Evening star., 1948-09-19
The Trouble With Man Is Man

When he spoke here last week at the
close of the centenary meeting OF the
American Association for the Advance
ment of Science, Professor Roger j. Will
iiams of Texas University reStated In lively
and up-to-t the minute words a truth as
ancient as the beginning of humanity. 1t
is simply that the individual must under
stand himself and others If the family OF
nations is to live safely together within a
good society.
Long ago, in old Greece, Scion said
much the same thing when he counseled
our race of bipeds that it must first know
itself If it wished to achieve wisdom, hap
piness or peace of mind. In more modern
times, Pope summed up the truth by say
ing that "the proper study of mankind Is
man" DR.. Williams, distinguished bio
chemist, wholeheartedly agrees. AS he puts
It, What we lack most of all today is an
adequate knowledge of what people are
like, ourselves, the real human beings who
inhabit our favorite planet"
In other words mans destiny depends
primarily on himself, not on the stars. If
he can only learn to know himself and his
fellows, he will be able to build good
society. The trouble with the modern
world, in short, is people. We ourselves
are the greatest peril to ourselves 1t Is
not because of some unseen or uncon-
trollable force that we are in danger now
not because of inanimate objects IN our
environment, not because of the ami
hilatine potentialities of things like the
atomic bomb, but because OF our failure
thus far to acquire true understanding
of either ourselves or others, our failure to
develop enough wisdom to live safely with
the knowledge that is ours, to control the
scientific terrors of our own devising, to
direct them toward beneficial ends, and to
dwell together-ASiatics Europeans, Amer
leans. all men-in harmonious system OF
collective security and mutual well-being
Stated another way, as DR.. Williams has
effectively stated it, "Civilization is not
threatened by atomic bombs and biological
warfare today. 1t is threatened by our
selves. If we blame our trouble on atomic
bombs, we are like the boy who falls OF
his bicycle and then takes out his spite by
kicking the bicycle; or the golf player who
when he f1ubs shot proceeds to wrap his
golf club around the nearest tree. II
civilization goes down, man will be his own
undoing. The instruments and tools that
he uses will not be the source OF the
trouble
To cope with the baff1ement, turmoil and
dangers of our time, DR.. Williams would
therefore have science undertake far
reaching exploration of the human from
tier" The art of relations between man
and man, and nation and nation, is still
primitive. What is needed, as he sees 1t,
is a great concerted effort to develop it to
the point where the knowledge of indt-
Notwithstanding, presumably re-
awakened awareness of the individuals
spiritual nature as child of God whose
ultimate destiny embraces far more than
just eating, sleeping and dying-will
spread tolerance everywhere and create
truly friendly and cooperating world.
It may be that DR.. Williams hopes for
the impossible. 1t may be that humanity
through perversity, through selfishness,
through the worship of false gods, and
through self-poisoning, self-destroying
supermaterialiStic evaluation of lifes
meaning-will become no better than it is.
but will keep on sinking until extinction
itself buries it. If so, any thinking animals
succeeding him will be right If they say
that man had only himself to blame. Sur
vive or perish? The answer, barring
cosmic doomsday really beyond his con-
troll, is up to him.