THE WILL
The fundamental fact in all ranges of life from the lowest to the
highest is _activity_, _doing_. Every individual, either animal or man,
is constantly meeting situations which demand response. In the lower
forms of life, this response is very simple, while in the higher forms,
and especially in man, it is very complex. The bird sees a nook
favorable for a nest, and at once appropriates it; a man sees a house
that strikes his fancy, and works and plans and saves for months to
secure money with which to buy it. It is evident that the larger the
possible number of responses, and the greater their diversity and
complexity, the more difficult it will be to select and compel the right
response to any given situation. Man therefore needs some special power
of control over his acts--he requires a _will._
1. THE NATURE OF THE WILL
There has been much discussion and not a little controversy as to the
true nature of the will. Just what _is_ the will, and what is the
content of our mental stream when we are in the act of willing? Is there
at such times a new and distinctly different content which we do not
find in our processes of knowledge or emotion--such as perception,
memory, judgment, interest, desire? Or do we find, when we are engaged
in an act of the will, that the mental stream contains only the
familiar old elements of attention, perception, judgment, desire,
purpose, etc., _all organized or set for the purpose of accomplishing or
preventing some act_?
THE CONTENT OF THE WILL.--We shall not attempt here to settle the
controversy suggested by the foregoing questions, nor, for immediately
practical purposes, do we need to settle it. It is perhaps safe to say,
however, that whenever we are willing the mental content consists of
elements of cognition and feeling _plus a distinct sense of effort_,
with which everyone is familiar. Whether this sense of effort is a new
and different element, or only a complex of old and familiar mental
processes, we need not now decide.
THE FUNCTION OF THE WILL.--Concerning the function of the will there can
be no haziness or doubt. _Volition concerns itself wholly with acts,
responses._ The will always has to do with causing or inhibiting some
action, either physical or mental. We need to go to the dentist, tell
some friend we were in the wrong, hold our mind to a difficult or
uninteresting task, or do some other disagreeable thing from which we
shirk. It is at such points that we must call upon the will.
Again, we must restrain our tongue from speaking the unkind word, keep
from crying out when the dentist drills the tooth, check some unworthy
line of thought. We must here also appeal to the will. We may conclude
then that the will is needed whenever the physical or mental activity
must be controlled _with effort_. Some writers have called the work of
the will in compelling action its _positive_ function, and in inhibiting
action its _negative_ function.
HOW THE WILL EXERTS ITS COMPULSION.--How does the will bring its
compulsion to bear? It is not a kind of mental policeman who can take
us by the collar, so to speak, and say _do this_, or _do not do that_.
The secret of the will's power of control lies in _attention_. It is the
line of action that we hold the mind upon with an attitude of intending
to perform it that we finally follow. It is the thing we keep thinking
about that we finally do.
On the other hand, let us resolutely hold the mind away from some
attractive but unsuitable line of action, directing our thoughts to an
opposite course, or to some wholly different subject, and we have
effectually blocked the wrong response. To control our acts is therefore
to control our thoughts, and strength of will can be measured by our
ability to direct our attention.
2. THE EXTENT OF VOLUNTARY CONTROL OVER OUR ACTS
A relatively small proportion of our acts, or responses, are controlled
by volition. Nature, in her wise economy, has provided a simpler and
easier method than to have all our actions performed or checked with
conscious effort.
CLASSES OF ACTS OR RESPONSE.--Movements or acts, like other phenomena,
do not just happen. They never occur without a cause back of them.
Whether they are performed with a conscious end in view or without it,
the fact remains the same--something must lie back of the act to account
for its performance. During the last hour, each of us has performed many
simple movements and more or less complex acts. These acts have varied
greatly in character. Of many we were wholly unconscious. Others were
consciously performed, but without feeling of effort on our part. Still
others were accomplished only with effort, and after a struggle to
decide which of two lines of action we should take. Some of our acts
were reflex, some were chiefly instinctive, and some were volitional.
