=The Main Kinds of Interest=
83. Instruction is to be linked to the knowledge that experience
provides, and to the ethical sentiments that arise from social
intercourse (36). Empirical interest relates directly to experience;
sympathetic interest to human association. Discursive reflection on the
objects of experience involves the development of speculative interest,
reflection on the wider relations of society that of social interest.
With these we group, on the one hand æsthetic, on the other religious
interest, both of which have their origin not so much in discursive
thought as in a non-progressing contemplation of things and of human
destiny.
The classification of interests into two groups, namely, (a) those
which arise from knowledge, and (b) those which arise from
association with others, and the subdivision of each of these
into three groups, making six in all, is one not of necessity,
but of convenience. The knowledge interests are, (a) empirical,
(b) speculative, (c) æsthetic; the interests arising from association
are, (a) sympathetic, (b) social, (c) religious. This classification
is adopted without criticism by most Herbartian writers. That the
classification is made simply for convenience may be seen from such
considerations as the following:--
1. Strictly speaking, _all_ interests arise from _experience_, the
social no less than the speculative; hence experience is not a basis
for classification at all.
2. Æsthetic interests, resting upon contemplation, need not be put
into a group with those that rest upon the perception of cause and
effect, or other relations perceived by discursive reflection.
3. The same is true for those empirical interests that are supposed
to rest upon immediate sense apprehension, such as the interest in
color, shape, sound, taste, odor.
4. If perception, reasoning, and sensibility are made bases for the
classification of interests, why should not the active volitional
powers of the mind become a basis likewise? Some claim that pleasure
and pain rest primarily upon the _motor_ side of our activity, rather
than upon the sensory. Our interest in _doing_ is antecedent to our
interest in knowing or feeling. This fact is fully recognized by all
Herbartians in the theory of methods, though it finds no recognition
in their classification of interests.
It must be granted, however, that Herbart’s classification is
convenient, even if not especially scientific.
The empirical interest is the mental eagerness aroused by direct
appeal to the senses, as by novel shapes, colors, sounds, odors,
and the like. Its first stage is wonder, admiration, fear, awe. The
child that drops his picture-book to chase a butterfly abandons one
empirical interest for a stronger one. This form of interest is
usually transient; unless it develops into a new kind of interest, it
is soon abandoned for some other attraction. A primary teacher may
catch but cannot hold the attention of a child by sensuous devices
leading to nothing beyond themselves.
The speculative interest is more permanent than the empirical. It
rests primarily on the perception of the relations of cause and
effect; it seeks to know the reasons of things. On this account
it is a higher form of apperception, or mental assimilation. The
most fundamental idea in the speculative interest is that of
purpose. We want to know the _purpose of things_, the function they
are to perform, the end they are expected to reach. Thus a child
has a key to the understanding of even so complicated a machine
as a self-binder, or a printing press, provided he sees clearly
the purpose of each. Until this is perceived the facts are an
unintelligible jumble of particulars. A crude form of the speculative
interest is seen very early in the child, when he demands a reason
for everything. It always remains the mainspring of intellectual
life; when it ceases to be a motive power to thinking, thought is
dead.
The æsthetic interest rests upon the enjoyment of contemplation, when
an _ideal_, sometimes distinct, sometimes vague, can be perceived
through a _sense medium_. In the Greek statue of _Apollo Belvidere_,
a divinity is represented in marble. In the painting, _Breaking
Home Ties_, the feelings of a lad and his mother upon parting are
portrayed upon canvas. In music the ideal is usually vague, in
poetry it is clear and distinct. The æsthetic value of the latter
is enhanced by good oral recitation, both because appeal is made to
an additional sense, and because the ears of men were attuned to
beautiful poetry long before the eye learned to apprehend it.
