'un desordre. The scientist ca nnot with a good co ns ci en ce make an inte lle ct ua lsa cr ifi e.c To begin with, there is no su ch thing as scientifi cse cu rity to justi fysu ch behavior . S ci en ce is inse cu re by definition and must remain so as lo ng as the sear ch for the truth co nt in ues -probab ly as lo ng as scien ce exists . The scientist must never make a judgment in order to co nformto aceptedc la ws . It is true that his judgments, li ke those of a judge,oft en wi llbe based on existing la ws,but whereas the judge must co nform to the la ws,the scientist must not . He must ch alengel them if he co nsiders them wrong and untenab e.l He must render his judgment not in co n ­ formity with what men have said the la w of scien ce to be but acord­c ing to his own investigations of the truth . Unikel a judge,a scientist is not always bound by the facts and the la ws that ru le them . He dis­ co vers new facts and new la ws . In rendering judgment,the judge obeys the human le gis la tor;the scientist ca n be "legis la tor ." A judge obeys what men thi nk they have dis co vered of the la ws of nature and of God . A scientist dis co vers the la ws of nature and the cr eations of God . A judge is bound by the wor kof me n. A scientist is bound on ly by the work of God . For the judge,the prin ci ple non sub homine sed sub deo et legeis an idea l, but it is a rea li ty for the scientist . True judgment is rationa l judgment . Indeed, judgment co uld be ca lled app li ed reason . If freedomtherefore is the reward for judgment, freedomal so must be the reward for reasoning . Furthermore, freedom is a prerequisite for reasoning,or active reason :there ca n be no fair judgment without the freedom to reason . It has been genera lly acecpted, from the an ci ent Greeks through the Midd le Ages down to our time,that the power of se lf-d etermination is an attribute of reason and that without reason there ca nbe no fre e­ dom . Perhaps the de cline of freedom in our ce ntury is due to the fact that fre edom has be co me deta ch ed from reason . More and more peo ­ ple fee lthey ca n do without rationa lre fle ct ion and li ve,as Heidegger put it,as "a nonymous somebodies "on the le ve lof "t he dai ly ch atter," be they in flu en ce d by Marx who co nsidered freedom the resu lt of te ch ni alc progress, by Nietzs ch e who defined freedom as the wi llto power,by Gide who ca lled freedom a gratuitous act,or by Sartre who felt that freedom was a ch oi ce whi ch is nothing but pure invention .22 Freedom presupposes ch oi ce ,an d ch oi ce imp li es reasoning . Freedom without reason does not make mu ch sense . The more rationa la de ci ­ sion or judgment is,the freer it is . The mathemati ci an piS no za was a natura ladvo ca te of academi c freedom, for mathemati alc judgments, 22 See Albert Dondeyne, "Truth and Freedom: A Philosophical Study," in Louis de Raeymaeker et al., Truth and Freedom (Louvain, 1955), 39.

52 UNIVERSITY AND FREEDOM re fle ct in g a max im um ofrat io na lity,en joy a max im um offreedom. On ly a foo lwi llcha llenge them. Just as freedomdoes not seem to beposs ible without reason,reason does not seem to be poss ible without freedom. Whereas reason makes us free, freedom perm it s us to reason. Even St. Thomas,who empha­ sized that reason is the ult im ate foundat io n offreedom, spoke ofa lib­ erum judicium,a free judgment as dist in gu is hed from a judgment that makes free.23 As reason generates freedom, freedom act iv ates reason in to reason in g. Freedom prov id es reason with a rat io na le and gives sense to reason. Freedom ena bles reason to be reason ab- e.l As to the var io us aspects ofthe freedom to reason, the remarks made in connect io n with the freedom to discover the truth ba sica lly app ly . Th is is not surpr is in g in view ofthe close re la t io nsh ip be tween reason and the truth. Wh ile the two are not id ent ic a l-alltoo often the truth is reasoned away -they are in a la rge measure in terdependent and come close to be in g alter egos. The truth is ma nli y discovered by reason and is reasona ble. There are,then, externa land in terna l freedoms ofreason in g. The form er guarantees a minimum ofthe freedom to re ason from in ter er­f ence byouts id e powers ;the la tter im plesi the assert io n an d max im iza­ tion ofthat min im um. Th eexterna l freedom ofreason in g in vo lv es le ga guaranteesl upon wh ic h the in d iv id ua canl ba se claims. The in ter­ na l freedom in vo lv es a mora lduty to stand up and br in g sac rifices for the freedom ofreason in g. Mak in g the most ofone 's in terna l freedom appears to be a fair compensat io n for profiting from externa l freedom. Hav in g or ig in a lly obliged externa lpowers to recogn zi e ex t erna l free­ dom, in terna l freedom now obliges the in d iv id ua lto show himse lf worth yof externa l freedom. Wh ile pro fit in g from externa l freedom will be easy, liv in g up to the mora lrequ ir ements ofin terna l freedom willof ten be an arduous task. That task cannot be ach ie ved by the many Papagenos that popu la te th is wor ld bu t on ly by the few Tam i­ nos who will be rewarded adm is s io n to the temp le ofwi sdom.

The freedoms to re ason and to seek the truth are the ba sic in gred i­ ents ofacadem ic freedom. Academ ic freedom thus is mo re than mere ly the right to pursue research and teach in g. It mi plesi the obliga­ tion to promote le arn in g. As id e from pursu in g his own earnl in g,the in div id ua lmust promote le arn in g in an abso lu te sense. He must pro­ tect everyth in g conduc iv e to le arn in g and fig ht everyth in g detr im enta l to it . Ifle arn in g is promot ed by the gov er nment,then the government ought to be supported. Ifle arn in g is promoted by pro essorsf and stu - 23 St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Th eologica, p. I, qu. 83, a. I and a.3 ad 2.

53 UNIVERSITY dents,t hey ought to be supported. If learning is prevented by the gov­ ernment,t he government must be fought. If learning is prevented by pro fes sors or students,t hen they must be fought. Academic freedom must be blind to status. The individual will not always be con fronted with simple alterna­ tives which make a choice easy. Often the situation will be blurred. He will be facedwi th di ffic ult choices which will be true tests of his readi­ ness to stand up for academic freedom. For instance,he must risk being called illiberal and denounce academic license. For academic li­ cense is a perversion of academic freedom and can be as detrimental to learning as external oppression. Since such license often will appear in the disguise of internal academic freedom and denounce the exist­ ing external academic freedom,t he individual,u naware of the dis­ guise,will think he is facedwi th an option between the formera nd the latter. He will tend to favor the former,thi nking that internal freedom probably brought about external freedom to begin with, that the former is supposed to nourish and expand the latter,t hat it re fle cts a moral maximum rather than a legal minimum. While these thoughts deserve consideration,t hey may not warrant preferring internal over external academic freedom. Whereas the former can come close to a maximum,i t will only be a vague moral maximum -something un­ sa fe. On the other hand,while external freedom generally will only constitute a minimum, it is a concrete legal minimum -something sa fe. tI probably is better to have this sa femi nimum which can be maximized than the unsa femaximum which,b eing without legal sanc­ tion,ca n all too easily be minimized out of existence. While in the presence of external freedom,i nternal freedom can yield enormous re­ sults;in its absence,i t might not amount to anything. Academic freedom is not license. tI s practical existence presupposes a legal order. While it is conceivable to have freedom without such an order,t he world has not yet reached this stage. Le gal orders are the main guarantors of freedom,i ncluding academic freedom. Their gov­ ernments must maintain academic freedom against anything that jeopardizes the progress of learning,irres pective of whether it derives from the government, from the public, from faculty,o r from students. Governments thus may have a role in putting down riots,s omething universities often will be unable to do. Whether governments also shouldhave a part in the promotion and hiring of faculty is another question. There can be no doubt that in that respect the sel f-adminis­ tration of universities has disadvantages. "Fear of outside competition and of excellence tends to turn sel f-administrative bodies into monop­ olistic cliques interested in sa feguarding their own mediocrity. nI evi-

