14 Sep 2005

Conferring Ceremonies at University College Cork, 14 September

Conferring ceremonies continued today (14 September 2005) at University College Cork with over 500 undergraduate and postgraduate students conferred from the Faculty of Arts.

The Conferring addresses were given by John A. Murphy, Professor Emeritus of Irish History, UCC and Mr Eoghan Harris, Screenwriter and Political Columnist.

Addressing graduates at conferring ceremonies Professor John A. Murphy said:

    "I hope that, for you, a university education has been, among other things, a process of liberation.  'Educate that you may be free' was a maxim coined by Thomas Davis in the political and nationalist context of mid-nineteenth century Ireland but the concept remains an inspiring one in the social, cultural and educational sense.  One can imagine it on the eloquent lips of Martin Luther King.  Education means the freedom to embark on a life-long voyage of intellectual discovery, the freedom to develop and apply a critical intelligence in a world where reason seems to be on the retreat.

    Emmanuel Kant's ringing definition of the Enlightenment in 1784 is also linked with this notion of education as intellectual freedom.  'Enlightenment is man's emergence from his self-incurred immaturity.  Immaturity is the inability to use one's own understanding without direction from another'.  The history graduates among you will be familiar with Michael Oakeshott's dictum, 'history is what the evidence compels us to believe' which applies indeed to the whole range of university disciplines, and to life in general.

    These rational principles which inform higher education, should be used by you (particularly perhaps by the postgraduates with special skills) against the irrational fads and cults, organised and DIY, to which so many gullible people now succumb - astrology, new age mysticism, alternative medicine quackery, bogus celtic spirituality, quasi-oriental mumbo-jumbo and, god save the mark, angel therapy.

    Liberation from the crushing constraint of 'isms' was a slow and painful process for my generation.  You have been much more fortunate in that regard."


Text of Address by Eoghan Harris,  Screenwriter and Political Columnist

AUTHORITY

Right now, in the first flush of graduation, you may think that what matters is most is your shift in status, from the status of student to the status someone who is proficient in that field of studies, and ready to take your place in your job, career, profession or higher level of study. Actually what matters most is that you have changed from being an object of authority to being an agent of authority.

We all know what is meant by authority, don't we. No, we do not. As St Augustine says " I know what time is until I think about time and then I do not know what time is." Likewise we know what authority is until we have to define authority is, and then our heads begin to spin.

Well you had better join me in the dig for a definition because very soon now, as soon as you start your profession, job or career, you will be asked to act with authority. And if you don't, you are likely to get into dire trouble. Because most of the problems that surface on the front page of our newspapers come from the failure to act with authority.

In Ireland the past twenty years have been dominated by authority scandals. The Roman Catholic Church failed to act with proper authority in the matter of child sex abuse. The Revenue Commissioners and the Irish banking system failed to act with authority against the delinquents within their ranks. The Irish Republic failed to act with authority against the Catholic Church, or the Revenue Commissioners.

And it's the same all over the world. The major massacres of our time- Kosvo, Rwanda, Darfur - could have been prevented if the United Nations had acted with authority, which in these cases means using coercion to force compliance. In the past few weeks the natural horrors that followed hurricane Katrina were made worse by the failure of responsible bodies- from policemen to President- to use their authority adequately. And the impending investigation will focus firmly on the failure of authority in New Orleans.

Authority, good and bad, is at the heart of every problem that faces the modern world. But forget the horrors on our front page and look to your own future. Have you the moral courage to act with good authority ? Can you honestly tell me that if you are working for a small company which is seriously cutting corners- and endangering public health- are you certain you would whistle blow? Suppose your whistle blowing will cause the company to crash and you and a hundred others lose their jobs? Suppose you do act you're your act causes other companies to collapse as well? In sum, if it goes wrong was your act correct in the first place? Well?

Time to do some thinking about authority. Let's start by accepting that human beings have a huge natural need for authority. Let's take a simple example. You are a fit young man walking along a street late at night and see a drunken man seriously assaulting a young woman, beating her badly. You put him under citizens arrest- and society thanks you for using your authority as a service to the community.