All of these interests, the empirical, the speculative, and the
æsthetic, may be classed as _individual_, since they rest upon
purely subjective grounds. They might belong to any Robinson Crusoe
who became isolated from his fellows. But the remaining groups, the
sympathetic, the social, and the religious, rest upon the idea of
intercourse with others. They are, therefore, of supreme importance
for civilized life. Without the sympathetic coöperation of men
civilization would become impossible. Mephistopheles in “Faust”
defines himself as “the Spirit that ever denies.”[12] Consequently
any man who becomes so absorbed in his individual concerns as to deny
all social duties and renounce all social benefits becomes thereby
a kind of civic devil. The cynics of old repudiated all social
obligations, thus making themselves bitter civic devils, while the
Cyrenaics, choosing self-indulgence, but denying likewise social
duties, transformed themselves into sensualistic civic devils.
It is an imperative duty of the teacher, therefore, to arouse the
social and civic interests of the children, since upon these as
active forces the welfare and possibly the stability of society rest.
The school is the place, the studies and daily intercourse the means,
whereby this class of interests may be aroused. Pupils brought up
in isolation by private tutors are likely to become non-social in
their disposition. Idiosyncrasies are fostered, there being little
or no development of ideals of social coöperation. The kindergarten,
however, when rightly conducted, is nearly always able to foster the
social instincts so powerfully that even the lack of later education
is not able to obliterate them. When this training is reinforced by
the well-governed school, a solid foundation for civic character is
likely to be laid. The studies most important for the fostering of
social and civic interests are literature, history, civil government,
and geography, though others have a more or less intimate relation to
them.
[12] “Ich bin der Geist der stets verneint.”
84. We cannot expect to see all of these interests unfold equally in
every individual; but among a number of pupils we may confidently
look for them all. The demand for many-sidedness will accordingly
be satisfied the better, the nearer the single individual likewise
approaches a state of mental culture in which all these kinds of
interest are active with equal energy.
85. As has already been suggested (37), these six kinds of interest
arise from two sources to which historical and nature studies
respectively correspond. With this the facts observed in classical
high schools (_Gymnasia_) coincide: pupils usually lean toward one
side or the other. It would be a serious blunder, however, to affirm,
on this account, an antithesis between the historical and the natural
science interest; or, worse still, to speak of a philological and a
mathematical interest instead--as is, indeed, not infrequently done.
Such confusion in ideas should not continue; it would lead to utterly
erroneous views of the whole management of instruction. The easiest
means to counteract the evil is a consideration of the multitude of
one-sided tendencies that occur even within the six kinds of interest;
we shall be able, at all events, to bring out still more clearly the
manifold phases of interest that must be taken into account. For the
possible cases of one-sidedness are differentiated far more minutely
than could be shown by the discrimination of only six kinds of interest.
“Is the ideal education classical or scientific?” This question,
which is still debated, really means, shall we cultivate chiefly the
_social_ or the _knowledge_ interests. The historical, or culture,
studies belong preëminently on the one side, the natural sciences
most largely on the other. Herbert Spencer in 1860 made a special
plea for science studies in his monograph, “Education,” claiming that
such studies are of chief worth both for knowledge and training. At
that time classical, or culture, studies had possession of almost
every institution for higher education, so that Spencer’s special
plea was justified. At present, however, science, which has developed
its own methods of instruction, holds an equal place with social
studies in the colleges and universities. When we are asked which
half of human interests we will choose, the knowledge or the social,
our reply can only be: We will abandon neither, but choose both. Both
are essential to human happiness; both are necessary for social and
material advance.
86. Empirical interest becomes one-sided in its way when it seizes upon
one kind of objects of experience to the neglect of the rest. When, for
instance, a person wants to be a botanist exclusively, a mineralogist,
a zoölogist; or when he likes languages only, perhaps only the ancient
or only the modern, or of all these only one; or when as a traveller
he wishes to see, like many so-called tourists, only the countries
that everybody talks about, in order to have seen them too; or when,
as a collector of curiosities, he confines himself to one or the other
fancy; or when, in the capacity of historian, he cares only about the
information bearing on one country, or one period, etc.