54 UNIVERSITY AND FREEDOM ta bl y, the pr omotion and hiring pa ttern wi ll then re fle ct a gradual and almost im pe rcepti bl e lo we ring of standards. The system of co-option byitself wi ll fail to produce ever be tter men and wi ll instead favor a mediocre common denominator." 24 While this danger can be reduced bytaking hiring and pr omoting out of the jurisdiction of the respec­ tive departments and by assigning it to interdepartmental committees, a po we r outside the university might be prefera bl e. Still,government activity in the hiring and promotion of faculty is risky. It might intro­ duce politics into the universities and be detrimental to academic free­ dom. Similar considerations apply to private universities. These institu­ tions are legal communities of administrators, employees, and stu­ dents,implying academic freedom and the obligation not to interfere wi th learning. Although academic freedom is blind to the status of the mem be rs of an academic community,its defenders cannot afford to be bl ind to the fact that the university government gives sanction to the universit yorder and is the protector of academic freedom. This government -usually the administration and tenured faculty -has the duty to protect that freedom. The mem be rs of a university govern­ ment wh o fail to put academic license in its place, wh o fail to main­ tain the regular pr ocess of learning,forfe it their place in the university as much as those wh o threaten academic freedom by interfering wi th learning through license and violence. The history of academic freedom has been most obvious wi th re­ spect to the freedom from external interference,and the universities played a ma jor role in securing that freedom. This role wa s already evident in the Middle Ages wh en the universities we re under the con­ trol of the church. In 1229,the University of Toulouse invited teach­ ers,promising them the li be rty to study Aristotle. Jo hn Wyclif wa s ba cked by Oxford University in his early opposition to the church. After John Hus had be en condemned by the Co uncil of Co nstance , the University of Prague tried to save him. When,early in the six­ teenth century, Pietro Pompona zzi denied that the immortality of the soul could be proven by Aristotelian methods and ri sk ed persecution by opposing church dogma and the clergy, Italian universities clam­ ored for his services. The University of Bologna raised his salary in order to keep him. When Lu ther posted his 95theses, he wa s backed by the University of Wittenberg. Giordano Bruno perhaps lived as long as he did only be cause he wa s sheltered by northern universities. In 1588,he thanked the University of Witten be rg for having permit­ ted himthe li be rty of philosophical research. A little earlier,the Uni - 24 Jaspers, Idea of the University, 127.

55 UNIVERSITY versity of Leiden was founded to reflect the liberalism and cosmopoli­ tanism of the Netherland towns and to follow a policy of academic freedom. Professors were not required to make doctrinal commit­ ments in their simple loyalty oath to the university and the city; Jews were admitted; a Catholic professor whom Protestants in town had driven to resign because he defended religious persecution was asked by the university to return. Following the publication of treatises favoringacademic freedom­ notably Bacon's Prometheus (1609) and New Atlantis (1627) and Mil­ ton's Areopagitica (1644)-universities intensified the promotion of that freedom. In 1673, Spinoza was invited to Heidelberg with the as­ surance that he would be given "the most ample liberty to philoso­ phize," provided this liberty would not be "abused to disturb the reli­ gion publicly established." He declined the invitation largely on account of the latter proviso. Before the century was over, in 1694, the University of Halle was foundedwith a view to rejecting the principle cuius regio, eius universitas. Although that university had to labor to remain independent of Pietist and royal influences, as was evident in the dismissal of Christian Wolff, a staunch advocate of academic free­ dom, its courageous faculty attacked the Aristotelian concept of science based on deductions from principles. A new concept of science, based upon observation, experience, experiment, and mathe­ matical equations, came into being. Research was put on a par with teaching. New disciplines were discovered. Laboratories, institutes, clinics, and seminars were introduced. In this process of change, the University of Gottingen, founded in 1737 to promote academic free­ dom, played a major role. One hundred years later, seven of its profes­ sors (the famous Gottinger Sieben), led by the liberal F. C. Dahlmann and including the brothers Grimm, stood up for freedom under the constitution. Their dismissal by the king in 1837 outraged liberals throughout Germany. As a result, the National Assembly of Frank­ furt, counting among its members most of the dismissed professors, provided in section 152 of its draft for a German constitution that "science and its teaching are free." The same text can be foundin sec­ tion 20 of the Prussian constitution of 1850. These provisions reflect the ideal of the University of Berlin, established in 1809. Its founders stressed that, aside from the self-administration of the university and its right to adjudicate matters within its jurisdiction, academic free­ dom implied the individualistic principle of free creative learning and teaching. Wilhelm von Humboldt had been the author of Ideas to an Attempt to Determine the Limits of State Activity, a study which at­ tacked enlightened absolutism. Favoring "total individuality", he felt

56 UNIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY that this aim co uld best be achieved ina university whi ch served the "p ure idea of scie nce." 25 Academi c freedom had rea ch ed a dime ns io n to whi ch no t mu ch co uld be added.

UNIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY

The individualisti c na ture of academi c freedom makes its existe nce inauthoritaria n co mmu ni ties te nu ous. This has be e n obvious throughout its history,showi ng oppressio ns by the rulers of ch ur ch and state, cl aims to academi cfreedom by individuals and universities, and the final guara nt ee of that freedom by the authorities. While up to the ni ne tee nt h ce nt ury academi c freedom inreased,c the twe nt i­ et h ce nt ury has wit ne ssed growi ng infri ng eme nt s by totalitaria nre ­ gimes. This is no t surprisi ng . Whereas it is co nceiva bl e that at some future date the truth will have be e ndis co vered and be represe nt ed by a total ­ itaria ngover nm e nt ,our ci vilizatio nhas no t yet rea ch ed that stage. No existi ng re imeg ca n cl aim to represe nt the truth. Gover nm e nt s maki ng su ch a cl aim must be telli ng a lie. Co ns eque nt ly,they must be afraid of and opposed to a freedomwhi ch is to expose the lie. If totalita iar ns would admit that they are opposed to the truth,the dis cu ssio n co uld end. Su ch anadmissio nis improba bl e however,be ca use it would ca ll their legitima cy into questio n. Hitler's stateme nt , "The bi gger the lie the be tter,"while it was anomi no us fore ca st of thi ng s to co me,ex ­ pressed a politi ca l desig nto co me to power rather tha nan admissio n that his regime would be one of the big lie. Totalitaria nregimes mai n­ tai nthat they represe nt the truth and pay homage to their versio nof the truth,ac ti ng as their ow n judges. Naturally,totalitaria ns must be afraid of the scie nt ists,the priests of the truth,an d must fightac ademi cfreedom . Academi c freedom,bei ng the freedom to dis co ver the truth,presupposes that the truth has no t bee ndis co vered. It must co nt est the "t ruths "or ideologies of existi ng regimes and provoke these regimes to co unter -m easures. Moder nto ­ talitaria nregimes, un der whi ch Weltanschauungenhave be co me ne w state religio ns ,exte nd ed the pri nciple of the pea ce of Augs bu rg, cuius regio, eius re/igio,in to the pri nciple, cuius regio, eius universitas. As in­ stitutio ns pursui ng the ratio na l sear ch after truth,un iversities ca me under atta ck . Whereas they be ca me separate isla nd s inwhi ch scie n- 25 Cf. his "Uber die innere und iiussere Organisation der hoheren wissenschaftlichen Anstalten in Berlin" (1810?), Wilhelm von Humboldts Gesammelte Schriften, ed. Preussische Akademie der Wissenschaften (Berlin, 1903-36), X, 250ff.

