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Adventures in Philosophy |
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by Johann Friedrich Herbart
Instruction must be joined to the knowledge furnished by experience, and to the disposition which is nourished by intercourse. Experience corresponds immediately with empirical, intercourse with sympathetic, interest. Progressive thought about the objects of experience develops speculative interest, -- thought about the more complex relationships of intercourse develops social interest. To these we add on the one side aesthetic, on the other religious, interest. Both have their origin not so much in progressive thought, as in a quiet contemplation of things and their destiny. It must not be expected that all these various kinds of interest will develop equally in each individual, but on the other hand we may expect to find them all more or less amongst a number of pupils. The required many-sidedness will be more perfectly attained, the more closely each individual approaches the standard of mental culture in which all these interests are aroused with equal energy. That these six classes of interest naturally fall into two groups, has been already indicated when pointing out the historical and scientific divisions. This tallies with what has been generally observed in the Gymnasia (classical schools), that the pupils generally show a leaning either to the one side or the other. But it would be a great mistake to put for this reason, the historic interest in opposition to the scientific, or even to substitute in the place of these two the philological and mathematical, as is often done. This confusion of ideas must not be continued, otherwise entirely wrong views on instruction will be the result. This erroneousness will be most easily demonstrated, by a consideration of the many varieties of one-sidedness already occurring even within the two classes mentioned. In this way, at least, the many varieties it is necessary to distinguish here, will become more clearly separated. For the possible one-sided varieties of interest are much more widely differentiated from each other, than could be indicated by the previous six-fold classification. Empirical interest will be in its way one-sided, if a certain class of objects of experience are dwelt on to the exclusion of others. So it will be, for instance, if a man desires to be a botanist only, or a mineralogist, or zoologist; or if he only cares for languages, perhaps only dead or only modern languages, or even but for one; or again, if a traveler (like many so-called tourists) only wishes to see certain celebrated districts during his journey, in order to be able to say he has. seen them; or again, if as a collector he has only this or that particular hobby; or if as an historian he only cares for the annals of one country and one parish, and so on. Speculative interest will be in its way one-sided, if it deals only with logic or mathematics, possibly with merely a branch of the latter, such as the geometry of the ancients, -- or with metaphysics only, which again may be limited to the views of one school, -- or with physics only, perhaps limited to the establishment of one hypothesis, -- or finally, with pragmatic history alone. Aesthetic interest tends to confine itself exclusively to painting or sculpture or poetry -- perhaps the latter only of a lyric or dramatic class; or to music, or even only to a variety thereof, etc., etc. Sympathetic interest will become one-sided, if an individual only cares to live with people of his own class, or with his compatriots, or only with members of his own family, and has no feeling for any others. Social interest becomes one-sided, when a man is entirely devoted to his own political party, and measures all weal and woe by its interests alone. Religious interest becomes one-sided, when it leads a man to adhere to certain sects and dogmas, and to despise those who think otherwise. Many of these species of one-sidedness are brought about in later life, by the individual's vocation, but it ought not to isolate the man. It would certainly do so if such narrowness ruled him in earlier years. It would be possible to analyze one-sided tendencies still further, but this is not necessary in order to determine what place the studies in the Gymnasia referred to, occupy amongst the subjects that serve to animate interest. Languages are the first on the list, as we know from experience, but why is the preference among so many given to Latin and Greek? Clearly because of their literature and history. Literature with the poets and orators belongs to aesthetic interest, history awakens sympathy for excellent men and for social weal and woe; through both channels it has a direct influence in developing religious interest. No better center of unity for so many various stimuli can be found. Even speculative interest is not neglected, when the grammatical construction of these languages is added. But history does not stand still with the ancients; literary knowledge also widens, and aids in animating still more completely the interests before mentioned. The pragmatic treatment of history assists speculative interest from another side. In this respect however, mathematics have the preference, only, in order to gain a firmer footing and permanent influence, they must be combined with the natural sciences which arouse both empiric and speculative interest. Now if these studies cooperate thoroughly, they achieve, conjoined with religious instruction, a good deal towards guiding the young mind in the direction conducive to many-sided interest. But were philology and mathematics to be separated, the connecting links removed, and every individual be left the choice of one or the other according to his own preference, the result would then show specimens of pure one-sidedness such as have been sufficiently characterized in the preceding remarks. It is generally admitted now that the higher citizens' schools ought to introduce just this same many-sided education, -- that is to say, they should make use of the very same main classes of interest as the Gymnasia, etc. The only difference is, that the pupils of the Gymnasia begin the exercise of their future calling later than do those of the citizens' schools. Consequently modern literature and history receive more consideration in the latter, and to those who are capable of going beyond these subjects, the higher ones necessary to complex mental activity can be given, but not quite so fully as in the Gymnasia. The same applies to all those lower schools which give a general education. It is different with technical schools and polytechnics, in short with such as presuppose that education is already finished, at least in so far as circumstances will allow. Accordingly when a higher citizens' school has a correct curriculum, it will be seen from it, just as from that of a Gymnasium, that an attempt has been made, through that curriculum, to avoid the extreme one-sidedness which results if one only of the six main classes of interest be disregarded. But no instruction whatever is able to avoid those special one-sidednesses which occur within each main class. When once observation, reflection, taste for the beautiful, sympathy, social instincts, and religious feeling have been called into activity, though but in a narrow circle of subjects, it is chiefly left to the individual and opportunity to initiate further expansion, including a greater number and variety of subjects. To talented individuals, still more to geniuses, sufficient breadth of view may be given by instruction, to show them what has been done before by others of talent and genius; their idiosyncrasies however they must retain, and be responsible for themselves. Nor are all