Speculative interest becomes one-sided by confining itself to logic
or to mathematics, mathematics perhaps only as treated by the old
geometricians; or to metaphysics restricted possibly to one system; or
to physics narrowed down perhaps to one hypothesis; or to pragmatic
history.
Æsthetic interest in one case is concentrated exclusively on painting
and sculpture; in another on poetry, perhaps only on lyric or dramatic
poetry; in still another on music, or perhaps only on a certain species
of music, etc.
Sympathetic interest is one-sided when a man is willing to live only
with his social peers, or only with fellow-countrymen, or only with
members of his own family; while a fellow-feeling for all others is
wanting.
Social interest grows one-sided if one gives himself up wholly to one
political party, and measures weal or woe only by party success or
failure.
Religious interest becomes one-sided according to differences of creed
and sect, to one of which allegiance is given, while those who hold a
different view are regarded as unworthy of esteem.
Much of this one-sidedness is brought about in later life by one’s
vocation. But a man’s vocation must not isolate him. Yet this would
happen if such narrowness should make headway in youth.
87. A still more detailed analysis of the varieties of one-sidedness
would be possible; it is not needed, however, for ascertaining the
position of the above-mentioned high school studies among the subjects
of instruction calculated to stimulate interest. Languages, to begin
with, form a part of the curriculum; but why among so many languages
is the preference given to Latin and Greek? Obviously because of the
literature and history opened through them. Literature with its poets
and orators falls under æsthetic interest; history awakens sympathy
with distinguished men and the weal and woe of society, indirectly
contributing in either case even to religious interest. No better focus
for so many different stimuli can be found. Even speculative interest
is not slighted if inquiries into the grammatical structure of these
languages are added. Moreover, the study of history does not stop with
the ancients; the knowledge of literature also is widened that the
various interests may be developed still more completely. History,
if taught pragmatically, assists speculative interest from another
direction. In this respect, however, mathematics has precedence; only,
in order to effect a sure entrance and abiding results, it must unite
with the natural sciences, which appeal at once to the empirical and
the speculative interest.
If now these studies coöperate properly, a great deal will be done, in
conjunction with religious instruction, toward turning the youthful
mind in the directions that answer to a many-sided interest. But if,
on the contrary, the languages and mathematics were allowed to fall
apart, if the connecting links were removed, and every pupil were
permitted to choose one or the other branch of study, according to
his preferences, mere bald one-sidedness of the kind sufficiently
characterized above would be the outcome.
88. It is admitted now that not only classical but also public high
schools in general should provide for this same many-sided culture,
that is, should take account of the same main classes of interests. The
only difference lies in the fact that for the pupils of the classical
high schools the practice of a vocation is not so near at hand;
whereas, in the public high schools, there is a certain preponderance
of modern literature and history, together with inability to equip
completely with the helps to a manifold mental activity those who
purpose to go on. Much the same is true of all the lower schools whose
aim is to educate. It is different with trade schools and polytechnic
institutes; in short, with those schools which presuppose a completed
education--completed to the extent permitted by circumstances.
If, then, the programme of a public high school is of the right sort,
it will show as well as the curriculum of a classical preparatory
school does, that an attempt is being made to guard against such
one-sidedness as would be the outcome if one of the six main classes of
interest were slighted.
How one-sidedness under an elective system may be avoided is
discussed in a previous section (65).
89. But no instruction is able to prevent the special varieties of
one-sidedness that may develop within the limits of each main group.
When observation, reflection, the sense of beauty, sympathy, public
spirit, and religious aspiration have once been awakened, although
perhaps only within a small range of objects, the farther extension
over a greater number and variety of objects must be left largely to
the individual and to opportunity. To pupils of talent, above all
of genius, instruction may give the necessary outlook by enabling
them to see what talent and genius achieve elsewhere; but their own
distinguishing traits they must themselves answer for and retain.