57 UNIVERSITY tists ret ai ned agre at er degree of au tonomy th na ordin ar y citizens, they bec am e po li ticized at the cost of ac ad emic freedom. Th is was evident under the Hit le r regime which made pl ai n th at its ideo lo gy in large me as ure was based upon be li e .f It is evident in to ­ day's tot alit ar ian nations. St alin is reputed to have said : "We ar e con ­ frontedby afortress. Th e name of this fortressis science with its innu ­ mer ab le br an ches. Yo uth must take this fortress,if it wishes to build a new li fe,if it wishes to rep lace the old gu ar d." 26 He undermined the universities by stressing the scientific ch ar ac ter of communism. Whi le the communist regime made cert ai n concessions to ac ad emic free ­ dom, it still emph as ized th at "d iscussion of an y scientific prob le m shou ld be based ab ove la lon the Le ninist princip le of the party nature of science an d scho larship, an d particip an ts in adiscussion must ap ­ pro cha the so lu tion of alldisputes from aposition of Marxist -Leninist methodo lo gy,the on ly scientific basis for cognition of the ob jective wor ld . Fruitfu l discussion can be based on yl on the Marxist out ­ lo ok." 27 On re ad ing this,one tends to ag ree th ta "n o st at e intoler an t of an y restriction on its power for fear of the consequences of apure se ar ch for truth,wi ll ever llaow agenuine university to exist." 28 In other words, "t he university is un as simi lab le ,bec au se of its function, afunc ­ tion of profound signific an ce for the politic alorder: the se ar ch for truth. Th ose who ar e dedic at ed to it, an d to the extent th at they ar e, wi llof necessity withdr aw from the batt le cries of the market pl ac e into the quiet labor at ory an d li br ar y,there to reex am ine the as sump ­ tions upon which the ac tions of ru le rs an d their he lp ers ar e based." 29 In tot alit ar i an regimes,the gener al ab sence of extern al ac ad emic free ­ dom must be made up by an extr a as sertion of intern la caa demic free ­ dom. While opp re ssion is as little the father of lla things as war,it is perh ap s in the face of oppression th at an unw vaering loy alty to the truth can best be proved. Perh ap s on yl under conditions of hardship can the individu la show his willingness to bring sacrifices to the truth. Perh psa on ly then can the scientist prove his cour ag e to make materi al sacrifices in order not to make inte llectu alsa crifices. Perh ap s only then can he demonstr at e th at for the truth he would jeop ar d zei not on ly his earnings but also his physic la li berty -and even his life. Per ­ haps on ly then can he illustr at e his determin at ion to be the martyr 26 Quoted in Carl J. Friedrich, Man and his Government (New York, 1963), 633. 27 "Journalists' Review: On Discussions in Scientific Journals," Kommunist (May, 1955), 119. 28 Jaspers, Idea of the University, 121. 29 Friedrich, Man and his Government, 633.

58 UNIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY

Nie tzsche hope dhe woul d be as a se rv an tof humanitas. Pe rh aps onl y in th e fac e of adve rs i tycan th e schola r be come a sain t.

Wha thas be en sai dab ou t th e posi ti on of th e Universi tyin to ta li ta r­ ian communi ti es is relevan t to its posi ti on in de mocra ti c communi ti es. Tha t Wes te rn de moc aciesr acknowle dg e academic free do m should no t bl in dus to th e possi bi li ty th a t de mocra ti c communi ti es can hur t th e Universi y.t This is evi de n tin th e case of de mocra ti c to ta li ta ria­ nism. Because its func ti on is to sea chr for tru th , th e Universi ty mus t be be "u nassimila bl e,"no tonl yin th e to ta li at ri an di ctatorships de scri be d bu t in any kin d of di cta to rship, inclu di ng th a t of th e ma jo itr y. Whe easr I am re luc ta n t to ag re e wi th Hi tl er an d Stalin th a t th eir re­ gimes we er more de mocra ti c th an Wes te rn coun ert pa rts,it is no tun­ likely th a t bo th men gene ra ll yexecu edt th e will of th e ma jori ty. Since th ere is no ba sic di fference be tw een th e opp re ssion po te n ti al of th e ma jo itries th a tsuppo rtedHi tl e ran d Stalin an dma jori iest th a texis tin Wes te rn democracies (the la tterar e,in view of th e cons ta n tsuppor t for cer ta in ty pes of legisla ti on,no tas "temporary "as is of te n be ­ lieve d),ma jori yt ru le in Wes te rn de mocracies can be ideological and oppressive. Co nsequen tl y,a universi ty "c ommi tted " to to ta li ta rian de­ moc ra cy mus t be as du bi ous as one commi tted to other forms of to ta l­ itarianism,especially if its commi tm en timplies a reluc ta nce to ques­ ti on de moc ra ti c te ne ts . The Unive rs ity canno t be commi tted to re frain from ques ti oning,for ques ti oning is in di spensa bl e to its func ti on. Jus t as th e idea of th e universi ty was realized byques ti oning do gmas su hc as "the voice of th e church is th e voice of Go d"and "the voice of th e king is th e voice of God,"it mus tnow be realized by ques ti oning th e do gma th a t th e voice of th e people is th e voice of God. The evil of democra ti c despo ti sm mus tno tle tus ignore th e po te n­ ti al evil of cons ti tu ti onal de moc acy,r small th ough itmay be . The te n ­ sion be tw een cons ti tu ti onal de mocracy an duniversi ti es seldom is evi­ de nt. Itusually is sub tl e. Bu tit is th is very lack of evidence, th is very sub tl e ty , th a trequires us to be on our guard. Wha tcons ti tu ti onal de ­ mocracy migh t be una bl e,or no twan t, to achieve th rough th e force of law,it migh t tr y to br ing abou t th rough moral pressure. The "p han­ to m pu bl ic "migh tat te mp t to prevail upon th e Universi ty . The Uni­ versi ty mus tresis tsuch pressures,camou fla ged and inveigling as th ey may be . Itmus t be as "u nassimilable "in a free socie ty as in an un free one. The Universi ty 's sole commi tm en tmus tbe to th e tr uth. The obliga ti on of th e Universi ty no t to be commi ttedideologically is stronger under free governmen ts th an un de r au th ori ta rian ones be­ cause th e former generally guaran te e a grea te r degree of academic

59 UNIVERSITY

freedom,which puts greater obligations upon those en joying it. The "c ommitment "of the University under totalitarian regimes can be compared to a mutilation,even a murder,of the University by the public power. The University is a victim,although often an innocent victim . Under a free government,an ideological commitment of the University by those who run it is less excusable. It is like sel f-mutila­ tion or suicide. In the former case, academic freedom is trampled upon by the authorities outside the University;in the latter,it is disre­ garded and abused by the members of the University themselves . Ac­ ademic citizens commit the most sinfulof academic sins when,instead of complementing external academic freedom by a vigorous assertion of internal academic freedom,they neglect the latter and make the former meaningless. The moral responsibility of scholars and scien­ tists is gr ea te r under free governments than under authoritarian ones. When scholars and scientists re frain fromasserting academic freedom in the face of governmental oppression, they only miss becoming saints. When they voluntarily render academic freedom meaningless, they become traitors. It fol lows that the emphases these days upon the University's obli­ gation to "p ublic service "and "c ommunity service "is detrimental to th e idea of the university unless such service promotes the rational ex­ plora ti on of the truth. The University is neither a trade school nor a co mmunity center. To the degree that a university becomes a "c om­ munity school,"it loses its quality as a university. The disastrous re­ sults of "c ommitting "a university to public service are evident in the Fr ee University of Berlin and in Co lumbia University. The Fr ee University was founded as an antithesis to the un freeuni­ versit yin East Berlin. Unfortunately,its founders went beyond estab­ lishing a university for the sake of freedom. Attributing the absence of academic freedom in the University of East Berlin to the absence of demo cr acy under the Ulbricht regime,they believed th at democrac y was a prerequisite for,and perhaps the only guarantee of, freedom. The ycommitted the new university not merely to freedom but to democratic freedom.In contrast to Wilhelm von Humboldt,for whom freedom meant the freedom to doubt everything,they believed that democracy was beyond doubt. This belief was re fle cted in the constit­ uent act in which students, faculty,and the government of Berlin par­ ti ci pa ted. It was re fle cted in the university's charter which provided for th e governme nt of the university by students and faculty. How­ ever ,a free university serving democracy is a contradiction in terms unless democracy is unequivocally committed to the exploration of the tr uth. While demo cr ac y may serve the truth better than other

