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-*•■■*■

EDUCATION AND LIFE

»•

■^

UNIVERSALIZING

THE

INDIVIDUAL

^Ifw^!"

Education and Life,

Universalizirig the Individual

S. A. MORGAN, B. A., D. P>eD.

ONTARIO NORMAL COLLEGE,

HAMII.TON, ONT.

1900

McPhbrson & Drope, Printers.

LB
4!

5-<d)9W«»^!!

Iixaminers' l^eport.

ITITIT

To the Registrar of the University of Toronto :

We beg to report that the thesis of S. A. Morgan,
entitled "Education and Life," considered in connection witli
the answers given by him to the questions prescribed in the
examination, entitles him to the degree of Doctor of Pedagogy,
and that according to the statute regarding the ranking of
candidates for this degree, he is to be placed in the First
Class of Honors,

JOHN WATSON.
J. A. McLELLAN.

HViiSHti

EDUCATION AND LIFE.

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTORY.

In a treatise intended as a critical examination of formal
education, and of its bearing on the intelligent and moral life,
it will not be out of place to begin by defining the limits within
which such an investigation should be restricted. The scien-
tific method, whether applied within the physical or the mentpl
domain, demands that fundamental laws should be discovered
and established from the analysis and explanation of verified
facts. Avoiding, therefore, theoretical speculation on the one
hand, and the weighing of conflicting opinions on the other, we
shall endeavor to set forth the facts which our subject involves,
and to investigate the rational ground for the organization of
education into a science of life.

An examination of the history of education in its progress
towards an exact science will show that it has adopted the
following assumptions as working hypotheses :

1st. The science of education postulates a supreme value to
self-conscious or spiritual life.

2nd. While claiming this supreme value for life, the science
must further show that life involves a development
toward perfection, which is attainable through effort.

3rd. Again, our science postulates that this effort may not lead
toward a life of perfection. It recognizes both perfection
and imperfection as possible results from the experiences
of life, and affirms the perfect life to be desirable.

9 EDUCATION AND LIFE.

4th. Finally, it claims to set forth the principles which underlie
the realization of the self in its development into a life of
perfection, and the general methods in which these prin-
ciples are to be applied.

The first of these propositions is too self-evident to require
demonstration. For, although we may at certain moments ask
ourselves, " Is life worth living i'",yet reflection shows that the
thought involves a contradiction. Our very conception of
value implies, " Does this or this possess value in relation to
life ?" Even the suicide but asks, " Is this state or another the
better for mc ?"

This assumption may be further established from a con-
sideration of the facts involved in the doctrine of evolution.
Evolution, whatever may have been its errors, has indisputably
established the fact that life is to be viewed as a process. As,
in this process, the chemical transcends the physical, so the
spiritual mus.; transcend the biological. " Life is more than
meat."

The remaining claims ot the science of education, recog-
nized implicitly b' mankind, it will be the effort of the following
cliapters to establish on an explicit, rational foundatirn.

m&:-

.^^^,

inderlie
a life of
se prin-

KDUCATION AND LIKK.

require
nts ask
hilt the
:ion of
ition to
her the

a con-
olution.
putably
IS. As,

so the
re than

, recog-

lUowing

CHAPTER II.

THE CONTENT AND RANGE OF CONSCIOUS LIFE.

It has been noted that the science of education postulates
an ideal end for the individual life, and claims that this end may
be obtained by a proper development of that life throujih effort.
The attempt to discover a rational fjround for this hypothesis
will involve an examination into the genesis and content of
conscious life, and the circumstances and conditions of its
extension. How are these foumlation principles of the science
to be discovered and established ?

Our conscious life is recofjnized in experience, as sitigle
and individual. Investigation shows, however, that, in each of
its modes, it presents a variety of aspects, according tc he
manner in which it is viewed. These are capable of analj sis
and classification. Without dogmatizing, therefore, at this early
stage, in regard to ;.he source or nature of the conscious subject
or ego, let us investigate whether such an analysis will afford
any explanation of the essence of conscious life, and the field
of its possible activities.

Examining the primary facts of conscious life, we discover

that they present the following phases or aspects :

1st. Every conscious state is a self-conscious state, or stands in

an internal relation to the conscious life, as possessing

value or interest, — it is an affective state.

2nd. These modifications of consciousness present an external

aspect, distinguished from their subjective aspect.
3rd. Conscious life presents an aspect of impulse or activity, in
which the two former aspects, the affective and the
objective seek to adjust and identify themselves in the
form of knowledge.

EDUCATION AND LIFE.

1
I

These aspects of consciousness further present the following
phases :

(a). On the internal or affective side, conscious life presents
unity and continuity throughout its successive modes;
while, whatever of diversity or separation appears within
it, is referred to the objective aspect.

(b). Conscious life is not only a unity but an organism. For,
though presen'^ing an external aspect in its content, its
activity both seeks to adjust this to the internal, and, in
its so-called higher functions, readjusts and propagates
from within. Thus is indicated the presence of a living
principle in conscious life.

Do these facts of experience throw any light on the nature and

source of consciousness ?

Is conscious life the effect of mechanical causation — the
result of physical acting and reacting on physical? If so, con-
scious facts must be invariable and unchangeable. But, as has
been seen, a conscious state possesses an aspect of activity,
interacting between its affective and its external phases. It is
further seen that, as a result of this activity, a conscious mode
may vary in its conditions. These modes were also seen to be
capable, by virtue of this activity, of propagation from within.
Variability, then, being a quality in conscious life, mechanical
causation cannot account for its presence.

Is consciousness non-physical, or a pure subjective state?
It has been seen that conscious life displays a tendency to
propagate from within. This tendency is also found to express
itself in modes of consciousness more markedly affective than
those of ordinary experience. Thus is indicated the presence,
in consciousness, of a term not physical. These more subject-
ive states, however, find content and expression only in terms
of the objective aspect of conscious life. Therefore conscious-
ness cannot be purely subjective.

Thus it is found that conscious life is neither subjective nor
objective, but an expression of each — the expression of a rela-
tionship between them. Intelligent life, therefore, is an adjust-
ment of subjective to objective, and a perfect life the expression

EDUCATION AND LIFE.

following

I presents
e modes;
ars within

sm. For,
intent, ils
al, and, in
ropagates
f a living

ature and

ition — the
[f so, con-
(ut; as has
activity,
ses. It is
ous mode
seen to be
>m within,
lechanical

ive state?
idency to
to express
:tive than
presence,
•e subject-
y in terms
conscious-

iective nor
I of a rela-
an adjust-
;xpression

of a perfect relation between subject and environment. Thus
every mental mode finds an explanation of its three aspects
through being an expression of this relationship, which relation-
ship seeks to perfect itself impulsively from within. We are
now in a position further to affirm that consciousness possesses
a germ of causation, which predicates a capacity to become
free from within.

Life being thus found to consist in the expression of a
relation between subject and object, and to be endowed with
an inherent tendency to adjust these into perfect relationship
or to formulate the conscious life into perfect knowledge, our
next problem will be to discover within what fields the subject
may apprehend itself through relationship to the external.
Before passing to this point, however, we would pause for a
moment to consider whether we are in a position to affirm any-
thing concerning the nature of this external.

It has been seen that the subject or ego realizes itself only
in a consciousness resulting from the relating of itself to an
external world. It thus appears that the perfection of conscious
life must imply, not only a potentiality of perfection in the sub-
ject, but also an organized perfection within the outer world.
If this perfection does not exist, then the potentiality for a per-
fect life, inherent in the ego, must, in the present phase of con-
scious life at least, remain unrealized, through lack of an objective
content. If, however, it is found that the subject is capable,
through its relating activity, in certain cases to develop consci-
ousness into perfect knowledge, in such a way as to secure per-
fect freedom from its environment, it will be rational vo conclude
a universal objective perfection — the goal of the subject's relat-
ing activity. Leaving this, therefore, to be decidc:d by the
results of our subsequent investigations, we shall now examine
under what phases the external world is organized in conscious-
ness ; or, in other words, in what fields the subject may realize
itself in terms of an external world.