So where did you get your authority? From the situation, which was self-evident. But suppose it was not self-evident, suppose there was a child present, so the couple could be married. You will hesitate. And it is because situations are not self evident that we give policewomen, doctors, ships captains the authority to make decisions in situations which are not self -evident. The situation facing the police in Abbeylara comes to mind.

And what if the act of authority goes wrong? Suppose, in the course of the struggle to free the girl, she falls awkwardly and hits her head so badly on the kerb that she dies? Now. If the same situation presents itself again are you still obliged act with authority? The moral philosophers would say yes- because an act authority is a fallible not an infallible act.

So far we have found out that any definition of authority must include the notion of service to others, sometimes in situations which are not self-evident, and that any act is fallible. But we're not finished. Suppose when authority arrives in the form of the police, the rapist turns out to be rich man, a powerful member of the community, who persuades them to play down his part and arrest you for the manslaughter of the girl. Clearly the police are acting with authority -but what kind of authority? The answer is that there are two types of authority- authority as power, and true authority as service. A policeman who holds his hand out for a bribe is using authority as power, a policeman who holds his hand up to stop traffic is using his authority as service. And one of the worst abuses of authority is to deprive people of that service, whether in New Orleans or at home. Parents who abdicate authority in the home are depriving their children of the authority of service. Parents who tell the kids to turn off the television do their homework and go to bed are using authority as a loving service. Bad parents often argue that they are leaving them their children alone in order to give them freedom. But a teenage the line between tolerance and neglect is very fine indeed. But even good parents must gradually use less and less authority in order to free their children of dependence.

Time to try for a definition of authority. It might go as follows: True authority is a fallible principle of intelligent decision-making, ideally based on reason and assent, as a service to the people in situations where what should be done is not always self- evident. Service and fallibility are the key words. Against that background I believe we should be slow to attack an adult man or woman, be they scientist, doctor or crossing warden, who has exercised authority in good conscience, even if people died later as a result of some unforeseen circumstance. An adult who is a proper agent, that is one entitled to exercise authority, must decide alone.

Before I finish I want to say a word about one aspect of authority which you may find of some use in your future profession: delegation of authority. You will soon meet someone who will delegate jobs to you, claim credit if they go right, and denounce you if they go wrong. Before you accept any delegation of powers you have my full authority to read them this definition of delegation of authority and ask them if they assent to it. Delegating authority means divesting yourself of some of your responsibilities, delegating them to your subordinates- but accepting accountability for them to your superiors. Let me summarize. There are two kinds of authority: First, bad authority based on power, which involves the abuse or abdication of authority. Second, true authority, based on service to others, where compliance comes the recognition that the act of authority is a necessary service to the community.

Finally, I would like to mention one special form of true authority which I believe is crucial to making any permanent peace, be it on a road or in the Middle East. In local life, good authority is calling your own children in off the road, not abusing the neighbours children. In political life it means telling your own tribe its not perfect, in the hope that this will encourage agents of authority on the other side to do the same. It is the only way to make peace. After all that I have no doubt that some of you would like the chalice of authority to pass from you. But if you don't accept it, you will end up like the cowardly police officers of New Orleans, cowering in their own cells. All it takes is courage. And if you'd like a role model, try the parents, guardians and teachers who got you're here today by acting with authority, as a service to you, day in, day out, year in, year out. A few minutes ago they finished their work. Now it's your turn. Don't dodge. If you pass the buck it will come back and bounce on your head. If you abdicate authority by sitting on the fence you get what you become- a pain in the ass. And you will not go far wrong if you stick to the following principle. Authority is not about making the decisions people want, it's about making the decisions people need. And that takes courage. Aristotle says courage can be cultivated, starting with small bits of bravery and working your way up. And it's the same with authority.

So as soon as I have finished, tell your parents that you have made a decision- to do what they want to do for the rest of the day.  One last time.

116MMcS