60 UNIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY fo rm s of gove nment,r it is not doing so by definition. Aside from being ha mfur lto the trut h,democ ra cy also can be det ri menta lto free­ dom,especia lly if it degene ra tes into abso lu te democ ra cy. Soon,th e Free Unive rs ity's commitment to democ ra cy became its undoing. The pa ri ty among veritas, libertas,and justitia,indicated on the unive rs ity's coat of arms,became shaken beyond the intentions of even the most democ ra tic of its founde rs . Democ ra tic justice came to ove rs ha dow trut hand li be rt y. Not su pr ri sing in view of the fact that socia ldemo­ crats ha d been predominant in the founding of the Free Unive rs ity, the le ft -w inge rs wit hi n the unive rs ity became st ro nge rand st ro nge r. Organized in groups suc has "Communes "and the Socia li st Ge rm an Student Le ague (S OS ,) they attempted to furtherdemoc ra tize the Free Unive rs ity,to engage it inc re asing ly in the se rv ice of socia lde­ moc ra cy, and to make it mo er community -c onscious. Thei r plans made one wonde rwh ethe rthey wanted to communize the unive rs ity in spite of thei rdenunciations of the Co mmunist re gimes in East Ge ­r many and Russia. Ca rrying re d flags,they used te rrorand vio le nc e and truncated the Free Unive rs ity. Te rrorand vio le nce unde r re d flags also muti la ted Co lu mbia Uni­ ve rs ity. Whi le not founded with the idea of se rv ing democ ra cy,th at unive sityr became the victim of the democ ra tic trend towa rd socia l democ ra cy,of attempts to make it se ver the community. The ri ote rs put thei rcommunity-consciousness above the idea of the unive rs ity. They blamed Co lu mbia fo rpr omoting re sea rc h and ana ly sis re la ting to nationa ldefense and domestic ri ot cont or l. In thei ropinion, suc h re sea chr was det ri menta lto a wo rld community wit ho ut impe ri alism, a community desi re d by themse lv es and by antiwa rdemonst ra to s.r Specifica lly,th ey attacked Co lu mbia's plan to bui ld a gymnasium in a pa kr lo cated between the unive rs ity and Ha rlem,maintaining that the unive sityr was enc ro ac hi ng on the neg ro community, although the pa kr be lo nged as li tt le to Ha rlem as it did to Co lu mb ia,the gymna­ sium was to occupy on ly two out of the pa rk 's thirty ac es,r and the la nd forthe const ru ction of the gymnasium ha d been le ased to the unive rs ity by the Ci ty of New Yo rk . Unive rs ity commitment to community be li efs is a disse rv ice not on ly to the Unive rs ity but also to the community. Since today no wo rld,nationa l, state,or lo ca lcommunity knows the who le truth,sub­ ordination of the Unive rs ity to any community must de la y the en­ li ghtenment of the commu ni ty and the blessings that come with it. It must be kept in mind that the best se rv ice to the community is the furtherance of the truth -not that what acco rd ing to pub li c opinion is good forthe community is necessa ilry true but that on ly what is true

61 UNIVERSITY is necessarily good for the community. What people think is good for the community must not be the guiding principle of the University, for only respect for the immanently guiding principle of the Univer­ sity-the search for the truth-can be good for the people. In view of the basic differences between modern universities and democracies, making universities serve the wishes of democratic com­ munities must mean subordinating an educated, liberty-promoting elite to less educated, equality-possessed common men and denying the latter education and emancipation. It amounts to subordinating trends toward order to trends toward anarchy, to depriving communi­ ties of stabilizing factors. It means subordinating institutions in which reason prevails to the masses in which emotions run higher and de­ priving the masses of a chance to become more reasonable. It amounts to subordinating clarity to confusionand to depriving com­ munities of the light that could let them see the truth and move into clarity. A University serves a community best if it refrains fromcate ring to the temporary wishes of men and instead aids the long-range aim of humanity to make humans humane by showing them the way to truth. Born of the humane quest for the truth, the University's mission is to serve humanity through the pursuit of the truth. Since that pursuit is a matter of the human brain, it can be undertaken by individuals only. Consequently, the best service the University can render to the com­ munity is to emphasize the freedom of the individual to search forthe truth irrespective of community desires. Against the self-contradictory democratic triune, liberte, egalite, fraternite, a triune which resulted in the increasing deterioration of liberty, I would pit, as an antidote to the mysticism that surrounds the number four with most primitive communities, the clear scientific quaternion, universitas, libertas, veritas, humanitas.

62 3 YOUTH IN UNIVERSITY From Confusion to Clarity

YO UTHFULUNIVERSI TY

The suggestion that forthe sake of trut hand cla ity,r th e Unive sityr is not to be committed to community se vice,r ra ises the question of the Unive rs ity's attitude towa rd yout h. If the Unive rs ity is "c losed "to the desi re s of the community,must it not also be closed to the desi re s of yout h? Qu ite to the cont ra ry . Whe n I opposed a Unive sityr commitment to the community, I ha d in mind a closed community committed to ce rt ain belie fs, ce tainr ways,and specificplans conducive to the community's convenience ­ a community that could impose its will upon,or at least in flu ence,th e University,to the det ri ment of the exploration of the trut h. Speci ­ fically,th is community was political,wh et heron a local,state, na ­ tional,or wo rl d level. To this closed community I opposed a Unive r­ sity closed to the political desi re s of the community in orde rto re main open to the explo ationr of the trut h. The situation is different wit h re spect to the community of yout h. Alt ho ug hyout h ha s appea re d as a community,it is doubtful whet her it re ally constitutes a community. It certainly is not a political com ­ munity. It does not possess a gove rn ment that could execute its will. A la rg e pe rc entage of yout hcannot vote. Whe re as this pe rc entage can in flu ence vote rs ,its in flu ence,even if combined wit hth at of the voting membe rs of yout h, will be mino r. There are ot herindications that yout hcannot in flu ence the University to neglect its mission. Yo ut h not only is devoid of gove rn ment but also of "s et "values. No matte r ho w muc hone he a rs about the values of yout h,th ey are not as set as the values of adults are. Muc has a political community may be di ­ vided up into pa rt ies and fac tions,th ere generally will exist a ce rt ain consensus in its gove nment.r Even gove rn ments based on often shift­ ing coalitions demonst ater that consensus. One need think only of France unde rth e Third and Fou thr Republics, or of the Weima r Re -

63 YOUTH IN UNIVERSITY publ ci. On the other hand,one cannot speak of a consensus of youth. Al wa ys look in g for it s id ent it y,youth is torn bet we en values bet ween wh cih it constantly sh ifts back and forth. Mature real is m,the real iz a­ tion that there are many th ngs,i in the wo rld one had better put up with,makes the older set in the ir wa ys. Immature id eal is m,the dis­ gust about many th in gs that surround youth,and the hope that the wo rld can be im proved, make the young wo rry in g firebrands. The old are res ig ned to many lies. The young are eager to make truth preva .il These cons id erat io ns sho w that the Un iv ers it y's att it ude to wa rd youth can be different from it s att it ude to wa rd adult commun it ie s. Wh eil the Un iv ers it y can be annoyed by the fadsof youth,youth con­ st it utes less danger for the Un iv ers it y than the government of the adult commun it y. The latter can legally abol is h a un iv ers it y. Yo uth only can give a un iv ers it y a hard time -and that at the risk of be in g th ro wn ou tof the un iv ers ity and in to ja il. Ev en if we ta ke th e pro te c ­ tion of the Un iv ers it y from external in ter fer ence for granted,the Un ­i vers it y risks less by serv ngi youth than by serv in g the pol tiical com­ mun it y. It is risky to serve those one may become subserv ie nt to. Since there is a good chance that the Un iv ers it y may become subser­ vient to the pol tiical commun it y, it must be wa ry of serv in g that com­ mun it y. As long as there is no danger of the Un iv ers it y's becom in g subserv ie nt to youth, it can afford serv in g them. Furthermore,serv in g youth is unl ik ely to jeopard iz e the Un iv ers it y because it s bas ci miss io n to explore the truth is sim il ar to the bas ci des ir e of youth to kno wthe truth. Th e "o penness "of youth to truth can be matched by the Un ­i vers it y's "o penness "to serve youth. The Un iv ers it y is we ll su it ed to serve youth, for as a servant of sc ie nce it is an in nately youthful in st it ut io n. cS ie nce is but the other side of youth. It is youth predom in antly rat io nal and im pl ie s constant re juvenat on.i Conclud in g his essay, "The Organ iz at io n of Thought," Wh it ehead,speak in g of natural sc ie nce,stated: "We may conceive human it y as engaged in an in ternec in e con flict bet we en youth and age. Yo uth is not definedby years but by the creat iv e im pulse to make someth in g. The aged are those wh o,before all th in gs,des ir e not to make a mistake. Lo g ci is the ol iv e branch from the old to the young, the wa nd wh cih in the hands of youth has the mag ci property of creat­ in g sc ie nce." 1 Th is statement is val id not only for the natural sc ie nces but for sc ie nce in general. cS ie nce is Wissenschaft,not Wissensbesitz,for Wis­ senschaft is not wh at Wissen geschajftbut wh at Wissen schafft . It is not 1 Alfred N. Whitehead, The Aims of Education and Other Essays (New York, 1957), 179.

