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since the seer must always present his vision in terms which his audience
will understand; i.se., in terms of the natural world as they know it, It
follows that, as man's verifiable knowledge of the physical universe ex=
pands and changes, so will his religious and philosophic conclusions change,
frequently in minor details, occasionally in more fundamental assumptions.

2) In arriving at general principles, man hungers for absolute certainty,
while the best that he can attain is a tentative assumption--even our basic
laws of natural science are unverifiable hypotheses, This craving for cer=
tainty drives men in different directions, A few seek to push the bounds
of knowledge yet farther into the unknown and examine the basic assumptions
of their age with a view toward modifying theme The majority find it easier
to accept their assumptions as certainties, to let their thoughts become
crystallized, so to speak, After every great period of discovery and mental
ferment, such a crystallization tends to set in, with men resting comfort=
ably in traditional views and occasionally defending them with fanatical
intensity. It is not unusual for later adherents of a creed to be far more
dogmatic and extreme in asserting its correctness than were those who formu=
lated it in the first place.

3) In the present age, the accelerated speed of scientific discovery
makes difficult the formulation of any system of thought based on the physi-
cal world which is not subject to immediate modification, Furthermore, the
degree of precision attained in the natural sciences makes many people im-
patient with the less precise results which are possible in other fields of
thought. The scientific temper which rejects conclusions not verified by
experiment causes some individuals to dismiss contemptuously all religious
and philosophic ideas which cannot be similarly verified, This tendency is
unfortunately strengthened by the militant dogmatists who admit no possible
error in an established religious creed and who breed an exasperated but
equally ill-founded dogmatism in opponents to their point of view.

4) Modern college teachers have developed to a high degree the power of
analysis, but to a much lesser degree the power of synthesise Many teachers
deliberately attempt to shock a student out of his previously held views
which they feel to be incorrect, so that he may arrive at new conclusions
on the basis of more accurate knowledge. Too often they leave him flounder-
ing, with a sense of lost values and a doubt that any values whatever are
valid. He either tries to put the question from his mind or retreats into
a shallow cynicism which masks his own inadequacy to cope with the problem.

it is just here that the teacher's greater experience should be of
most aid to the student, in helping him to synthesize the various elements
of his knowledge, to fit what he is learning into his previous scheme of
facts and ideas, Often the teacher's most valuable contribution is not in
imparting his own particular synthesis, or philosophy of life, but in mak=
ing the student feel that an intelligent synthesis is possible, that there
is no reason for despair,