Conant Requests 'Tough Idealism, For Free Nations

Starting the year with his traditional chapel talk at Memorial Church yesterday morning, President Conant emphasized the important role "tough-minded idealists" will play in the future destiny of free countries.

Comparing the outlook of one year ago when the victory celebrations had just ended and all of us were expecting relatively easy times ahead, to the present numerous trouble spots on the international scene, President Conant suggested that men with "hard-boiled intellectual tempers" are likely "to lead as satisfying lives as any in the years to come. Moreover," he said, "I am firmly convinced that our chances for orderly development as a free nation depend on the number and influence of such men."

Although President Conant thought such individuals are probably born, not made, and that education would not alter the degree of tough-mindedness, it could "modify the ambitions and goals of many men. If I am right in this and there be merit in my preference for a certain type of idealist, the way certain problems are handled in our universities may have considerable influence on the future of this nation."

Prefers Tough Idealist

President Conant warned that while rigorous analysis and critical evaluation of all ideas is the function of the University, there is the danger of overly-destructive criticism, leading to the development of "sentimentalists who reject critical analysis and cynics who reject ideals."

"The postwar world is . . . no place for weaklings," President Conant asserted. "To be sure, as individuals we may seek escape in various ways. But it would seem wiser to try to develop an attitude appropriate for the time in which we live."

"For the tough-minded idealist," he said, "all phrases which describe noble sentiments are subjects for analysis. Some he may find largely poetical expressions to be defined only in terms of the emotions they evoke many others, including the description of such American ideals as 'equality of opportunity' and 'social justice' on the other hand, he will find to have real content."