64 YOUTHFUL UNIVERSITY

th e knowle dge accumula edt by virtue of prev io u skn owle dge bu t th e explo atr oni of th e tru th th ro ugh th e broa deningan dque stioningof ex isting knowle dge. Accumula edt kn owle dge isa prerequ isite to mo d­ emsc ie nc e, bu t it is no t sc ie nc e itsel f. I towe s itsex istence to th e sc ie ntificpr oce ss, to th e co nstantchalle nge to ex isting be lief san d th e co nstant arrival at ne w tru th s. Ou r knowle dge ha s come abou t th ro u gh "the crea tive im pul se to make so me hit ng"-th ro u gh you th , th ro u gh sc ie nc e. Mo re andmo er mu st be ma de ou t of it th ro ugh sc ie ntific re juve na tio n. Wissensbesitzowe s itsex istence to ,an dmu st be be enla rgedby , Wissenschaft. Asin th e pa st, th e sc ie ntific proce ss mu stco ntinue andwi ht it, th e crea tive im pul se th a t ba sically isan at ­ tribu te of you th . Whieheat d is rightin empha sizing th a t it is im po rta nt forsc ie nc e th a tme n sh ow you th ful be hav io r by no t be ingafra idof mak ingmi stake s. Since I am co nc e rnedwi ht sc ie nc e in ge ne ra l and no t ju stwi ht na t­ ural sc ie nc e, I migh tad d th a tlo gic alo ne ca nnotbe th e wa nd th a tha s th e magic prope rty of crea ting sc ie nc e. Only lo gic com binedwi ht sp ecula tio nca npe forr m th a t ta sk . Eve n il lo gical sp ecula tioncoul d adva nc e sc ie nc e, if only by acc ident;as lo ngas th a tcha nc e ex ists, il ­ lo gical sp ecula tio nou htg no t to be preclu de d. Othe wir se one runs th e risk of fea ring to make mistake s. Ou rpr ev io u s re ma rk son pu bl ic op inionve rsusth e Unive rsity and Whieheat d'scomme ntson ag e andyou th bring to mind so me of Joh n Stua rt Mill 's idea s. The grea tli beral distinguihes d se t "p opula rop in­ io ns"from "h ere tical op inion."s The forme r "a re of ent tr ue, bu t se l ­ do m orne ve r th e whole tru th "an dar e "e xa ggerated, distoret d, and disjo intedfrom th e tru th s by wh ic h th ey ou htg to be accompa nied andli mite d" bu twh ic h th ey su pp re ssan d ne gl ec t instea d. The la tter "a re ge ne ra lly so me of th ese su pp re ssedan d ne gl ec edt tru th s, bu rsting th e bo ndswh chi kep t th em do wn,an dei th e r se ek ing re co nc il ia tion wiht th e tru th co ntainedin th e commo nop inion,or fro nting itas en e­ mies." Mill ma de pla in th a t "e ve yr op inionwh ic h em bodesi so mewha t of th e po rtionof tru th wh chi th e commo nop inionom its,ou htg to be co nsideredpr ec oui s, wiht wha te ve ramou ntof erro ran dco nfusoni th a t tru th may be bl ended." Wha t Mill appl edi to th e free do m of all me n, appl esi a fortiori to me n inun iv e rsities: "F irst, fi any op inionis compelle d to sile nc e, th a t op inionmay, for au htg we ca nce rtainly know, be true. To de ny th is is to to asumes ou row n infall ibiliy.t Se co nd, th ou hg th e sile nc e dop inion be aner ro r, itmay, an dve yr commo nl y do es,co ntaina po rtionof th e tru th ;an d since th e ge ne ra l orpr eva lii ngop inionon an y su bjec t is

65 YOUTH IN UNIVERSITY rarely or never the whole truth, it is only by the collision of adverse opinions that the remainder of the truth has any chance of being sup­ plied. Third, even if the received opinion be not only true, but the whole truth, unless it is suffered to be, and actually is, vigorously and earnestly contested, it will, by most of those who receive it, be held in the manner of a prejudice, with little comprehension or feeling of its rational grounds. And not only this, but, fourthly, the meaning of the doctrine itself will be in danger of being lost, or enfeebled, and de­ prived of its vital effect on the character and conduct; the dogma be­ coming a mere formal profession, inefficacious for good, but cumber­ ing the ground, and preventing the growth of any real and heartfelt conviction, from reason or personal experience." 2 Whitehead was aware not only of the youthfulness of science but also of the youthfulness of the University. In "Universities and their Function," he envisaged universities as "homes of adventures" in which those advanced in years would share with their juniors the won­ ders of exploration. "For successful education there must always be a certain freshnessin the knowledge dealt with. It must either be new in itself or it must be invested with some novelty of application to the new world of new times. Knowledge does not keep any better than fish. You may be dealing with knowledge of the old species, with some old truth; but somehow or other it must come to the students, as it were, just drawn out of the sea and with the freshnessof its immediate importance." 3 What he had in mind has been a distinctive feature of the University. If youth is not defined by years but by the creative im­ pulse to make something, then youth is the very essence of the Univer­ sity. There is hardly another institution where those advanced in years are as committed to the desire of exploring new frontiers as their younger colleagues, where discovering new land is the very rationale for everyone's existence. Schumpeter called the academic man a revolutionary by profession. There is something to that, even though the expression is not happily chosen. As faras the advancement of learning is concerned, universi­ ties have been innovating in a constant evolution, characterized by never-ending attempts of those young in mind to explore the truth and to expand knowledge. In view of this evolution, the universitas scienti­ arum always has been the kind of youthful institution desired by the neo-humanist Fichte. After an exhortation that scholars as the serv­ ants of science always must advance learning, Fichte emphasized the youthfulness of the scholar's work. Science, he said, must always, 2 John Stuart Mill, On Libertyand Considerations on Representative Government, ed. R. B. McCallum (Oxford, 1946), 40f., 46f. 3 Whitehead, Aims of Education, 147.

66 YOUTH AS A COMMUNITY OF SCHOLARS again and again blossom, in th eschola r. "H emus t remain in th is con ­ di ti on of fresh in tell cte ual you th . No th ing mus t becom e ri gid or petrifi ed forhim. Ev ery sun ri s eshould bring a new en terp ri sing lov e forhis wo rk and new opinions." Fo r th eschola r, "thefountain of you ht mus t flo w. To th is foun ta in hemus t fai th fully su rrend erhims el f as long as itca rries him." 4

YO UTH AS A CO MMUNITYOF SCHOLARS

Th e Univ ersi yt is a you th ful ins ti tu ti on ,no tme rely on accoun to f th eyou th ful cha ra c tero f sci en c eand th ela tter's serv an s,t bu talso on accoun to f th eph ysical you th of mos to f th eme mb ers of its commu ­ ni yt. Th see me mb ers are th est ud nte s,who arege neallr y from abou t 18 to 26y ea rs of ag e. In dis ti nc ti on to th est ud en ts of a high school , Gy mnasium,or lycee, u niv ersi yt stud en ts belong ra th er ex clusiv el y to th eag egr oup of you h.t Th erepr obably is no oth er freeand civil insti­ tu ti on in which you th ful memb ership would beso no rm al , which would beso you th ful by defini ti on which, would beas lik el y to belef t by its memb ers as th ye grow old er. Th ear med forces hav ea regula r tu nrov ero f young men bu, t th ye arene ith era free,no ra civil ins, ittu­ ti on. Th epe rc en ta g eo f you th ful memb ers in athl etic clubs is usu ­ ually not as high as itis in univ ersi ti es . As to you th organiza ti ons , th e ag eo f th ei rme mb ers usually is compa ra bl e to th a to f high school stud nte s. Th ereis probably no otherplac ein which th eou ts id ewo rl d would beas much awa reo f you th as th e en vi ornm nte of a Univ ersi yt. We areall to o much awa reo f th is to day ,wh en headlin es on you th gener­ ally arehe adlin es rela ti ng to th euniv ersi ti es . Yo u th how, vee r,has also pu tit s ma kr on communi ti es in which univ ersi ti es arelocat ed in no r­ mal ,qui tee r ti mes. Al th ough (o rbe caus e?)he ne verst udi ed in a uni ­ vesitr y , Ma rk Twain wi tt ily desc ibr ed forigne stud nte life in A Tramp Abroad. Th esi tu ation has not chang ed much to this day. Th est ory tha t ev ery new stud en t arivingr ata small univ ersi yt is formally re­ ceiv ed by univ ersi yt digni ta ri es as a ch erish ed ra ri yt is ,o f cou ser , ex­ agg erat ed . Still stud, en ts in fluenceand, of ten determin e,life in univ er­ sity to wns and giv e to th es e to wns a youthful app are ance. Wh ether th evisi ort se se a stud nte pa adr eor a foo tb all gam ein Am erica ,or wh et h erhe com es ac ossr Eu ro pean stud en ts in th ei rpic tu resqu e fra ­ tenrity unifo msr ,he is tak en in by th ey ou th fuln es s of a univ ersity