Firstly, the mind is found to realize itself in terms of an
objective, physical world. As to the real nature of this physical
world, it is not necessary here to speculate. Suffice it to say,

EDUCATION AND LIFi

' I

that, in realizing himself, man likewise realizes an objective world
possessing interest for the subject. This interest presents itself
as pleasurable or painful, as useful or injurious to the conscious
subject. Thus there arises, through the impulsive tendency, or
causation germ inherent in the ego, an effort to readjust its
present relation with its environment, that it may thereby so
learn this physical world as to become its master and not remain
its servant.

Secondly, among these objects, distinguished as external
to the subject, some are recognized as intelligences similar to
the self; and, therefore, capable of realizing a like relationship
to, and of taking a like interest in the external world. Hence
would arise a new series of interests. May not the tiTortof one
individual conflict with the interested effort of another ? But a
life of perfection cannot exist where individual interests conflict.
If, therefore, other intelligences are to be realized in conscious
life, these also must be brought into perfect relationship with
the subject. Here, also, the freedom of the self must be realized
and developed.

Lastly, it has been seen that, in securing its store of exper-
ience, the mind, as an organism, further tends to act on these,
and propagate from within. Thus there appears a new field of
activity — the ideal, or spiritual world. In this spiritual extension
of man's conscious life, there are also materials for interpretation
and adaptation. Should he, therefore, in these two former
spheres, fail to realize that freedom which his inherent power
of causation has set as its goal, there yet remains this ideal
world toward which his activities may be directed.

Having examined into the nature of conscious life, and
having discovered the possible fields of its activities, let us next
inquire more closely into the successive steps in the process.
Frr m such an inquiry we may the better understand what
assistance, if any, formal education is able to afford toward the
perfecting of conscious life ; and in what ratio these several
fields of activity, the physical, the social and the spiritual world,
will assist in its attainment.

At this point, a word of explanation may be necessary.

EDUCATION AND LIFE.

•jective world
presents itself
the conscious
tendency, or
3 readjust its
y thereby so
id not remain

J as external
:es similar to
; relationship
orld. Hence
e tiTortof one
)ther ? But a
ertsts conflict.
1 in conscious
.tionship with
jst be realized

The foregoing division of the world of experience into these
several fields is to be viewed, not as actual, but solely for the
purpose of scientific treatment. It has been truly said, " The
stuff of education, material of education, and end of education
are not distinctions of kind, but distinctions of process." More-
over, it is evident that the real work of education is to recon-
struct all phases of this world of experience on the basis of
man's social life. While, therefore, we shall continue to speak
of these several phases of experience as distinct, the assumption
will be understood to be thus conditioned.

tore of exper-
act on these,
a new field of
tual extension
interpretation
; two former
herent power
lins this ideal
i.

:ious life, and
ies, let us next
1 the process,
lerstand what
ird toward the
these several
spiritual world,

be necessary.

EDUCATION AND Llf£.

CHAPTER III.

THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPMENT OF CONSCIOUS LIFE.

Thus far have been discovered the nature and purpose of
conscious life, and the several spheres of its possible develop-
ment. We must now proceed to an examination of the
particular stages through which the individual mind is to
advance to a life of perfection.

Conscious life has been seen to consist of an expression of
the relation of the subjective mind to an objective world. In
every mode of conscious life, we have further noticed an
affective quality which makes it a mode of interest. This
interest is seen to express itself in an impulsive tendency to
establish harmony between the affective, and the external, or
non-subjective aspect of consciousness. This activity is thus
seen to be subjective in its origin, and to direct itself toward
the external.

If we examine the effect, in consciousness, of this impulsive
tendency, we find that it results in organizing the external
aspect of conscious life, and setting it in a definite relation to the
subject, or ego. In this process there may be noticed a peculiar
interaction between interest and impulse. For, while interest
or feeling tends to awaken and fix the mind's attention, it also
happens that attention, being fixed on the mental state, tends
to organize its external sspect and set it in a definite relation to
the subject These modes, however, despite their interest, are
found to succeed one another in an order, over which this
impulsive tendency has no absolute control. These former
modes, however, though losing their immediate interest, linger
in consciousness in the form of memory. Thus a new attribute
postulates itself as belonging to mind — that of retention.

EDUCATION AND LIFE.

S LIFE.

purpose of
le develop-
on of the
aind is to

pression of
world. In
noticed an
rest. This
:ndency to
jxternal, or
i^ity is thus
ielf toward

s impulsive
le external
ation to the
d a peculiar
jile interest
tion, it also
state, tends
: relation to
interest, are
which this
ese former
erest, linger
;w attribute
ion.

These successive modes being capable of being retained in
consciousness, and differing in their affective values, the mind's
activity is further directed toward their qualitative differences
or develops a power of comparison. This, however, as a form
of judgment issues into a form of practical thought, in which
one end of the comparison is cognized as preferable to the other.
Here the mind's interest takes the form of desire, while its
primary impulse, being thus rationalized, or directed by a form
of thought, becomes an activity of will. Summing up this
progress of the mind's primary casual activity, we may notice
the following stages in its growth into a rational v/ill, directing
its energy to the attainment of a desired end.

1st. That primary subjective impulse, in which the mind gives
a passive attention to its qualitative modes. In this stage
the mind acts only on such elements as may be given it
from external stimuli. Through its unifying power, how-
ever, it tends to associate these as they arise in conscious-
ness.

2nd. As a result of the aforesaid interaction of interest and
attention, and through its retentive power, the mind gains
the power of analyzing these elements of consciousness,
and fixing its attention on those possessing the greater
interest for the self.

3rd. This will necessarily lead to a third stage, in which the
mind, acting through some present interest, will be able
to direct its flow of energy toward the accomplishment
of a fixed end. Here it will select from its store of
experience only such elements as conduce to the attain-
ment of the end in view.
From the above consideration, it will appear that, if the
conscious subject is to obtain freedom from its physical environ-
ment, this must be effected through its mental activity. A
perfect life must result from a life of rational activity. This
fact is further proven from a consideration of the relation in
which these ideas stand to the subject. These are not viewed
as ends in themselves ; but are considered as means to be applied
to human progress, and thus aid in the realization of the self.

EDUCATION AND LIFE

This is sufficient of itself to establish the prominence of mental
activity as a factor in self-realization — an important considera-
tion for the scientific educator.

At this point a new factor is to be considered. It has been
seen that, through its inherent qualities, the subject will be
enabled to retain, as a part of its conscious experience, impres-
sions of the earlier actions and reactions of its primary activity.
This signifies an ability, on the part of the subject, of expressing
its future activity in tc/ms of the past. Thus, through the
development of this new factor, man will now be enabled, with
premeditation, to seize the conditions of his environment and
facilitate his adjustment thereto. In other words, man's impul-
sive activity becomes, not only rationalized, but also habituated.

This tendency of intelligent life, to reduce its activities to
habits and so determine its future experience, at once raises an
important question. We have discovered that man must realize
himself by a life of activity, which shall extend intelligently the
range of his conscious life. This implies that present modes of
existence are not, in many cases at least, to be viewed as ends
in themselves, but as stages in a forward progression. Will not
the habituation of man's activities, however, rather tend to check
such a rational extension, by reducing them to an automatic
tendency to act in a fixed direction ? That such a result may
follow is evident ; by what means, if any, this tendency is to be
overcome, must appear from subsequent investigation.