these subordinate one-sided tendencies equally disadvantageous, for not all assert themselves exclusively to the same extent. Although all of them may become arrogant, yet they are not all equally liable to do so. Under favorable conditions as regards time and opportunity, such as Gymnasia and higher citizens' schools have, the aim of instruction is not as is well known restricted to merely first efforts. The question then comes up, in what sequence should the interests which have been aroused be cultivated further? There is no lack of teaching matter; it is necessary to choose and systematize. For this purpose we must apply in general what has been said regarding the conditions of manysidedness and of interest. These conditions are, to proceed from the simple to the complex, and to provide suitable opportunities for the exercise of involuntary apperceptive attention. It is useless however to deceive ourselves about the difficulties and all that is required to carry this out. Empirical subject-matter (in languages, history, geography, etc.) requires certain complications and series of presentations, together with their interconnections. To start with, the mere words consist of roots and those particles that pertain to modification and derivation, and these again of single articulate sounds. History has its periods in time, and geography its interconnections in space. The psychological laws of reproduction determine the acts of learning by memory, and of memory itself. The mother-tongue serves as medium for the comprehension of foreign languages, but at the same time the child's mind struggles against foreign sounds and idioms. Besides this, a younger boy takes a long while to get accustomed to the idea, that at a remote time and place there were, and still are, human beings who speak and have spoken differently to himself -- human beings who concern us here and now. The illusion also of many masters is very common and injurious, that because their expression (language) is clear, it must therefore be comprehended by the boy, whose child's language only grows slowly. These clogging influences can be overcome. Geography helps with respect to spatial distances, though the visible presentation of mountains is wanting to the inhabitants of a flat country, and that of plains to one who lives in a valley, and again of the sea to the majority of people. That the earth is a ball and turns on its axis, and revolves round the sun, sounds to children for a long time like a fairy-tale, and there are cultivated youths who doubt the theory of the planetary system, because they do not comprehend how it can be known. Such obstructions must be got rid of, and not multiplied unnecessarily. Old ruins might be made use of as a starting point for history, if they were not far too meager and too near in time, when the young are to be introduced to Jewish, Greek and Roman antiquities. Recourse can only be had to stories to arouse a lively interest; these become the fulcrum of thought about a long vanished past, but the estimation of chronological distances leading up to our own time is still wanting, and can only be gradually realized by subsequent insertions. Practice in thinking, and together with it, the animation of speculative interest, is stimulated by everything which reveals or even only suggests connection by general laws in nature, in human affairs, in the structure of languages, in religious teaching. But everywhere, even in the things most commonly used, in general arithmetic and grammar, the pupil is confronted by general concepts, judgments and conclusions. He remains however attached to the single, familiar, sensuous. The abstract is strange to him; even geometrical figures drawn for the eye are but individual concrete things to him, and he only recognizes their general import with difficulty. The general notion ought to drive the special example out of his thoughts, but vice versa the special instance comes to the front in the usual series of presentations, and of the generalization, little remains to the boy but the words with which it is designated. If he is to draw a conclusion, he loses sight of one premise in dealing with the other, and the teacher must continually begin again, and illustrate the concepts and connect them, and gradually bring the premises together. When the middle terms in the premises have at last been correctly united, the union is still at first incomplete; the very same syllogisms are often forgotten, and afterwards too frequently repetitions have to be avoided, lest interest be extinguished instead of animated. It is advisable to allow much of what has already been arrived at through conclusions to be for a time forgotten, as this cannot be prevented, and to return to the principal points later by different routes. The first preliminary exercises attain their purpose, if they give a glimpse of the general as revealed in the particular, before the concepts become the subjects of formulae, and before the propositions are formed into series of conclusions. Association must be made between the first demonstrations of the generalization and the systematic teaching of its interconnection. Manifold external interests and also excited emotions may be the causes of aesthetic contemplation. But it only takes place spontaneously, when the spirit is sufficiently tranquil, to enable it to perfectly comprehend the simultaneously beautiful, and to follow the successively beautiful with answering rhythm. Comprehensible objects must be offered, contemplation must not be forced; but inappropriate remarks and, still more, damage done to objects of aesthetic value to which respect is due must certainly be forbidden. Frequently imitation, even if at first but roughly done, in drawing, singing, and reading aloud, and later on in translating, is a sign of attracted attention; such imitation may be encouraged, but certainly not praised. The true enthusiasm which grows spontaneously in aesthetic culture, is easily spoiled by being over-stimulated. To overburden is injurious; works of art that belong to a higher stage of culture must not be drawn down to a lower, and opinions and art criticisms should not be forced upon pupils. The interests of sympathy are still more dependent on intercourse and home life than the former interests are on experience. If children are frequently moved from place to place, their attachment cannot take root anywhere. Even the change of masters and school is injurious. The pupils make comparisons of their own; an authority which is not permanent counts for little; on the contrary, efforts to obtain freedom act against it. Instruction cannot do away with such evils, the less because it is itself constantly obliged to change its form, which causes the master to appear different. It is consequently all the more necessary that in giving historical instruction, such warmth and sympathy should be expressed as is due to the personalities and events in question. For this reason, which is so important for the whole of education, we should carefully avoid making history a mere chronological skeleton. Specially should this be observed in the earlier instruction in history, as on it mainly depends what impression history as a whole will make later on. It is needless to add, how much religious instruction should make the children feel their dependence, and how just are our expectations that it will not leave their souls untouched. In all this, historical must be combined with religious instruction, otherwise religious doctrine will occupy an isolated position, and will run the danger of not duly influencing the teaching and learning in all other subjects.
Excerpted from Letters and Lectures on Education, by Johann Gottfried Herder |
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