4 Fichte, Uber die Bestimmung des Gelehrten, 329; Ueber das Wesen des Gelehrten, 438.

67 YOUTH IN UNIVERSITY town. Th i s yo uthfu ln e ssprompt sal ltoo man ygraduate sto make uni­ ver si t ytown stheir home,with the re su lt that the ybecome crowded with professiona lpeop le who often can sc arce lymake a li ving. Th ose who le ave upon graduation often le ave with a heav yheart and the sa d feeling that their yo uth isover. To them,a lo nging for yo uth often become sidentified with a lo nging for their st udent da ys, beautifu llyexpre ssed in the Academic Fe st iva l Overture byBrahm s, who, keli Mark Tw ain,never st udied in a Univer si ty nor forthat mat­ ter in a con se rvator y. At the beginning of hi sautobiography, the aged Jeffer so n credited the Co llege of Wi lliam and Mar ywith having pro ­ vided him "t he great good fortune,and what probab ly fixed the de s­ tinie sof myli fe ,"of meeting two teacher s. Th e de st inie sof their li ve s were fix ed in the yo uthfu latmo sp here of univer si tie sfor the Brown­ ing s, the John Stuart Mi lls,the Sche lling s, and man yother swho met there and married. Asis evident in hi sfir st le cture On the Future of Our Institutions ofLearnin g, Nietz sc he' smemorie sof yo uth in a la rge mea su re were tho se of hi s st udent da ys. Th e sa me istrue of thou sa nd s of le sswe ll-known peop le . Li ke Henry Adam s, the ycheri sh the mem ­ or yof the moment when the y le fthigh sc hoo withl it srigid curricu lu m and st rict di sc ip li ne to enter their alma mater,there for the fir ts time to enjoythe freedom of yo uth. Even if they feelli ke Henr y Adam s, who wrote in hi sautobiography that he did not get an education at Harvard, the y wi llthink of their st udent da ys as so mething the y wou ld not want to have mi ssed. Classand fraternit yreunion s, alumni meeting s, and generou sgi ftsto the alma mater-the yal lte st ify to the affection for st udent da ys,an affection which in mo ts ca ess is due to a no st a lg ic identi fic ation of tho se day swith yo uth. To st udent s, the Univer si t yis more than a place for the pur su it of sc ience, a place which keep s it els f iso la ted from communitie s and pre se nt sa co ld and imper so na lappearance. It isthe se tting for a st u ­ dent communit y. Th ere probab ly isno other in st itution in which there wou ld be so much of a communit yamong young freepeop le . Th e st u­ dent s li ve together in re si dence ha lls, fraternit y hou se s, or sh ared apartment s. Even if the y li ve bythem se lv es,the yget together with their fellow st udent sin the clasroom,s during mea ls,and at a great va ­ riet yof so cia levent s. In a la rge mea su re, st udent li feis so cia l li fe. Friend sh ip smade during st udent da ysare probab lyas important as forma lin st ruction. Who cou ld forget a st udent fest ivit yin the old ca s­ tle of He ide lb erg,or a weekend on Princeton' s Pro sp ect Street ? Who wou ld not be impre ssed bythe li felong friend sh ip sfounded during st udent da ys? Th e idea that a univer si t yis a communit yof st udent sis as ol d as

68 YOUTH AS A COMMUNITY OF SCHOLARS the idea of the university itself. The University is not only universitas scientiarum but also universitas scholarium. As a matter of fact, the lat­ ter was the original meaning of the University. Universitas means "a whole." When the Pope addressed Christians, he addressed them as universitas vestra, "the whole of you." The firstuse of the term universi­ tas in connection with education was universitas scholarium, meaning the whole body of students at the medical school of Salerno. Fol­ lowing the practice of merchants travelling together to protect them­ selves against the hazards of travel and the risks of residence in for­ eign countries, the students who had come from other cities and countries associated themselves into a universitas scholarium in order to better protect themselves against their teachers and landlords, as well as against tradesmen and city authorities. Later on, a similar as­ sociation was formed by students who had come from Southern Italy, France, and Holland to study law at Bologna. Students at other uni­ versities followed suit. The universitas scholarium has existed down to our day. This is quite natural. As was stated earlier, the young feel pretty much lost in the world. They yearn for community. And just as youngsters in general often have associated in youth movements, students have organized within universities. In many respects, the reasons for such organiza­ tion are similar to those that led to the earliest student associations. Like their predecessors, modern students usually come from outside the town in which they study. There is a good chance that they will be taken advantage of by their landlords, by tradesmen, by those in charge of public utilities such as buses and tramways, that they will be treated arbitrarily by the public authorities. They will organize them­ selves in order to protect their interests in the local community, be it directly or indirectly through the good officesof the university admin­ istration. Of course, students will also organize in order to protect their interests vis-a-vis the university authorities. Interested as they are in instruction, there is reason forthem to unite to ensure good instruc­ tion. As in the old days, there always exists the possibility that teach­ ers will neglect students or take advantage of them. Furthermore, there are problems with respect to the disciplinary rules of the univer­ sity, be they concerned with academic or social life, and many others. As society and universities became more complex, the problems of students increased. This is well reflectedin the factthat universities no longer have just academic deans but also deans of students, who are in charge of a great variety of matters. In the University of Chicago, for instance, the Dean of Students "coordinates the University's rela­ tions with students, including admissions, recording and reporting,

69 YOUTH IN UNIVERSITY health servic e,physical ed ucation and athl et ics ,th e ed ucational and social sup er vision of resid en c ehalls and clubhous s,e th edir ec tion of social affairs ,th econtrol of stud en t organizations and pu bl ications , vocational guidanc eand plac mee nt stud, en t aid th, eadministration of fel lo wships and scholarships ,and of th ese rvic efunction of th e Office of Examinations ,and of stud en t advisory servic ein th e Co ll eg e,th e Divisions ,and th e Schools ." 5 It looks as if th e universitas scholarium, as a devic efor th eprot ec tion of th estud en ts ,is hereto stay .

YO UTH IN THE CO MMUNITYOF SCHOLARS

Th e universitas scholariumis not just a community among stud en ts but on eof stud en ts and teach er s . It go es wi thout saying that stud en ts organiz eth mse lve es not pri­ marily for th esak eof th ei r prot ec tion fromto wn sp eo pl eor in ord er to deal wi th matt er s that no wa days gen er ally fall wi thin th e jurisdiction of a dean of stud en ts . All of th see ar epe riph er al to th emain conc er n of th estud en ts -l ea rning . What ev er th ecomplaints of stud en ts may be,in most cas es th ey ar eprompt ed by th ede sir eof cr ea ting an at­ mosph ree that is conduciv eto learning . Th e facilitationof int el l ctuale pursuits traditionally has bene th ema jor rational efor th eformation of stud en t communiti es and for th ei r actions . Ev ne in th e ea rly days of th e Univ er sity ,th eprot ec tion of scholars from landlords trad, es m n,e and th epublic authoriti es wa s nothing but a means for a bett er pursuit of studi s.e Mor eimportant wa s th estu­ dents' prot ec tion from th ei r instructors . This prot ec tion did not imply so much physical well -b ei ng , wh ich wa s pr et ty secur eund er th ela ws, but th ei r spiritual welfareand int el lectual opportunity . Ba sically ,this meant that th ree wo uld beno obstruction of learning and no negl ec t of instruction . Th einstructor wa s not to int er fer e wi th th escholars' studi es and yet wa s to beavailabl efor teaching and consultation . Stu­ dents requ es ted both th e fredome from and th eright to bewi th th e teach r.e Stud nte prot ec tion impli ed th eright to solitud e,as well as th e right to pursu estudi es wi th th ete ach er s to, form wi th th me a commu­ nity of learning . Wereit not for th elatt er community ,th ete rm uni­ versitas studentiumcould hav ebe ne us ed inst ea d of universitas scholar­ ium,implying as it do es a gr ea ter distanc ebe tween teach er s and stu­ dents . Eag er to learn ,but gen er ally not yet learn d,e a stud en t is less id en tifiabl e wi th a teach er than is th e scholar . Th e community of 5 Robert M. Strozier, "In Loco Parentis: University Services to Students," in Issues in University Education, ed. Charles Frankel (New York, 1959), 124.