Again, it has been seen that, in his realization in conscious-
ness of an external world, man develops a power of comparison
which enables him to judge qualitative differences. At this
point, there occurs what may be called a transference of feeling.
These subjective qualities are cognized as belonging to the
external object. The sweetness is in the sugar — the pain in
the fire. This transference of feeling at once gives an emotional
value to the external object, and leads the mind to view it as
an end in itself. Does not this also indicate a point at which
the subject's further development must be checked ; since the
growth of these desires postulates a life of particular pleasure,
rather than a life of universal self-realization ?

EDUCATION AND LIFF,.

ice of mental
,nt considera-

, It has been
bject will be
ience, impres-
Tiary activity,
of expressing
through the
er.abled, with
ironment and
, man's impul-
so habituated.

ts activities to
once raises an
in must realize
telligently the
;sent modes of
iewed as ends
ion. Will not
r tend to check
an automatic
1 a result may
idency is to be
ation.

m in conscious-
r of comparison
;nces. At this
ence of feeling,
ilonging to the
ir — the pain in
es an emotional
id to view it as
point at which
:ked ; since the
icular pleasure,

Here, then, we discover a further crucial stage in the
development of intelligent consciousness. That these imperfect
ends will present themselves, experience abudantly demon-
strates. That their pursuit will check the growth of self-know-
ledge, and the realization of a perfect life, both experience and
science abundantly prove. How are these dangers to be
overcome ?

It was noticed at an earlier stage in our inquiry that the
possibility of realizing a life of perfection would imply, not only
a potentiality of perfection in the subject, but also an actual
perfection in the external world, through which the perfection of
the subject may be realized. Arc we now in a position to prove
the presence of such an external perfection ? Thus far we have
viewed man only as taking an interest in, and directing his
activities towards external objects, in so far as they possess
value through being useful to the individual. At this stage,
however, a new condition arises. These external objects,
though individually desirable, in bcingsubjected to the unifying
power of the ego, frequently e.xcite trains of associated ideas
which realize a new potentiality of conscious life — the expression
of a perfect harmony including both the subject and the external
objects. In this new form of subjective interest, the pleasure is
found to be distinct from the former value of the object as
useful. Our interest is now centred on the external, because
we have realized in it a mode of consciousness in which truth is
discovered, clothed with subjective emotion— an expression of
a harmony inherent in the nature of the conscious subject.
Thus the presence of an Esthetic Sense implies both a poten-
tiality of perfection in the thinking subject, and also a perfection
in the universal aspect of the external.

This aesthetic sense, in addition to possessing an emotional
element, has also been seen to be a form of thought, in which
the conscious subject cognizes and realizes a harmony of ideas.
From such a cognition man is led to conceive a universal
harmony throughout the physical world. This new ideal, as an
expression of the perfect life of the subject, will possess an
interest capable of subordinatincj the former objects of desire

EDUCATION AND LIFK.

to a hij^her unity. Thus the mind through its own activity has
been enabled further to rationalize its former individual desires,
and subject them to a higher universal ideal.

Thus far we have considered man only in relation to his
physical environment. But, as was previously noticed, his
developing freedom may be conditioned or restricted by other
intelligences. Are these to be avoided, or also realized in con-
scious life ?

Both nature and experience have solved for us this problem.
Man's very existence is bound up with that of the family ; and,
though wc may conceive some Platonic state in which the family
experience shall disappear, this result will be obtained, only by
substituting some other form for the social relation. This
narrow circle, whatever it may be, must, of necessity, become
most intimately known, and thus develop a desire for social
life. This question is further answered by the very conditions
of mental development. No intelligence can develop beyond
the possibilities of the social environment in which it is placed.
It appropriates and objectifies largely by virtue of the culture
and opportunities of the society to which it belongs. Its most
original efforts are but an explicit expression of the potential"
ities of this social organism. It is evident, therefore, that to
shut the mind off from the greater social circle is but to limit
the free activity and development of life. We may, then,
predicate, as a necessary quality of perfect conscious life, an
adjustment to a social environment.

In relating himself to this social environment, man will become
cognizant of individuals similar to himself, and seeking a similar
realization of self. Here the individual must realize himself
through a process similar to that by which he obtains freedom
and development in the physical world. This external social
world, as possessing value for the individual, will also tend to the
formation of individual desires and aversions, in the pursuit of
which nicin must check his progress toward a perfect realization
of the social self. These desires must also be rationalized and
subjected to a higher and more perfect unity. Here man m ist
recognize himself as belonging to a social organism in which the

EDUCATION ANH LIFE.

activity has
3ual desires,

ation to his
noticed, his
ed by other
lizcd in con-

his problem,
family ; and,
:h the family
ned, only by
ation. This
sity, become
ire for social
ry conditions
elop beyond
li it is placed.
)f the culture
js. Its most
the potential*
efore, that to
s but to limit
; may, then,
icious life, an

in will become
king a similar
ealize himself
tains freedom
xternal social
Iso tend to the
the pursuit of
'ect realization
tionalized and
[ere man n^ >st
n in which the

happiness of each is advanced by the perfection of the whole.
By what intelliKent process is this to be eff" 'ted r

We have seen that, in his ivsthetic conception of the
external world, man also realizes a potentiality of perfection
inherent in the thinking subject. This realization of his poten-
tiality of perfection, at once creates an idea of ouyhtness, or
enables the mind to contrast its actual with an ideally perfect
condition. Further, as out of the recognition of this aesthetic
harmony, there arose the conception of perfection in the
universal aspect of the physical world, so will it develop a
similar ideal in the social world, where the individual will
recognize his particular self as part in a higher unity. Here the
former sense of beauty appears as a sense of purity, and know-
ledge as conscience, or a sense of duty including both aspects
of this universal idea — duty to self and duty to others.

Such an ideal social organism is supposed to exist for the
individual in the state or nation. If this be true, man must
realize the perfection of his social nature in terms of the polit-
ical society to which he belongs. It will, therefore, be necessary
for us to consider more closely the true relation of the individual
to the nation.

It has been said that the family precedes the nation, as the
individual does the family. While this may be physically true,
as regards the first stages of national life, we find the very
opposite to hol<jl good in the intelligent relationship existing
between the individual and the nation in the advanced stages
of civilization. Like the individual, the nation that is truly
national is a living and unified organism. It lives not to itself
alone, but moves ever on, guided by a spiritual impulse, to the
realization of its mission to humanity. Further, it has been seen
that the individual can realize his potentialities only in terms of
the culture and experience of this social organism. Instead,
then, of the individual being above the nation, the individual
will be found to realize through these national institutions,
whatever he possesses of intellectual and moral permanence in
in his character.

KDUCATION AND LIFE.

Here we have arrived at the second great stage in the
development of life, where man will seek his self-realization as a
social being, under control of this universal law of duty, or of
the good of the social whole.

At this point, however, it may be asked, why these hij^her
and more universal ideals r,-" held to be sufificiently st»ong to
subdue earlier desires, eventl ugh the latter be strengthened by
habituation. It has been seen that these universal ideals give
expression to forms of thought, in which the individual realizes
the potentiality of perfection inherent in his nature. Being thus
a partial expression of the individpal's perfection, these ideals,
if intelligently realized, must possess an impulsive force greater
than any particular sources of mental activity ; since their
violation would imply self-destruction in the intelligent and
moral life. Thus the full development of a;sthetic and moral
ideals will tend, not only to subordinate the subject's desires,
but also to bring them, in spite of former habit, under rational
control. These universal ideals must, therefore, be most potent
factors in the realization of a life of perfection.