SIMPLE REFLEX ACTS.--First, there are going on within every living
organism countless movements of which he is in large part unconscious,
which he does nothing to initiate, and which he is largely powerless to
prevent. Some of them are wholly, and others almost, out of the reach
and power of his will. Such are the movements of the heart and vascular
system, the action of the lungs in breathing, the movements of the
digestive tract, the work of the various glands in their process of
secretion. The entire organism is a mass of living matter, and just
because it is living no part of it is at rest.
Movements of this type require no external stimulus and no direction,
they are _reflex_; they take care of themselves, as long as the body is
in health, without let or hindrance, continuing whether we sleep or
wake, even if we are in hypnotic or anæsthetic coma. With movements of
reflex type we shall have no more concern, since they are almost wholly
physiological, and come scarcely at all within the range of the
consciousness.
INSTINCTIVE ACTS.--Next there are a large number of such acts as closing
the eyes when they are threatened, starting back from danger, crying out
from pain or alarm, frowning and striking when angry. These may roughly
be classed as instinctive, and have already been discussed under that
head. They differ from the former class in that they require some
stimulus to set the act off. We are fully conscious of their
performance, although they are performed without a conscious end in
view. Winking the eyes serves an important purpose, but that is not why
we wink; starting back from danger is a wise thing to do, but we do not
stop to consider this before performing the act.
And so it is with a multitude of reflex and instinctive acts. They are
performed immediately upon receiving an appropriate stimulus, because we
possess an organism calculated to act in a definite way in response to
certain stimuli. There is no need for, and indeed no place for, anything
to come in between the stimulus and the act. The stimulus pulls the
trigger of the ready-set nervous system, and the act follows at once.
Acts of these reflex and instinctive types do not come properly within
the range of volition, hence we will not consider them further.
AUTOMATIC OR SPONTANEOUS ACTS.--Growing out of these reflex and
instinctive acts is a broad field of action which may be called
_automatic_ or _spontaneous_. The distinguishing feature of this type of
action is that all such acts, though performed now largely without
conscious purpose or intent, were at one time purposed acts, performed
with effort; this is to say that they were volitional. Such acts as
writing, or fingering the keyboard of a piano, were once consciously
purposed, volitional acts selected from many random or reflex movements.
The effects of experience and habit are such, however, that soon the
mere presence of pencil and paper, or the sight of the keyboard, is
enough to set one scribbling or playing. Stated differently, certain
objects and situations come to suggest certain characteristic acts or
responses so strongly that the action follows immediately on the heels
of the percept of the object, or the idea of the act. James calls such
action _ideo-motor_. Many illustrations of this type of acts will occur
to each of us: A door starts to blow shut, and we spring up and avert
the slam. The memory of a neglected engagement comes to us, and we have
started to our feet on the instant. A dish of nuts stands before us, and
we find ourselves nibbling without intending to do so.
THE CYCLE FROM VOLITIONAL TO AUTOMATIC.--It is of course evident that no
such acts, though they were at one time in our experience volitional,
now require effort or definite intention for their performance. The law
covering this point may be stated as follows: _All volitional acts, when
repeated, tend, through the effects of habit, to become automatic, and
thus relieve the will from the necessity of directing them._
[Illustration: FIG. 19.--Star for mirror drawing. The mirror breaks up
the automatic control previously developed, and requires one to start
out much as the child does at the beginning. See text for directions.]
To illustrate this law try the following experiment: Draw on a piece of
cardboard a star, like figure 19, making each line segment two inches.
Seat yourself at a table with the star before you, placing a mirror back
of the star so that it can be seen in the mirror. Have someone hold a
screen a few inches above the table so as to hide the star from your
direct view, but so that you can see it in the mirror. Now reach your
hand under the screen and trace with a pencil around the star from left
to right, not taking your pencil off the paper until you get clear
around. Keep track of how long it takes to go around and also note the
irregular wanderings of your pencil. Try this experiment five times
over, noting the decrease in time and effort required, and the increase
in efficiency as the movements tend to become automatic.