Moreover, the above-mentioned forms of one-sidedness are not all
equally detrimental, because they do not assert themselves with the
same degree of exclusiveness. Each may, indeed, lead to self-conceit;
but this tendency does not attach to all in the same measure.
Holding to the idea of many-sided interest, what justification is
there for elective studies? To this, the reply must be made that in
elementary and in a part of secondary education the principle of
indiscriminate election must be rejected. The only rational election
in secondary education, as already explained (65), is election among
the various members of a group of similar studies. In this way
the destination and ability of the pupil may be regarded, without
sacrificing the needed many-sidedness. The case is different in
higher education, however, for election and many-sidedness are here
quite reconcilable. Higher education is the _comparative study_ of
a few branches. Thus, for example, on the social side, the whole
civilization of Greece is focussed now in her political history,
now in her art, now in her language, now in her education, now in
her philosophy. The student who studies any one of these subjects
thoroughly gets a comparative view of the whole of Greek life. It is
not necessary for him to study them all. The same is true of each
important country or epoch. Every culture study is an eminence from
which the whole is seen.
Likewise in science, to study a typical form of life exhaustively by
the comparative method gives one an insight into all related life, as
well as many glimpses into physical and chemical science. In a large
sense, therefore, we study all nature, whether we elect biology,
physics, or chemistry, provided we use the comparative method of
higher education. In the college or university, therefore, a large
amount of election is justifiable. That would be a one-sided course
which neglected entirely all social or all science studies.
90. Under favorable circumstances of time and opportunity, such as
obtain in classical and other high schools, effort, as we know, is
not restricted to the initial stimulation. Hence the question arises:
In what sequence shall the aroused interests be further developed? Of
instruction-material there is no lack; we must select and arrange,
guided in the main by what was said on the conditions of many-sidedness
and of interest. Thus to recapitulate: there must be progress from the
simple to the more complex, and solicitous endeavor to make spontaneous
interest possible. But in applying these principles we must not shut
our eyes to the particular requirements and the difficulties in our way.
91. The empirical material of languages, history, geography, etc.,
calls for specific complications and series of ideas, together with
the network of their interrelations. As to language, even words are
complex wholes, made up of stems plus whatever elements enter into
inflection and derivation, and further resolvable into single speech
sounds. History has its time-series, geography its network of spatial
relations. The psychological laws of reproduction determine the
processes of memorizing and of retaining.
The mother-tongue serves as a medium through which foreign languages
become intelligible, but at the same time offers resistance to the
foreign sounds and constructions. Furthermore, it takes a young boy
a long time to get familiar with the thought that far away in time
and in space there have been and are human beings who spoke and
speak languages other than his own, and about whom he need concern
himself at all. Teachers, moreover, very commonly proceed on the
fallacious and very mischievous assumption that, because their mode of
expression is clear, it will, of course, be understood by the pupil.
The resources of child-language increase but slowly. Such impediments
as these must be removed. Geography extends the knowledge of spatial
distances, but the inhabitant of a flat country lacks the sense-images
of mountain ranges; one who grows up in a valley is without the
sense-perception of a plain; the majority of pupils lack the concrete
idea of an ocean. That the earth is a sphere revolving about its own
axis and about the sun, for a long time sounds to children more like
a fairy-tale than like a statement of fact; and even educated young
men sometimes hesitate to accept the theory of the planetary system
because they are unable to comprehend how it is possible to know such
things. Difficulties of this kind must be met and not massed together
unnecessarily.--For history, old ruins might serve as starting-points
if only the material they furnish do not prove altogether too scanty
and is not too recent, when the object is to take pupils at an early
age into the times and places of Jewish, Greek, and Roman antiquity.
Here the only satisfactory helps are stories that excite a very lively
interest; these establish points of support for the realization in
thought of a time long vanished. There is still lacking, however, a
correct estimate of chronological distances down to our own time. This
is attained only very gradually through the insertion of intermediate
data.