While postulating, however, that man can develop, only in
and through his physicial ^nd so^jial environment, we cannot
predicate these as ends in themselves. Experience shows that
social organisms are themselves susceptible to changes and
readjustments, that advance or retrogression is also their destiny.
Thus arises a new problem. Though, in the physical world,
man may have subdued his desires to a rational will, though, in
the social world, he seeks his self-realization only in the good of
the whole, he yet finds his being circumscribed and his freedom
limited. In nature, he still vaguely feels great forces which he
can neither comprehend nor subdue. In the social world, he is
constantly reminded that humanity is wider than the nation,
and that these are but elements in a wider field of progress.

Though the conditions of life have placed a bar to the
realization of perfect freedom and knowledge, they have not,
however, set a check to the subject's activity. By so advanc-
ing that, in part at least, his perfection has been realized through
a physical and social environment, he isenabled, by his activities

EDUCATION AND LIFK

ge in the
lation as a
uty, or of

se hip.her
stiong to
thenedby
leals g"ve
al realizes
Jeingthus
ese ideals,
ce greater
ince their
igent and
ind moral
;'s desires,
:r rational
ost potent

)p, only in
we cannot
;hows that
inges and
jir destiny,
cal world,
though, in
he good of
is freedom
s which he
ror\d, he is
:he nation,
•ogress.

bar to the
have not,
so advanc-
ed through
is activities

working on these materials, to transcend the fields of actual
experience, and to appre'-";nd this perfection as an ideal, and
prefigure an absolute good, as the goal of his growing person-
ality. Thus he rises, by his spiritual activity, into a religious life,
in which his national life is recognized as but playing a part in
the wider field of human progress. Here let us leave him, if
not perfected in wisdom, at least purified and rendered felicitous
through the ideal representation of The Perfect Will.

EDUCATION ANt) MFK.

CHAPTER IV.

THE SCOPE OF EDUCATION.

As a result of our examination into the nature and devel-
opment of conscious life, we shall now be enabled the better to
estimate the probable aid which formal education can render
toward its normal development. Hcfore passing to the consid-
eration of this question, however, we shall briefly consider some
objections which are offered against the existence of a normative
science of education.

By some it is objected, that, though life undoubtedly
possesses a supreme value, yet no effort of man can determine
its spiritual development. This is the result of divine grace,
and all intellectual development is but foolishness. Without
objecting in any way as to the presence and need of such a
divine grace, we would nevertheless ask such to consider
whether this grace is foreign to, or inherent in, the life of man.
Is man to lie with drooping sails, waiting for the wafting breeze
of a lingering deity, or to work out his own salvation " with fear
and trembling "? By the religious sentiment is meant the recog-
nition of a supreme power for happiness and good, and the
subjection of the individual will thereto. Does the conception
of such a supreme power come as an external revelation to men
sitting in dark places ? If so, then the perfect law is foreign to
us — we are still under the bondage of fear. If, on the other
hand, it is claimed that we have, through grace, become child-
ren of the light, then is this light within us and rcealed in terms
of our conscious life. But how can such be the case, unless
that conscious life contains material for such a revelation ? That
such a condition is necessary, history itself clearly demonstrates.
For, only in so far as man has become an actor and an interpre-
ter, only as he has discovered reason and goodness in the

i I

,nd devel-
better to
an render
ne consid-
ider some
[lormative

Joubtedly
determine
ine grace,

Without
of such a
) consider
fe of man.
ing breeze
" with fear

the recog-
d, and the
conception
tion to men
i foreign to
I the other
;ome child-
ed in terms
:ase, unless
ion ? That
monstrates.
an interpre-
tiess in the

EDUCATION AND 1,1 KK.

physical and the soci.il world, has he risci, into a religious life.
Further, it has been ;.*;en that man possesses within him an
inherent germ of casuality, and that within his environment are
fields of activity for the awakening and development of an ideal
of perfection. Is it not more rational, then, to supjjosc that in
and through these lies the perfect path of divine grace? If
such be the case, the question still remains whether a science of
education may not point out the line of least resistance for such
a development of the religious sentiment.

With the second class of objectors, the futility of formal
education arises from a totally different source. With these,
life is but a link in an external chain of causation, and, therefore,
determined solely by the antecedent links in this chain. Thus
life is not able to be modified by subjective effort. But the
realization of the self in conscious life has been seen to be the
result of the adjusting of subjective and objective terms in
consciousness, through the presence of an inherent impulsive,
or causation power. The perfecting of conscious life, therefore,
is not a result of the mere presence of antecedent external
forces. These, at best, are but factors in a higher product.
Consciousness is self-determined, and self-activity is a primary
feature in the development of conscious life. The question,
therefore, again presents itself, " May education in any way
direct and develop this inherent force in such a way as to
condition the ultimate realization of a life of perfection ?"

With the third class, the objections are more general. This
class, though agreeing that man is susceptible of education,
claim that he acquires so large and so varied a knowledge in
the ordinary experiences of life, that it is beyond the power of
the scientific educator to direct or to check this natural process.
That such a disparity exists between these two fields of exper-
ience, no one will deny ; that it renders futile any effort to secure
a normal development in conscious life may still, however,
remain an open question.

The consideration of this problem at once involves a new
question, " Is the value of conscious experience to be decided
solely by its quantitative aspect ?" If so, this objection may be

O')

EDUCATION AND LIFK,

considered fatal to the claims ot formal education ; since educa-
tion can furnish but a minimum of tliis experience. If, howeveo
the perfection of the subject lies not in tlic ([uantity of its
experiences, so much as in their nature and relation to one
another, and to the thinking subject, then the force of this
objection at once vanishes. To decide this, we need but to
refer to facts already discovered. In our last chapter it was
seen that the perfecting of the individual does not consist in the
building up of a group of individual states, but rather in the
reconciliation of all the facts of experience, by subjecting them
to a higher or more universal self. If education is able to
assist in the realization of this higher self, it may still make good
its claims as a science of life.

From facts already observed, we arc now in a position to
postulate certain leading principles which underlie the progres-
sion of conscious life toward this universal ideal,

1st. The realization of the self in consciousness results primarily
from subjective or mental activity. Through his activity
of attention, man must comprehend the external world in
consciousness, and "pprehcnd himself through the exter-
nal world. Further, by this same activity he must dis-
cover his true relation to the universe about him, and
adapt himself thereto.

2nd. Since this apprehension of the external world, physical
and social, will result in the formation of particular
desires, these are to be subordinated by being brought
into higher and more universal relations. This is to be
effected primarily by the development of the aesthetic
sense in the physical, and of the moral sense in the social
world. As a result of such an intelligent apprehension
of the universal. Individual effor, will be converted into
moral energy.

3rd. Since man is unable, both in the physical and the social
world, to find a complete expression for this potentiality
of perfection inherent in his nature, his conscious life
must be so si^iritualized that he may give an ideal expres-
sion to his awakened conccntion of universal perfection.

EDUCATION AND LIFE.

1>3

since cduca-
If, howevco
fintity of its
.tion to one
force of this
need but to
apter it was
consist in the
rather in the
ijecting them
n is able to
ill make good

a position to
e the progres-

;ults primarily
gh his activity
ternal world in
Ligh the exter-
■ he must dis-
bout him, and

/orld, physical
of particular
being brought
This is to be
.f the aesthetic
isc in the social
t apprehension
converted into

and the social
this potentiality
s conscious life
an ideal expres-
ersal perfection.

What means does formal education offer for the bringing about
of these results ?