70 YOUTH IN THE COMMUNITY OF SCHOLARS schola rs an d teach ers was in a la ger me asu reai dedby th esoc ra ti c meth o dwhich was th en prev al en ton accoun tof a rela ti v el y small numb erof studnte s. Th e dev el opm en tof th ecommuni ty of scho la rs soon was ma tc h ed by a simi arl de v el opm nte among teach ers . As a universitas scholarium ha dcom ein to being in Sal erno an d Bo lo gna,a universitas magistro­ rumwas es ta blish edin Pa ri s . Here teach ers organiz ed th em selv se in to a communi ty which gua rdedit s memb ers agains t th eabus es of com ­ peit to rs an dsaw to itth a twi th ou tpr op erqualifica ti on no scho arl coul dclaim th e ti tl eof mas ter. Otheruniv ersi ti es follow edsui t. Again, th e universitas magistrorum di dno tme rely imply a commu ­ ni ty of teach ers vis -a-vis th est uden s.t It also mean ta communi ty of teach ers an dschola s.r Jus tas schola rs fel t th a tfor th epr og ress of th ei r educa ti on th ey needed th ecouns el of th ei r teach ers, teach ers di d no twan t to bede p ri v edof th est imula ti on by th ei rst udnte s.Th ela t­ ter,som etim es schola sr in th ei rown ri gh t, woul dof ten ri se to th e ra nk of mas ter. Thus th est uden tbo dy would con ti nually repl en ish th e fac ­ ul ty , en abl ed to do so by th ela tter's eff orst . In th ebe ginning of th e Univ ersi ty , th e rela ti onship bewet ne stu­ den ts an d teach ers was th us a communal,no t to say symbio ti c,on e. Grea ast th e tensions bewet en studnte s an d teach ers may hav ebe en ­ an dofte n th ey weresubs ta n ti al in deed-thebasic communi yt be­ tw een studnte s an d teach ers was neverse iouslyr con testd.e 6 By th e fou rteenth century, th e Univ ersi yt was universitas magistrorum et scho­ larium, "thewhol eof mas ters an dschola s,"r a nam ewhich soon was replac edby th esimpl e term "u niv ersi ty ." Th ecommuni ty bewet ne teach ers an dst udnte s is a na tu ra l on e. It follows from th ena urt eof teaching and learning and, es pecially, from th ena urt eof th e Univ ersi ty as an ins ti tu ti on forth e ad vanc mee ntof learning an d th ese arch fortru th . Th ere ex is s,t of cou rs e, a certain communi ty l �twene teach ers and studnte s if only becaus e teaching and learning arein terdependnte ,for th erecan beno teaching wi th ou tle arning and no learning wi th ou t teaching . Mos tof us also woul dag ree th a t th e rela ti onship bewet ne teach erand stud nte di ffesr from th a tof a groc eran dhis cus to m er. Whil e th e teach eroff ers,and th est ud nte re c ei ves,ins truc ti on,as th e groc eroff ers,an d th ecus to m er rec ei ves,me chanr di se, th efor mer rela­ ti onship geneallyr is mo repe sonalr . Th is by itself,how vee ,r do es no t mean th a tit also woul dbe mo recommunal . Itis conc ei vabl e th a t th e bettera studen tan da teach erknow ea ch othe,r th emo rean ta gonis ti c 6 See Noah Edward Fehl, The Idea of a University in East and West (Hong Kong, 1962), chap. 6.

71 YOUTH IN UNIVERSITY they become. Therefore, there may be less of a community between student and teacher than between customer and grocer. People will argue that this situation exists only in the presence of doctrinaire and intolerant teachers or students, both of which are contradictions in terms. This argument is not without foundation. Still, even in the ab­ sence of the antagonism described, teaching and learning alone do not necessarily create a community between teachers and students. Every­ one who has been to primary or secondary school, to college, or lis­ tened to a lecture, has been aware of it. The reason for the frequent failure of teachers to establish a com­ munity with their students probably is that teaching often is a mere presentation of knowledge. Aside from running the risk of being dull, this kind of presentation unduly confrontsthe "knowing teacher" with the "ignorant" students. The probability of a community between teacher and students increases when teachers, instead of merely pre­ senting knowledge, strive toward the advancement of knowledge. The teacher no longer appears to possess a monopoly on knowledge, and the student derives encouragement from that fact. Interested in the advancement of learning, students and teachers share doubts about existing knowledge. They form a community in doubt. That commu­ nity is continually enlivened and consolidated by joint desires and at­ tempts to find the truth. Whereas teaching in the form of a mere pres­ entation of knowledge is prevalent in educational institutions that prepare for the University, teaching and studying in the formof an ex­ ploration of the truth and an advancement of learning is characteristic of the University.7 Since the collaboration of students and teachers, and its inherent cross-fertilization, will yield scientific results, the universitas magistro­ rum et scholarium is conducive to the universitas scientiarum. In turn, since learning is advanced through science, science emerges not only as the youthful means for the exploration of the truth but also as a means for bringing youth into a community with their seniors. The universitas scientiarum thus is conducive to the universitas magistrorum et scholarium. The concomitance of these two conceptions of the Uni­ versity, their complementary character and interdependence, perhaps account for the fact that imperceptibly the meaning of the University changed from "the whole of masters and scholars" to "the whole of sciences." As the former, the latter also became referred to simply as University. It is no mere coincidence that modern universities, foundedwith an 7 See Lithuanian School Plan, Gesammelte Schriften, XIII, 279; Friedrich Schleier­ macher, Gelegentliche Gedanken iiber Universitiiten im deutschen Sinn (1808), in Piida­ gogische Schriften, ed. Erich Weniger (Diisseldorf, 1957), II, 90lf.

72 YOUTH IN THE COMMUNITY OF SCHOLARS emphasis on a scientific approach, stressed not only research and teaching but also the community of teachers and students. This em­ phasis was evident in pioneering universities such as Gottingen, Ber­ lin, and Johns Hopkins. Schleiermacher, who, two generations after the foundingof the University of Gottingen, was influentialin shaping the University of Berlin, feltit was the University's task "to awaken in the noble young men who already possess a certain knowledge, the idea of science . . . in order that they may naturally see everything fromthe point of view of science . . . and be able to familiarizethem­ selves with every branch of knowledge." Speaking of the "university teacher who is stimulated by living with youths who are full of intel­ lectual curiosity and whom he stimulates in every possible way," Schleiermacher emphasized that "even the most silent and industrious investigator, in his happiest moments, which are those of discovery, . . . must feellike communicating in the most lively and enthusiastic manner and must desire to reveal himself in the spirit of young men. No important university teacher can hold his chair with dignity with­ out having encountered investigations and tasks which demonstrate to him the great value of a community in which everyone is supported by everybody in his scientific pursuits." 8 In the interview that led to his election as the first president of the Johns Hopkins University, Gilman told the trustees that he would make the university "the means of promoting scholarship of the first order, and this by only offering . . . instruction to advanced stu­ dents," that he would give professors "only students who were far enough advanced to keep them constantly stimulated." 9 On the twenty-fifthanniversary of the university, Woodrow Wilson, who had received his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins in 1886, congratulated Gil­ man for being "the firstto create and organize in America a university in which the discovery and dissemination of new truths were con­ ceded to rank superior to mere instruction, and in which the efficiency and value of research as an educational instrument were exemplified in the training of many investigators," and for having "established in America a new and higher university ideal, whose essential feature was . . . the education of trained and vigorous young minds through the search for truth under the guidance and with the co-operation of master investigators-societas magistrorum et discipulorum. " 10

Today, nearly three-quarters of a century later, it is necessary to question whether the community of teachers and students still exists. s Ibid, 95, 99. 9 The Nation (Jan. 28, 1875), XX, 60. 10 Johns Hopkins University, Celebration of the Twenty-fift h Anniversary (Baltimore, 1902), 39f.