VOLITIONAL ACTION.--While it is obvious that the various types of action
already described include a very large proportion of all our acts, yet
they do not include all. For there are some acts that are neither reflex
nor instinctive nor automatic, but that have to be performed under the
stress of compulsion and effort. We constantly meet situations where the
necessity for action or restraint runs counter to our inclinations. We
daily are confronted by the necessity of making decisions in which the
mind must be compelled by effort to take this direction or that
direction. Conflicting motives or tendencies create frequent necessity
for coercion. It is often necessary to drive our bark counter to the
current of our desires or our habits, or to enter into conflict with a
temptation.
VOLITION ACTS IN THE MAKING OF DECISIONS.--Everyone knows for himself
the state of inward unrest which we call indecision. A thought enters
the mind which would of itself prompt an act; but before the act can
occur, a contrary idea appears and the act is checked; another thought
comes favoring the act, and is in turn counterbalanced by an opposing
one. The impelling and inhibiting ideas we call _motives_ or _reasons_
for and against the proposed act. While we are balancing the motives
against each other, we are said to _deliberate_. This process of
deliberation must go on, if we continue to think about the matter at
all, until one set of ideas has triumphed over the other and secured the
attention. When this has occurred, we have _decided_, and the
deliberation is at an end. We have exercised the highest function of the
will and made a _choice_.
Sometimes the battle of motives is short, the decision being reached as
soon as there is time to summon all the reasons on both sides of the
question. At other times the conflict may go on at intervals for days or
weeks, neither set of motives being strong enough to vanquish the other
and dictate the decision. When the motives are somewhat evenly balanced
we wisely pause in making a decision, because when one line of action is
taken, the other cannot be, and we hesitate to lose either opportunity.
A state of indecision is usually highly unpleasant, and no doubt more
than one decision has been hastened in our lives simply that we might be
done with the unpleasantness attendant on the consideration of two
contrary and insistent sets of motives.
It is of the highest importance when making a decision of any
consequence that we should be fair in considering all the reasons on
both sides of the question, allowing each its just weight. Nor is this
as easy as it might appear; for, as we saw in our study of the emotions,
our feeling attitude toward any object that occupies the mind is largely
responsible for the subjective value we place upon it. It is easy to be
so prejudiced toward or against a line of action that the motives
bearing upon it cannot get fair consideration. To be able to eliminate
this personal factor to such an extent that the evidence before us on a
question may be considered on its merits is a rare accomplishment.
TYPES OF DECISION.--A decision may be reached in a variety of ways, the
most important ones of which may now briefly be described after the
general plan suggested by Professor James:
THE REASONABLE TYPE.--One of the simplest types of decision is that in
which the preponderance of motives is clearly seen to be on one side or
the other, and the only rational thing to do is to decide in accordance
with the weight of evidence. Decisions of this type are called
_reasonable_. If we discover ten reasons why we should pursue a certain
course of action, and only one or two reasons of equal weight why we
should not, then the decision ought not to be hard to make. The points
to watch in this case are (a) that we have really discovered all the
important reasons on both sides of the case, and (b) that our feelings
of personal interest or prejudice have not given some of the motives an
undue weight in our scale of values.
ACCIDENTAL TYPE: EXTERNAL MOTIVES.--It is to be doubted whether as many
of our decisions are made under immediate stress of volition as we
think. We may be hesitating between two sets of motives, unable to
decide between them, when a third factor enters which is not really
related to the question at all, but which finally dictates the decision
nevertheless. For example, we are considering the question whether we
shall go on an excursion or stay at home and complete a piece of work.
The benefits coming from the recreation, and the pleasures of the trip,
are pitted against the expense which must be incurred and the
desirability of having the work done on time. At this point, while as
yet we have been unable to decide, a friend comes along, and we seek to
evade the responsibility of making our own decision by appealing to him,
"You tell me what to do!" How few of us have never said in effect if not
in words, "I will do this or that if you will"! How few have never taken
advantage of a rainy day to stay from church or shirk an undesirable
engagement! How few have not allowed important questions to be decided
by some trivial or accidental factor not really related to the choice in
the least!