It has been postulated that m;m's intellectual and moral
progress is primarily conditioned by his Ovvn consciouhly deter-
mined effort. This premcsis is further established by the history
of human progress. All primitive races lack foresight and self-
restraint, and are wanting in intellectual tenacity. They shun
labor of every form, and yield themselves to a life of indolence.
Being wanting in intellectual and moral energy, they become
slaves to their natural impulses and passions. Here, then, we
discover another reason for assuming that the essence of human
progress lies in mental activity. If, therefore, the educator is
able, by any means, to insure the development of this power,
he will have contributed in no small degree toward the realiza-
tion of a life of perfection.

To enter into a complete psychological examination of the
function of attention in the development of intelligent consci-
ousness would carry us beyond the limits of our subject. We
shall, therefore, content ourselves with such a brief outline of
the role of attention, as will enable us logically to affirm the
possibility of its formal development. It has been seen that
the most primary facts of conscious life present a two fold
aspect, subjective and objective, and that these can be organ-
ized and set in a definite relation to each other only through the
interaction of interest and attention. Thus the most elementary
percepts involve an exercise of this inherent power. These
modes were further seen to be capable of being retained as
related parts in the content of conscious life. This, however,
implies not only cognition but recognition, in which this power
of attention again appears as an important element. It may
further be noted, that these primary cognitions possess a general
character, and awaken a feeling of sameness. For instance, in
the early cognitions of thv; child, all members of a class appear
the same. In passing to a higher stage of knowledge, not only
must these primary elements of perception be reproduced viv-
idly in memory, but the mind's activity must clearly realize,
by analysis and comparison, the exact characteristics of each.

EDUCATION AND LIFE.

Finally, only in so far as the mind secures the power of concen-
trating its attention upon these ideas, and thereby making them
vivid and distinct, are they found capable of entering into the
higher relations necessary for the universalizing of subject and
object. Is education able to seize on these successive phases
of mental activity, and assist in their development ?

It has been seen that attention is primarily awakened
through a passive interest attached to the conscious mode.
This interest, however, may develop into a higher form. Man
is both a sentient and a rational being. As a rational being his
interest may be affected through the satisfaction of his rational
nature, so that the very pursuit of knowledge will become an
object of pleasure. It is through this inherent desire for self-
realization that the scientiiic educator must seek to secure the
development of rational activity.

It has been seen that consciou'^ life exhibits a unifying ten-
dency, which tendency is realized through the discovery of law
and order in the physical and social worlds. Here lies the spec-
ial opportunity of the scientific educator. For, while the
lessons of daily experience are too varied and disconnected for
the proper awakening and development of this rational principle
in man, the scientific educator, having control over the materials
of study, is able to present his facts in such an order as will
satisfy this rational tendency, and lead to the acquisition of
mental power. This liberty of selection will possess two advan-
tages. Firstly, the educator is enabled to present his materials
in conformity with the activities to be exercised. In this way
he is able to present the thinking subject with such materials as
will best conduce to cultivate the several phases of its mental
activity. Secondly, by presenting material capable of organi-
zation and unification, he enables the mind to reconstruct itself
in conformity with its rational unifying tendency. This, how-
ever, since man has a rational nature, must lead to the creation
of a desire for rational activity ; as a result of which, truth will
be followed for its own sake.

This foundation principle of scientific education, though so
evident and so easily obtainable, is, we fear, too frequently

EDUCATION AND LIFE.

violated. By looking upon our pupils as the possessors of a
single ready-made faculty — that of retention — we are too prone
to consider it our highest function to pour into this receptacle
the maximum of externally organized information, rather than
considering it our office simply to lead the thinking subject to
conscious activity, and self-realization, through his own active
organization of skilfully presented material. Even after recog-
nizing this principle, and seeking to apply it in our formal pres-
entation of new material, we are still too liable to violate it in
other particulars.

The present thesis is not intended as an exposition of
particular methods; we shall pause, however, to make a single
reference. How often, after leading our pupils to a rational
discovery of some scientific principle, are we satisfied, in its
application to an extended field of examples, to convert our
lessons into mere expositions, in which our more intelligent
pupils perform the function of lecturers to their less fortunate
companions. If we desire, however, to promote the intellectual
progress of these weaker vessels, let us remember that this must
come from the self-activity consciously extending itself into
these new fields, and incorporating them with the subject's
former experiences. We would, therefore, postulate as an ideal
principle, that, with every pupil, the method must be, not one
of information but one of self-discovery, in which the teacher
shall but direct the activity of the pupil in the latter's search for
similarities and differences, to enable him consciously to realize
the hidden unity.

In leaving this section of our subject, a word of explanation
may be necessary. We have stated that the chief office of the
educator is to present to the child such material as will enable
him to develop and organize his own consciousness through
intelligent effort. Does this imply that the educator is to make
as easy as possible the mental efforts of the pupil ? It has been
seen that, as a rational being, man is capable of deriving pleas-
ure from the intelligent exercise of his activities. The develop-
ment of this tendency was seen to be of the highest importance
in insuring a life of rational activity. Such power, however, can

EDUCATION AND LIFE.

develop only through a proper degree of self-conscious effort.
It is, therefore, neither necessary nor desirable that the teacher
should make easy the conscious effort of his pupils ; but rather
that he should so present his materials that his pupils, through
an earnest effort of attention, may arrive at thorough and
complete knowledge.

While postulating the importance of a life of rational activ-
ity, we have further seen that this is not sufficient of itself to
constitute a life of perfection. Nay, when expending itself
simply ?s an analytic process, it may even become individualistic
and destructive in its tendency. We have seen, however, that
the perfect man must be led to realize such a universal imity as
will cause him to refuse to be limited by the particular and the
finite. What further assistance are we able to offer thereto ?

It has been shown that particular desires and aversions can
be rationalized only by the universalization of the individual
through the conception of order and perfection in the external
world, and a consequent ideal of universal self-realization, as the
goal of the subject's rational activity. Here, also, the scientific
educator, through the nature of the materials by which he
exercises and organizes the minds of his pupils, is afforded
special opportunities for awakening this conception of a universal
order. The materials to be presented in an ideal course of
study should be of such a nature as, not only to appeal to the
past experience of the pupil, and thus enable him to distinguish
their several phases, but also to admit of entering into ever
wider and higher relations. By this means, the educator is
enabled to afford such exercises as will direct the conscious
activity into a higher channel — the search for more universal
relations. This exercise, as furnishing an expression for the
tendency for unification, inherent in the individual, will speedily
develop into a conscious habit. Here lies the second great
opportunity of the scientific educator — that of developing such
a synthetic attitude of mind.

It was noted that the cultivation of the aesthetic must play
an important role in the breaking down of the individual nature
and the development of universal ideals. We may now notice
that in the awakening of this unifying or synthetic attitude of

EDUCATION AND LIFE.

mind, lies the very germ of the lusthetic sense. "Beauty is
truth, truth beauty." Every discovery of higher relations in
the field of individual experience is n metaphor and a poem,
while the appreciation of the beauty of an object involves a
unification, more or less conscious, of analyzed objects. There-
fore, in the presentation of materials considered the most dry
and uninviting, when, in addition to tiio apprehension of certain
individual facts, j'ou are able to lead the pupil to discover the
presence of these higher syntheses, be assured that you will
also have vibrated the chords of beauty and of goodness.
Again, when our hearts are touched by a conception of harmony
arising from the contemplation of some a.'sthctic object, you
may be further assured that this conception of beauty will also
unfold a vision of universal truth and unity. As has been seen,
moreover, the awakening of this jEsthetic sense involves an
explicit emotional element, and thus gives a more impulsive
expression to our inherent susceptibility to universal truth and
beauty ; and, by tending to render active the desire to realize
this universal ideal, will lay a foundation for moral character.
Here, then, let education perform its possible functions in the
perfecting of conscious life, by developing such a habit of
synthesis that the mind will be enabled intelligently to grasp
presentations of unity and harmony, and by so awakening images
of beauty (and, therefore, of truth) that the mind may learn both
to know and to love the beautiful and the good. In this depart-
ment, also, the educator will have every advantage over ordinary
experience, through his freer command over the presented
materials.

