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University Daily Kansan Monday, Dec. 8, 1958
Dr. Peter J. Caws
The Wrong Kind of Rivalry
An entertaining quote from the story on the Army's moonshot that failed:
"No one was wishing the Army shot was less than perfect, but Air Force officers could not conceal their relief that Pioneer III had not out performed Pioneer I.
“If Wernher Von Braun had put his satellite around the sun the first try, after three Air Force failures to reach the moon, there would have been no living with him,' one officer commented."
If that attitude is prevalent—that the race is between the Army and Air Force instead of between the United States and Russia—then something is wrong with the thinking down in Florida.
The new National Aeronautics and Space Administration is taking over the Army long-range missile program shortly, and apparently it will be just in time. The services are fighting for their lives, with survival determined by who builds the best rocket first.
The service with the best missile program gets the appropriations gravity from Congress. The service that misses could become the penniless child.
With the three services working separately, there is bound to be some duplication of effort.
Work naturally goes slower, because a development by one service may not reach the other services for quite a while.
In theory, the military is run as a unified body under the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In practice, the Air Force, Army, and Navy are very much separate units. Progress by one unit comes at the expense of the other two—usually in appropriations.
Just how far the NASA will go in taking over missile and rocket work, we do not know. But we believe that it, or some single agency, should take over all missile programs now under way, pool the knowledge of all three groups, and work on rocketry independently of service prestige demands.
There must be military consultants, of course. The NASA must know the military requirements of each service.
But as long as the separate services continue to look on missile work as an inter-service competition, instead of a fight for survival against the Soviet Union, there will be delays caused by non-cooperation, jealousy, and personal dislikes.
That is no way to run a cold war.
Alan Jones
Pearl Harbor
Seventeen years ago, the United States was thrown into war against Germany, Japan, and Italy. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor swept the nation from apathy into a single-minded fury against the Axis.
Today, we have warning systems, a large military force, and a better knowledge of the potential enemy. There should be no chance of a surprise attack.
But war is a sudden thing today. A missile goes from Russia to the United States in 30 minutes, carrying enough explosive power to destroy millions of people. So far, there is neither an efficient missile-killer nor a defense against atomic bombs.
There might be no Pearl Harbor again, in the sense of a surprise attack. But neither we nor Russia can defend ourselves from weapons we could hurl at each other. The only consolation would be that we knew what had hit us. —A.J.
The Fast Buck
The United States Secret Service has warned the gullible public to keep wary eyes peeled for fast-working counterfeiters during the Christmas rush.
The hectic shopping days and confusion of emergency store helpers make a tough job easy for the shifty passer of the pretty, but worthless, buck.
The advances in science and technology have aided the criminal as much as normal society. Years of experience and perfected tools have increased the chances of circulating phony bills.
Differences are always present in the money. The government uses a certain grade of paper, manufactured only for U.S. currency. This paper is nearly impossible to duplicate. Likewise the
blend of pigments used in the ink is hard to match.
Finally, since true currency is the standard, no engraving intending to duplicate the bill can be perfect. Mistakes, major and minor, always turn up.
Therefore, a discerning individual will always think twice before accepting a sizeable bill. He will make a quick check of the bill and, if he has any doubts, will challenge its worth.
If the bill is counterfeit, delay the passer and phone the police. Get a description of the passer and his license number if he leaves. Take care, or you may pay $5 or $10 for a piece of paper, good only for a keepsake. —John Husar
LITTLE MAN ON CAMPUS By Dick Bibler
"YOU GUYS BETTER RUN ALONG NOW, WORTHAL HAS TO STUDY FOR A PRETTY RUGged FIGURE DRAWING" TEST TOWARD."
It Looks This Way
A reliable source says two deans were chasing a squirrel the other day. The source also suggests this is a reversal of the normal order of things, and news of the man-bites-dog sort. I would personally commit no such less-mariee.
The squirrel was lodged in the basement of one dean's house, making irritating night noises and disturbing sleep. The dean recruited aid from a peer (that means another dean) and they evicted the freeloader.
By Alan Jones
Well, the first returns are in. Of 14 letters received on Saundra Haven's article about the "average KU male," only three support Miss Haven. The three were written, naturally, by women.
It's a coward's way out, but I see no point in printing all 14 letters. If we started a War of the Sexes here, we could argue until 1987 (official government estimate) and wind up in a draw.
Disposition of the tenant was not made public.
One of the most dangerous tendencies of the modern age is the continual search for the most dangerous tendencies.
A British Philosopher
By Larry Miles
A handsome, youthful assistant professor of philosophy leaned back in his office chair and explained his personal philosophy with subtle wit and a London accent.
Peter J. Caws, who has spoken twice to the Agnostics Corner sponsored by the KU-Y, reasoned that statements on religion often upset people and are left better unsaid.
He said;
"I do not find it necessary to carry the agnostic label, but I am obviously sympathetic with agnostic thinking.
"On questions as important as religion, for instance, it is safer and more honest not to claim certainty unless you have very strong reasons for doing so.
"This means, however, no more than a kind of suspension of judgment which is one of the chief characteristics of philosophy—a refusal to commit one's self if the evidence is not compelling.
Amazed at Beliefs
"I am always amazed that so many people can believe so strongly so many things contradictory to one another."
Prof. Caws, who received his B. S. in physics from the University of London, turned later to philosophy because "certain rather basic questions are left unanswered within science." He received his M. A. and Ph.D. in philosophy from Yale.
He said:
"I think man's knowledge is as yet very incomplete. I think that most systems of religion contain elements of truth about the condition of man, but I see no reason to suppose that one of them has more truth than another."
He observed that "religion can do harm as well as good."
Unthinking Beliefs Hinder
"In general what does harm is any belief held unthinkingly. Unthinking beliefs have hindered the growth of a mature and objective outlook."
A mature and objective outlook, he explained, is "the opportunity to conduct human affairs with the full resources of human wisdom."
Prof. Caws feels that "atheism is is a kind of belief for which evidence seems certainly no stronger than for a religious interpretation of the universe.
"I am not a rabid tub-thumper," he added with a smile. "I have much ouieter interests.
"I am a teacher of philosophy. As soon as a teacher commits himself to a strong position, he lowers his value as a teacher."
Some of Prof. Caws' "quiter interests" are the papers on which he is now working, but whose completion is not "close at hand."
"I'm very lazy, or perhaps I try to take on too many things at once," he said. "Here's a touch of
He said:
honesty from a faculty member," he added with a smile.
"My main energy is taken up with teaching philosophy and following up rather nebulous theories particularly in the philosophy of science. I'm interested in existentialism as it relates to the philosophy of science."
Has Outside Interests
He also takes "occasional photographs," plays tennis "badly," listens to music and reads "other books besides philosophy."
He said of George Bernard Shaw:
"I like him, for he is extremely stimulating and brilliant—but like most Irishmen he was more of a poet than a philosopher."
Prof. Caws taught for one year —1956-57—at Michigan State before coming to KU. He plans to remain in this country as his wife is American. He met Mrs. Caws during the three years he studied at Yale.
"Of the campuses I have seen in this country, I like KU the best, for it is unquestionably prettiest," he said. He added, however, that he "still has much more affection for the University of London than for KU"—even though the University of London is just a "hidious" collection of buildings scattered all over the city.
Courses taught this semester by Prof. Caws are: Philosophy and the Rise of Modern Science, Introduction to Philosophy, The Logic of Science, and Readings in Philosophy.
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