Wit and Virtue
As we gather to welcome you to your new home and alma mater, it is appropriate to consider the nature of academic institutions in general and Middlebury College in particular. This is especially appropriate today because I believe the Honor Code best embodies the difference between donnish academic education on the one hand, and a Middlebury education on the other. You will discover this difference directly with the first exam you take: there will be no proctors policing you, and you may well choose the time and place of your own exam. As your peer, I will briefly share my thoughts on first, why most colleges never allow such freedom, and second, why Middlebury does.
All colleges strive to reward merit, because merit is the prime basis of college communities. You share this community today not because of familial, social, or economic ties, nor because you happened to live in the same place, but solely because you did the hard work and showed the natural promise to earn your place here. Put differently, you are here today because of your merit. Since merit in its various forms is the unifying principle of most college communities, colleges seek to nourish it through a reward system: the harder you work, and the greater your natural abilities, the greater your rewards. Academic dishonesty subverts this reward system by placing good students on par with cheating students; so it makes sense for colleges to police exam halls, scrutinize your every move, and ensure that merit is appropriately rewarded. Most of you will have experienced the glaring eyes of proctors, either in school or while taking standardized tests. In my case, there were cameras in the hall. The booklets came sealed in thick plastic, and every step we took was synchronized with the proctor’s watch.
Under such strictly policed conditions, schools are reasonably sure that sharper students are being better rewarded. Indeed, most colleges seek merely to celebrate intellect. And it is here that Middlebury takes a different route. In The Republic, which I hope you will all read at least twice, Plato tells us that “knowing everything else is useless, without knowing the Good.” Middlebury’s rare wisdom is as follows: a sharp mind by itself is of no value, unless it is coupled with good character. If you walk by the student employment office in McCullough, in the window you’ll see how we pride ourselves on being “a college with a conscience.” Conscience is what we seek: not merely sharp minds, but solid virtue. This quest is informed by two principles: first, that virtue must come from within yourselves, and second, that it must become a habit.
There is nothing virtuous about honesty if it is compelled. The Honor Code means to replace the proctors and the cameras with your own conscience. We expect that you will be honest of your own will, not out of fear of someone else. It is true that for someone determined to cheat, this may make things easier, and so the merit system can be compromised, but it is worth that risk to ensure that you build not merely intellect here, but character as well. Put simply, Middlebury trusts each of us, because it knows that character must be built in an environment of trust rather than constant suspicion. Virtue is inherent in each of us; it is part of the human condition- the best part of it. And each of us must teach it to himself. That is the opportunity the Honor Code provides.
The second principle I mentioned was that virtue must become a habit. This idea is from Aristotle’s Ethics, which you should also read twice. While Aristotle doubted that virtue was inherent, he was convinced that it had to be learnt through repetition. Accordingly, our word “morality” is related to the word “mores,” meaning cultural habits. Following Aristotle, we ask you to re-affirm the Honor Code with every assignment you complete and every test you take. In time, and through repetition, the Honor Code becomes second nature to all of us. It reminds us of the trust Middlebury places in us, and of the purpose behind that trust: building good character.
Through the Honor Code, then, that each of you will soon sign, Middlebury recognizes in a practical way what most colleges do not: that it must nourish not only ability, but also virtue; that it must create an environment of mutual trust for virtue to take root in; and that it must habituate students to a virtuous life in the future. That is the dream, and we are honored to make you part of it.