A word may be added here also, as to our method in the
presentation of the products of creative art. An artistic pro-
duction is not an objective imitation but the outward expression
of an inward, universal ideal. It is to be viewed, therefore, not
simply as an object for dissection and analysis, but as a synthetic
unity whose beauty is constituted by the harmony of its several
parts. For example, in Milton's —

"Right af^ainst the Eastern gate

Where the sreiit Sun begins his state
Robed in Hanies antl amber light,
The clouds in thousand liveries dight ;"

EDUCATION AND LIFE.

or in Shelley's —

" Night followed, clad with stars."
or again in Longfellow's —

" After a day of cloud and wind and rain

Sometimes the setting sun breaks out again,
And, touching all the darksome woods with light,
Smiles on the fields, until they laugh and sing,"

we obtain a revelation of t.he harmony and beauty of nature
which the most careful observations of ordinary experience
might fail to reveal. In such an interpretation, therefore, the
pupil will be enabled, both to realize these spiritual potentialities
within his own inner life, and to prefigure that higher universal,
toward which his rational activities would direct him. On the
emotional side also, the feeling produced will develop from a
sensuous interest in the local, into a contemplation of the ideal
for its own sake, and thus cause the mind to transcend individual
desires, and elevate its interests into the region of rational
sentiment.

Thus far, we have outlined only the opportunities afforded
the formal educator for the development of the intelligent and
the aesthetic. But, as we have seen, man is also a social being,
and, as such, his development must take place in and through
a social organism. As an heir of civilization, his complete self-
realization will imply an entrance upon that heritage. These
primary factors, however, are essential to its attainment. We
are likewise children of nature; and it is in nature that we must
find a basis for this higher development. Though moral train-
ing, therefore, may be the higher, it presupposes the intellectual
and the .-esthetic for its perfect attainment.

For, as was seen, morality consists in an identification of
the self with a social environment. This implies the apprehen-
sion of a universal good, and a distinction of right and wrong in
human conduct, as related thereto. These, however, are forms
of practical thought, and, therefore, imply a rational element in
the moral sense. This fact is also verified by the history of social
progress. Social reforms, to be effective, must always be pre-
ceded by, and founded on public opinion ; while this opinion

F.DUCATION AND I-II T,.

will be found, in turn, to rest on some form of knowledge. This
fact is established by a reference to any of our social reforma-
tions, which are always found to have been preceded by an
intellectual revival. An example is furnished in our own day in
the evident decline of the drinking hal)it, as a result of the
knowledge of the effects of alcoholism — an instrument which, in
an unseen manner, is effecting inorcthan a century of legislative
enactments.

But morality is also a sentiment. To choose the good, we
must both know and love it. Nay, with some the presence of
this moral sentiment is viowcd as all-sufficient ; and, though we
may not admit so much, we must nevertheless agree with the
poet, that there may be those—

" Who in love and truth
Where no misgiving is, rely
Upon the genial Heiiae o£ youth :
Glad Hearts ! without reproach or blot ;
Who do thy work, and know it not."

The development of feeling, therefore, is essential to moral
progress— to our own " light " we must add " sweetness." But,
as has been seen, it is from the cultivation of the aesthetic
emotions that such a disinterested sentiment can have its foun-
dation most securely laid. Then —

" With Thought and Love (companions of our way,
Whate'er the senses take or may refuse,
The mind's internal heaven shall shed her dews
Of inspiration on the humblest lay."

Morality has been shown to consist in the realization of the
self in harmony with a social environment. But our primary
interest in this environment was seen to be in the form of
particular desires, and, therefore, selfish in its character. Such
an individual existence, by separating man from his environment
will cause him to view his own personality as limited thereby.
This must lead him to seek his freedom independent of, or in
opposition to others— in acts of selfishness and injustice. The
moral man, however, must learn that such efforts in reality
check his free development, which can be attained only through
the freedom of the whole, or in practising the good.

The nature of the environment in which man has been set

t —

EDUCATION AND LIFE.

by the Creator would seem to have been determined by the
necessity for such a development. As an individual, he is set
in a physical environment, where his very existence is dependent
on an adjustment thereto. Thus he is at once drawn out, as it
were, from self and interested in an external world. Again, his
existence is made to depcrid on thcfamily, where this individual
nature must be further subdued by the creation of interests
and desires which include other members of the family group.
To widen his personality still further, he finds the nation embrac-
ing the narrower family group, and leading him into a yet more
universal existence. Thus, step by step, the very conditions of
his enviroinnent tend tr> guide him to the highest summit, where
his individuality shall merge into a single universal. Can the
conscious effort of the educator assist in this progress.

Conduct, to be moral, must present two phases. The moral
man must know and love the right. Secondly, he must choose
and do it. In the first of these spheres, at least, the educator
is afforded special opportunities of preparing his pupil for moral
living. The history of civilization is the history of man's striv-
ings for intellectual and moral freedom. This civilization has
crystallized itself in innumerable forms, and remains standing
for our edification. Here we will find objectified the lessons of
human progress ; and if our hearts have been attuned to truth
and beauty, we cannot but learn, from the contemplation of
these lessons, to love the good in human action. Here, there-
fore, we have a field for moral education. No doubt, in the
presentation of all intelligently organized materials, since they
represent a product of human intelligence, there may be found
a moral value. But it will now be the province of the educator
to select from these products, and to set forth such material as
shall constitute the highest expression of morality.

The importance of this department of our subject will
warrant a more extended examination. We have pointed out
the important role which literature may pla^ in the cultivation
of the iesthetic feelings. We may now- note that it should play
no less a part in the development of the moral sentiment. The
moral progress of the human race has been seen to have been a
struggle for freedom and self-realization in a family, social and

EDUCATION AND LIFE.

spiritual environment. Literature is an expression, an outward
projection, of this inner struggle for freedom and morality, h or
example, in Milton's—

" peace hath her victories
No less renowned than war ."

or in Bryant's—

" He who from zone to zone ^ • n- y .

Guides through the boundless sky thy crtaiu flight,
In the long way that I must tre».d alone

Will lead my steps aright,

we realize moral and spiritual ideals to which a life of ordinary
experience might scarcely give expression. Here, then, the
moral educal r will have an opportunity of presenting noble
ideas and examples, which cannot fail to realize the potential-
ities of our moral nature.

In history, also, the teacher possesses an abounding 6did
for the selection of moral materials. Even on its biographical
side, it possesses a dramatic interest, and affords a sensuous
expression which cannot fail to realize ideas of goodness, and
create an interest therein. But history is more than a collection
of individual biographies. It exemplifies the social organism,
and as such, sets forth the unity of that organism. It mus ,
therefore, necessarily possess materials whose presentation wU
tend to realize explicitly in man the potentialities of his social
nature.

Other fields might be exemplified, but these will probably
suffice for our purpose. We would remark, however, that here
as in the former departments, we must recognize the necessity of
a selection and arrangement of materials. The teacher must
consider both the logical order of his materials, and their
psychological adaptability for promoting the self-realization of
the moral subject.