92. Material for the exercise of reflection, and so for the excitation
of speculative interest, is supplied by whatever in nature, in human
affairs, in the structure of languages, and in religion, permits us
to discover, or even merely to surmise, a connection according to
general laws. But everywhere--the most common school studies, such as
elementary arithmetic and grammar not excepted--the pupil encounters
concepts, judgments, and inferences. But he clings to the particular,
to the familiar, to the sensuous. The abstract is foreign to his mind;
even the geometrical figures traced for the eye are to him particular
things whose general significance he finds it hard to grasp. The
general is to displace individual peculiarities in his thoughts; but
in his habitual thought-series the well-known concrete crowds to the
front. Of the general there remains in his mind almost nothing beyond
the words used to designate it. Called upon to draw an inference, he
loses one premise while pondering the next; the teacher is obliged to
go back to the beginning again and again, to give examples, and from
them lead up to generalizations; to separate and to connect concepts,
and by degrees to bring the propositions closer to one another. When
the middle terms and extremes have been successfully fused in the
premises, they are still only loosely connected at first. The same
propositions are repeatedly forgotten, and yet must not be reviewed too
many times for fear of killing instead of quickening interest.
Since forgetting cannot be prevented, it is wise to abandon for a time
a large portion of that into which pupils have gained an insight,
but later on to go back to the essentials by other paths. The first
preliminary exercises serve their purpose if the particulars are
made to reveal the general before generalizations become the material
for technical propositions, and before propositions are combined into
inference-series. The processes of association (69) must not be omitted
between the first pointing out of common features and the systematic
teaching of their rational connections.
93. Æsthetic contemplation may, indeed, receive its impulse from many
interests other than the æsthetic, as also from aroused emotions. Art
itself, however, is possible only in a state of mind sufficiently
tranquil to permit an accurate and coherent apprehension of the
simultaneously beautiful, and to experience the mental activity
corresponding to the successively beautiful. Æsthetic objects adapted
to the pupil’s power of appreciation must be provided; but the teacher
should refrain from forcing contemplation. He may, of course, repress
unseemly manifestations, above all the damaging of objects possessing
æsthetic value and entitled to respectful treatment. Frequently
imitative attempts--although very crude at first--in drawing, singing,
reading aloud, and, at a later period, in translating, are indications
of æsthetic attention. Such efforts may be encouraged, but should not
be praised. The genuine warmth of emotion, which in æsthetic culture
kindles of itself, is easily vitiated by intensifying artifices. Excess
of quantity is injurious. Works of art appealing to a higher state of
culture must not be brought down to a lower plane. Art judgments and
criticisms should not be obtruded.
94. The sympathetic interests depend still more on social intercourse
and family life than the foregoing classes of interests do on
experience in the world of sense. If the social environment changes
frequently, children cannot become deeply attached anywhere. The mere
change of teachers and of schools is fraught with harm. Pupils make
comparisons in their own way; authority that is not permanent has
little weight with them, whereas the impulse to throw off restraint
gains in strength. Instruction is powerless to obviate such evils,
especially since instruction itself must often change its form,
thereby giving the impression of a real difference in teachers. This
fact makes it all the more necessary that the instruction in history
impart to pupils the glow of sympathy due to historical characters and
events. For this reason--a reason of momentous significance to the
whole process of education--history should not be made to present to
pupils the appearance of a chronological skeleton. This rule should be
observed with special care during the earlier lessons in history, since
on these depends largely what sort of impression the whole subject will
produce at a future time.
Of religious instruction, needless to say, we demand that it shall
bring home to pupils the dependent condition of man, and we confidently
expect that it will not leave their hearts cold. But historical
instruction must coöperate with religious instruction, otherwise the
truths of religion stand isolated, and there is ground for fearing
that they will fail to enter as potent factors into the teaching and
learning of the remaining subjects.