73 YOUTH IN UNIVERSITY

The answer ,which differs from countr yto countr yand from univer ­ sit yto universit y,is on the wh ole affirmative. As far as German yis concerned ,the communit ybet ween teachers and students exists le ss toda ythan it did prior to World War II. In 1913, Ge rman y had a population of about 67 million and about 79,000students in 21universities and 11institutes of technolog y. In the beginning of this decade ,the Federal Republic of German yand West Ber li n with, a population of about 55million had, about 200,000 students in onl y 18universities and 8institutes of technolog y. In 1928, there were 3,050chairs forabout 112,000students and in 1962, 3,160 chairs for about 200,000students. The founding of new universities so far far has not substantiall yremedied this situation. It is obvious that the increase of students must depersonalize the relationship between teachers and students and jeopardize the communit ybet ween them. The communit y-forming ,common search for the truth and advance ­ ment of learning in a la rge measure has been replaced bycon fronta ­ tion between teacher and students. On the other hand ,it cannot be denied that there still exists a substantial communit yformed bythe pro fes sor and his students. Seminars are still relativel ysmall and, lab ­ orator ywor kis sti ll underta ke n byindividuals or small groups in close conta ct with fac ult y. Mo st important of all,wo r kon a dissertation still is done in collaboration between the student and his pro fes sors oft, en with just one re fer ee ,affectionatel ycalled Doktorvater. In In the United States the, seminar method introduced, bya few uni ­ versities toward the end of the last centur y,has been adopted bymost uni ve rsities. This to a large degree prevented a depersonalization of the re la tionship between teachers and students. It neutralized the dan ­ gers arising from the increase ofthe student bod y,noticeable espe ­ cia llysince World War II. These dangers we re not as great as in Ger ­ ma nyto begin with because in the United States the growth of the student bod ygenerall ywas matched byan increase of universities and fac ulties . The student- fac ult yratio is considerab lymore fav orable in the Un ited States than in German y. Co mmunit y-feeling also is aided bythe fac t that in Am erica students are not con fronted bya few "c hairs ." The yare not taught onl yby chair-holding pro fes sors ,or by ful lpro fes sors ,but also byassociate and assistant pro fes sors. In con ­ trast to the assistants of German pro fes sors ,assistant pro fes sors in American universities hold fac ult yran kand form a lin kbetween stu­ dents an d senior fac ult y. The communit yof teachers and students is fur ther aided bythe fac t that ,in contrast to their German colleagues , American pro fes sors ,ev en in courses that are not classified as semi-

74 YOUTH WITHOUT DEMOCRACY nars, often use the socratic method instead of lecturing, or a combina­ tion of both. Moreover, American professors on the whole are more available to students. Mark Twain's description in A Tramp Abroad of the German professorwho enters the classroom, talks with prodigious rapidity and energy foran hour, and rushes out of the room and dis­ appears is still fitting today. Aside from some participation in semi­ nars, I talked to a professor only upon graduation from law school when I asked Walter Jellinek whether I could write my dissertation under him. I was quite surprised when in America I saw students after a lecture literally besiege their professors, who gladly conversed with them. American professors often help their students in writing doc­ toral dissertations to a degree that makes doubtful whether the final product really demonstrates the students' ability to do independent work. There is no doubt that in the United States there exists today what Woodrow Wilson at the beginning of the century called societas magistrorum et discipulorum.

YOUTH WITHOUT DEMOCRACY

It is significant that Wilson spoke of the "society of masters and dis­ ciples" instead of the traditional "whole of masters and scholars." Per­ haps the distinguished student of government and society feltthat the traditional term, using universitas rather than societas, was inadequate and bore within itself the roots of its own destruction. As a matter of fact, the traditional term, while implying community, is silent as to whether and by whom that community is governed. One could answer that "the whole of masters and scholars" is governed by the love and exploration of the truth. Ideal as that answer may sound, it presup­ poses that men are angels and does not dispel the specter of anarchy among men as they really are. Masters and scholars may have dif­ ferent conceptions of the truth and how to discover it. If each group proceeded on its own, the community of masters and scholars, which is most conducive to science, could fall apart. A genuine community needs a government. It is possible that his realization that the term, universitas magistrorum et scholarium, .implied no government led Wil­ son to speak of societas magistrorum et discipulorum. 11 For societas usually is a specificpartnership or association, a legal community with some kind of government, be it only a contract. Even if used more generally, it means an association that is more organized than univer-

11 Cf. Woodrow Wilson, The State (Boston, 1889), 17f.

75 YOUTH IN UNIVERSITY

sitas,which can mean th e whole of every th ing irrespec ti ve of organi­ za ti on or governmen t. Ideal as "the whole of mas te rs and scholars "may sound, itwas no t mean t to be a disorganized communi ty from th e beg in n in g. Scholars may have been "r ov in g scholars,"bu t th e communi ty of scholars as it developed in Salerno and Bologna was ti ed to a spec ifi c in stituton.i From th is connec ti on wi ht an ins ti tu ti on follows th e pos ition of th e scholars vis--visa th e mas te rs. Since th e communi ty of scholars pre­ ceded th a tof mas te rs,it could be expec te d th a t th e comb in a ti on of bo th would be called universitas scholarium et magistrorum. Ins te ad, it was called universitas magistrorum et scholariumand forgood reason. Na ming th e mas te rs firs tand th e scholars second in dica te s th e pr i­ macy of th e former over th e la tter and expressed wha thad been ev ­i den talready in Salerno and Bologna. No ma tter how much scholars may have organized th emselves in to a commun ity, th ey were no trun­ ning schools li ke Salerno and Bologna. On th e con tr ary, th ey were under th e jurisdic ti on of th ose schools wh ic h were represen te d to a large degree by th e mas te rs. Wha te ver th e righ ts of th e scholars were, th ey did no ten ti tl e th em to be enrolled in a spec ifi c in stitutoni of learning. Such an enrollmen twas a privilege (privilegium)gran te d by th e ins ittuton.i By enrolling, th e scholars en te red in to a con tr ac ualt re­ la tionship wiht th eir school. They volun ta rily agreed to sub jec t th em­ selves to th e la tter's rules and regula tions. In do in g so, th ey recogn ized th e au th ori ty of th e mas te rs over th emselves in ma tters of educa tion. Ideally, th e Univers ity may have been "the whole of mas te rs and scholars,"in th e sense of an unorgan ized,ungoverned commun ity.As realized ins ti tu ti onally,it was th e whole of mas te rs and scholars, in which th e mas te rs came firs t. Itwas universitas magistrorum et studen­ tium,or, as Wilson pu tit , societas magistrorum et discipulorum. The subordina ti on of studen ts to te achers is no tsurpr is in g. Itfol­ lows fro m th e very pu poser of th e communi ty of mas te rs and scholars and from th e na tu re of educa tion. Since th e purpose of th e academ ic communi ty is to explore and to discover th e tr uth, th a tcommuni ty mus tbe organized in a way th a tpromises th e ach ie vemen tof th a t aim. From th e te leolog ic al na tu re of educa ti on follows th e super io r ity of th e rela tively educa te d par tof th e academ ic commun ity over its rela ti ve ly uneduca te d par t. The facul ty mus t direc t th e studen ts . While itis conceivable th a tst uden ts will have in sigh ts th a tare den ie d to to erudi te professors, th ese cases are excep tional. Generally, te achers, being more learned and hav in g grea te r exper ie nce in sc ie n tific me th ­ ods,wi ll kn ow more abou t, and be more represen att vei of, th e tr uth th an studen s.t Le tting studen ts gu id e th eir te achers would amoun t to

76 YOUTH WITHOUT DEMOCRACY

le tting those who know le ss guide those who know more,t o elevating ignorance over knowledge. tI wou dl contradict the very meaning of guidance. Furthermore,it wou dl mean that those who have not mas­ tered existing truths and hard ly are representati ev of the truth wou dl le ad those who have mastered such truths and are more representative of the truth. tI wou dl reduce the search for the truth to a paradox. Fac ult y authority over students by no means reduces students to servants of the facu lt y. tI merely insures that students wi lls erve the truth as much as professors. Citizenship in the academic community prec udl es the service by any group or individua lt o another because academic citizens must serve the truth on ly . This does not prec udl e, however,th at students wou dl have to respect their teachers. The very fact that students serve the truth must make them eager to le arn be­ cause service to the truth norma lly increases with le arning. Further­ more,s ince s"tudent,"d erived from La tin,me ans one who is eager to le arn,s tudents must respect le arning and,con sequently,th ose who are le arned. This is the basic alw governing the relationship between teacher and student. tI is the basis of the academic order. In re­ specting his teacher,a student does no more than his teacher,wh o wi ll respect the le ading authorities of le arning and often proud ly consider himself their student. Respect for the authority of le arning and for those who are le arned does not imp ly a olss of individua li ty. God s' wi llth at men sha llb e free by knowing the truth is not comparab le to the wi llof men as it was advocated by Rousseau,wh o believed in the dogma t ha t the wi llof the peop le is the wi llof God. Whereas according