At this point, it may be objected that such a presentation
of moral ideals, while resulting in a knowledge of the moral law,
cannot result in the formation of moral character. We must not
only know but choose and do the right. The essence of char-
acter formation, therefore, must consist in action ; and without
such an active application, the highest product can be but a

^t^^'"

EDUCATION AND Ul E.

moral sentiment. That tliesc ideals become fixed only in and
throu<ih (heir application to rijjht iivint;, no one will deny. But,
on the other hand, we may claim that no moral projjress can
result excc|)t tI)roii[,'h the inlliicncc of mor..', ideals, more or less
distiiictlj' felt and known. .Moral development is a conscious
effort, and, as we have already seen, these ideals having been
awakened, they must tend to apply tiiemseU es in action. The
real fiuestion at issue, then, is thi.s, '* Does the daily life of the
child afford a field of activity, within which these ideals may be
actively applied?" Such a field of artivity, a public school
system and normal home lile will surely afford. This question,
however, should guide us in the selection of our materials of
study, and would be a consideration of special importance to
those undertaking the moral elevation of classes or tribes of a
lower social and moral status than that which has produced the
materials, through the application of which moral reform is to
be effected.

The perfection of life, however, implies more than a life of
morality. This, in itself, will fail to uphold amid the trials and
hardships which overtake the natural man. Perfect freedom
implies, not only the realization of a universal good, but also the
submission of the individual will thereto. The old self must be
sacrificed in a life of self-renunciation. Thus the religious life
appears, as the crown of human effort, wherein alone man can
find that ideal of universal goodness, which postulates itself as
the ultimate goal of the struggles of experience. Here, when
the individual life, o'erwhelmed, perchance, by unmerited mis-
fortunes, presents no ray of hope, when society offers no
adequate expression of the deeper longing of the inner life, man
may yet find an everlasting light leading into the land of
righteousness— a solution of the mystery of Life. Can the
effort of the educator assist in leading thereto?

To answer this question will demand an inquiry into the
source of the religious sentiment. The religious sentiment may
be traced to two different sources — the one external, the other
internal. Dogmatic religion holds up to man an authoritative
creed, enforced by a system of rewards and punishments.
Religion is here viewed as a foreign law, not inherent in man,

EDUCATION AM) 1,1 KK.

who is by nature sinful, but rcvcalcil externally to him. Such
a conception of rcli^'ion, with its iicconip.uiyiiitl doctrines, must
necessarily remove it from the sphere of the scientific ethicator.
Thcolof^ical relij^ioii, with its clustering dogmas, however pure
aiul majestic, cannot orLjanize itself into an educ.itional system
which aims at the realization of a i)otcntiality of perfection
affirmed to be inherent in man.

Hut is this the highest conception of reli;,non ? It has been
shown that man, as a rational bein<f, is capal)le of realizing an
ideal of perfection. Thus it becomes possible for this law to be
revealed within us — written in the heart. Here religion finds
its truest and most permanent cxi)rcssioii ; since it results, not
in subduing man to external authority, but in a reconciliation
through the lifting of manhood into God, In such a conception
of the religious life, man obtains an explicit realization of uni-
ersal perfection, adequate to the upward struggle of his self-
conscious life ; and a religious ideal is postulated, toward the
attainment of which education may afford assistance.

For in such a conception of the religious life, faith is found
to rest on a definite rational foimdation. Here humanity must
identify itself with God, through the apprehension of its own
divinity. Such an apprehension, however,implies the realization
of a universal cosmos, in which man can discover an expression
of his own inward aspirations. If such be the case, a truly
religious life implies the realization of meaning in both the outer
and the inner world, and a rational faith therein. Thus science,
art and morality must become the basis for the truly religious
life, which must include every phase of existence that will
harmonize mto a life of universal perfection. Education, there-
fore, in so far as it is able to lead man to adjust himself h.^rmon-
iously to a physical and social environment,and discover therein
signs of universal truth, beauty and goodness, will have laid the
broadest foundation for an intelligent religious life.

In closing this section, we would again emphasize what, we
believe, should be made a leading principle in every system of
education. From the foregoing, it must appear that the efficacy
of education will consist, not in an attempt to store the mind

EDUCATION AND LIFE.

with an abundance of facts, but in so developing man's rational
nature (intellectual, .esthetic and moral) that it may be capable,
in the experiences of life, of returning unto itself, and of judg-
ing its present conscious mode by these universal ideals of
truth, beauty and goodness. Such is the special purpose of an
education which may truly be termed liberal, and the educator
who aims thus to arm those committed to his care, will have
prepared them in no small degree to discover truth, however
revealed, to feel a divinity in the order and beauty of the sensuous
world, and to live in peace and love with all mankind.

EDUCATION AND LIFE.

CHAPTER V.

THE PRESENT PROBLEM OF EDUCATION,

THUS far education has been viewed only in the light of an
agent in the development or remaking of the conscious hfe of
the individual. Here it has been supposed to be m possess on
ofaniical of perfection, toward which it aims to d.roct the
developing consciousness. This would seem to .mp y tha
human ty has obtained an absolute standard of perfection, as
'he goll of self-conscious activity. But man s development was
seen to take place in and through a physical and soc.al env.roiv
ment Progress and development was found to be a mark not
^ly of the individual, but also of organized human.ty. As an
dividual therefore, man must develop in harmony w.th the
orogress ol this higher unity ; and, so far as in h.m hes, ass.st m
fhe real zation of this more universal progress, in wh.ch newer
and depe deals are gradually developing. Hence, .f education
ts to be of real service to human progress, it must aid man to
ranscend both his natural life and (if possible) the stage of soc.al
progress tLugh which he has developed. It must become^
Tt only a follower, but also a leader and a gu.de to human
progress.

To be effective in determining the ^^^-^^^t" ^^"\f "'^
the course of such a development, education must be able, both
tnVrasu the present ideals of human progress, and to read m
tLrpresent'app ication the character of those potent.aht.es
whichTll be r'e'alized in the future ; and whic^n the. "
must touch and vivify a following epoch. Th.s .nipl.es hat, m
Tdit'on to involving progression or retrogress.on, cvihzat on
will p esent in its hiftory 'grounds of inference, through whjch
the educator may project his efforts into the future. Educat.on
may then view man as entering upon a future, unseen but not

RDLiCATION AND LIFE.

totally unprepared for. That such is possible the history of
civilization abundantly proves. It will be impossible here to
enter into an examination of this history, but in every epoch,
it will be found to present features which affect the character of
its subsequent advance or regression. Though the progress of
civilization, therefore, seems a hidden fact, we may see that its
general destiny depends upon the nature of the elements which
contribute to its spiritual perfection. These have been seen to
consist in the intellectual, aesthetic, moral and religious ideals
which inspire its rational life,and give expression to its character.

An inquiry into the life and thought of the present genera-
tion will show that it is characterized by a scientific or intellectual
movement. This has resulted in emancipating man, to a large
degree, within his physical environment, and in freeing him from
physical fears and superstitions. Accompanying this advance
in intellectual knowledge, there has been a moral and spiritual
awakening, through which man is becoming conscious of
defects in his present social and religious ideals. Thus far, how-
ever, in his treatment of them, though swayed by vague doubts
and unrest, man has shrunk from applying himself actively
to this spiritual problem. Ihc present age, therefore, while
marked as highly critical, has not yet passed into an epoch of
moral and spiritual reconstruction.

Is this condition to remain permanent ? Will man continue
to discover arder and purpose in the material world, and, having
obtained this freedom, shrink from applying the resulting ideals
Vo social and religious problems ? This question may find its
answer, in a tendency which is already evidently displaying
itself in the rising geneiation. The child of to-day is marked,
above all things, by the hope anc confidence with which he
faces the future. At every step he gives indication of a spirit
of freedom, which proclaims that he is not to be bound by the
habits and traditions of the past. Already it may be seen
extending itself into the younger and less conservative political
organisms, and leading them to ignore all past traditions incon-
sistent with this new impulse. Here we may discover evidences
of a power which, scorning the indecision of the present
generation, will apply itself boldly to these higher problems.

EDUCATION AND LIFE.

Whether we are inclined to view this tendency with satisfaction
or alarm, it most assuredly exists, and should demand no little
attention from the educator. To seek to limit its activUy w^
be to undertake the vain labor of confining the new wine of
human progress in the old bottles of a dying epoch ; to ignore
its^resencf will be to disinherit the spiritual offspring of our
own generation.

To the thoughtful student of human progress, this impulse
will appear pregnant with noble possibilities. The present
Lial and religious conscience may be said to be in travail, and
yearning for a more adequate interpretation of the problem o
He This, however, can be effected only by a resolute effort to
see and know the best that can be realized within these domains.
Here then, is an impulse which, if rightly directed may develop
"to a SP r tual power that shall do much to realize those more
perfect social and religious ideals for which humanity yearns.

While possessing these potentialities for goodness, this
. ; ^Llavs no less a possibility for evil. It has been seen
ir^e^^ en un sJ is'associated largely with social and
that the present through the progress in the useful

religious Idea .Fthe^^^^ intellectual advance of the

^^^se^tceXy, man hasleen largely freed from the physical

? K trorthe past His activities, thus liberated, tend to direct

hem es into these higher fields of speculation. As t is

themseiv ^ humanistic movement, so,

^uroths-tnUfic advancement, is destined to proceed a
ralnaliz d humanity. If allowed to develop as an indiv^ua
tendency, however, this impulse must necessarily expend it elf
In a destructive warfare against the present ideals of morality

and religion.

To direct this new power in such a way that It might become

Ittive ather than destructive, would be the highest
reconstructive rather tn ^^.^^^^ ^^^ ^^ ^

d.d is death" Iff therefore, education is to assist in this
mmded »s deatn. , ^^^ ^^^. ^^^ ^^

;::rSnn '"e'SeTfe™. of ...e present ™o„. and

EDUCATION AND LIFE.

spiritual development of the race. In this way only will it be
possible, during this renaissance, to add to and enrich our present
moral and religious conceptions.

When, however, we turn our attention to the present phase
of education, we find it marked by a utilitarian development of
the intellect, to the neglect of the moral and the spiritual. As
a result of the advance in physical science and the useful arts,
education tends to confine itself to the market-place. Within
its borders are a thousand specialists, who can see no profit
outside of their particular fields ; while at the outer gate stand a
thousand faddists, each with a single panacea, and that too
frequently but a child of the day. This intellectual aspect has
further imbedded itself through an incidental effect which it has
produced on our conception of educational values. Intellectual
development, admitting of a certain relative approximation, its
renaissance has been accompanied with a systematic endeavour
to gauge intellectual attainments. This tendency finds an
expression in the position at present held by the written exam-
ination. Having become an end in education, it has set a
premium on her more intellectual aspects, which present more
scope for the work of the examiner. Thus, though the teacher
may proclaim the importance of moral and spiritual education,
his efforts are too often limited through the struggle for exami-
nation results.

It may be argued that this intellectual education is moral
in its tendency. This is no doubt true ; but, as was seen, real
moral progress demands something more. The physical cannot
transcend the moral and the spiritual. It is only by a renais-
sance of moral and spiritual education, therefore, that we can
obtain a sure antidote to the narrowing and individualistic
tendencies of the more purely physical and intellectual. By this
means alone, can we develop a rational attitude, which, in this
work of reconstruction, can view with equanimity the promptings
of selfishness, and whose compassion will discover no province
of life so obscure that its sympathies ntiay not penetrate.
Through such an adjustment of its efforts, therefore, the educa-
tion of to-day may so guide this new spirit that it shall work out

EDUCATION AND LIFE.

with joy and sympathy still higher idea s of human destmy and
thus lender fruitful an impulse which, if left to expend .ts If on
selfish and particular ends, must be productive of social and
religious anarchy.

It must not be understood from the foregoing, that we
would make the end of education some separate and far-off goal.
- Education is a reconstruction of experience, and must, there-
fore stand in vital connection with the present. Thus every
Sage in its process, in so far as it discriminates, reconstructs
and adapts withm the field of experience, may be considered an
end in itself. This is but another way of saying that self-
realization is the aim of education. As has been -^n however
the oerfectinp of experience, whether in the individual or in

society rap-^^^^^

oreducation to ascertain whether data may not be obtained in

relation thereto.

Before closing this brief outline of formal education we
would add a word as to the qualifications of the niost important
Tac^r h. its rational appHcation-the teacher. Thorough knovv--
edge has always been recognized, at least theoretically, as an
essental characteristic of the successful educator. By thoroug^i
knowledge, however, has usually been understood a compre^
hZ.c grasp of the external materials-the lumber o the
t ' le of knowledge. Such a logical knowledge of the material
o. b'^art is undoubtedly essential to the educator ; and, as long
: tlconsider the mind a passive recipient of -passions
arising therefrom, might be viewed as all sufficient. But this
conception of education, as we believe has been shown, is no
in iSf adequate. Knowledge has been found to result, not
rom passive impressions, but from an active self-reahzation and
reconstru ion o'f the subject in and through nis social environ-
r^ent Knowledge, therefore, even in its most primary form,
Tu be more than' objective-it must constitute a reahzation
7L self-conscious subject. From this ^t -)1 aPpear that th
educator's knowledge must be more than logical-it must also
he Dsv^holog °cal. In other words, the educator must, in addition
'^^:^^:^^^r^ to a logical sy.em, also discover te.
value and place in promoting a realization of the self, l-rom

EDUCATION AND LIFE.

this it appears that the teacher's knowleage of his materials
must be more than a knowledge of objective things. He must
likewise know them on their subjective side, or psychologically.
Only in this way can he successfully apply them for the purpose
of developing and reconstructing self-consciousness in such a
way that the realization of a rational physical and social
world is immediately combined with the realization of a rational
self. If, therefore, the teacher would achieve the true ideal of
his art, he must aim to know both the logic and the psychology
of the course of study. In this fact, we find the store-house and
the key of educational method.

In thus emphasizing the claims of education to be recog-
nized as a spiritual art whose methods are capable of exposition,
we do not mean to claim that the educator is to be reduced to
a mechanical methodizer. Even the workman does not success-
fully drive home the nail by constantly watching the swing of
hammer and arm. Of all imitate . 3, he who imitates in spiritual
things is the most feeble. The teacher must learn, therefore,
that, as in the pupil's knowledge, subject and object are not to
be set in vital opposition, so in his own art, he cannot separate
himself from her logical and spiritual processes ; and that he
can follow her precepts, only when they have been so realized
in consciousness that they may re-issue from the inner fountain
of his mind and heart.

Finally, it has been seen that, to attain the possibilities of
his art, the educatoi must seek and find out the very heart and
pulse of the spiritual life within which he professes to labor.
With wise reverence for the past, he yet moves in a living
present, and with hopeful vision, seeks to penetrate into the
future of human progress. A lefty ideal, it may be said, to set
for the average teacher. Such it undoubtedly is, yet surely
none too high for those who should recognize in themselves the
the humble successors of thi t Great Teacher who lived and died
that He might reveal to mL'.i a higher and a nobler life. Could
we but rise, in knowledge and in love, to the high responsi-
bility of our office, might we not also, through trial and self-
sacrifice, hear this glad response to our labors, " We love him
in that he first loved us and gave himself for us " ?

;■((