This form of decision is _accidental decision_. It does not rest on
motives which are vitally related to the case, but rather on the
accident of external circumstances. The person who habitually makes his
decisions in this way lacks power of will. He does not hold himself to
the question until he has gathered the evidence before him, and then
himself direct his attention to the best line of action and so secure
its performance. He drifts with the tide, he goes with the crowd, he
shirks responsibility.
ACCIDENTAL TYPE: SUBJECTIVE MOTIVES.--A second type of _accidental_
decision may occur when we are hesitating between two lines of action
which are seemingly about equally desirable, and no preponderating
motive enters the field; when no external factor appears, and no
advising friend comes to the rescue. Then, with the necessity for
deciding thrust upon us, we tire of the worry and strain of deliberation
and say to ourselves, "This thing must be settled one way or the other
pretty soon; I am tired of the whole matter." When we have reached this
point we are likely to shut our eyes to the evidence in the case, and
decide largely upon the whim or mood of the moment. Very likely we
regret our decision the next instant, but without any more cause for
the regret than we had for the decision.
It is evident that such a decision as this does not rest on valid
motives but rather on the accident of subjective conditions. Habitual
decisions of this type are an evidence of a mental laziness or a mental
incompetence which renders the individual incapable of marshaling the
facts bearing on a case. He cannot hold them before his mind and weigh
them against each other until one side outweighs the other and dictates
the decision. Of course the remedy for this weakness of decision lies in
not allowing oneself to be pushed into a decision simply to escape the
unpleasantness of a state of indecision, or the necessity of searching
for further evidence which will make the decision easier.
On the other hand, it is possible to form a habit of _indecision_, of
undue hesitancy in coming to conclusions when the evidence is all before
us. This gives us the mental dawdler, the person who will spend several
minutes in an agony of indecision over whether to carry an umbrella on
this particular trip; whether to wear black shoes or tan shoes today;
whether to go calling or to stay at home and write letters this
afternoon. Such a person is usually in a stew over some inconsequential
matter, and consumes so much time and energy in fussing over trivial
things that he is incapable of handling larger ones. If we are certain
that we have all the facts in a given case before us, and have given
each its due weight so far as our judgment will enable us to do, then
there is nothing to be gained by delaying the decision. Nor is there any
occasion to change the decision after it has once been made unless new
evidence is discovered bearing on the case.
DECISION UNDER EFFORT.--The highest type of decision is that in which
effort is the determining factor. The pressure of external circumstances
and inward impulse is not enough to overcome a calm and determined _I
will_. Two possible lines of action may lie open before us. Every
current of our being leads toward the one; in addition, inclination,
friends, honors, all beckon in the same direction. From the other course
our very nature shrinks; duty alone bids us take this line, and promises
no rewards except the approval of conscience. Here is the crucial point
in human experience; the supreme test of the individual; the last
measure of man's independence and power. Winning at this point man has
exercised his highest prerogative--that of independent choice; failing
here, he reverts toward the lower forms and is a creature of
circumstance, no longer the master of his own destiny, but blown about
by the winds of chance. And it behooves us to win in this battle. We may
lose in a contest or a game and yet not fail, because we have done our
best; if we fail in the conflict of motives we have planted a seed of
weakness from which we shall at last harvest defeat.
Jean Valjean, the galley slave of almost a score of years, escapes and
lives an honest life. He wins the respect and admiration of friends; he
is elected mayor of his town, and honors are heaped on him. At the
height of his prosperity he reads one day that a man has been arrested
in another town for the escaped convict, Jean Valjean, and is about to
be sent to the galleys. Now comes the supreme test in Jean Valjean's
life. Shall he remain the honored, respected citizen and let an innocent
man suffer in his stead, or shall he proclaim himself the long-sought
criminal and again have the collar riveted on his neck and take his
place at the oars? He spends one awful night of conflict in which
contending motives make a battle ground of his soul. But in the morning
he has won. He has saved his manhood. His conscience yet lives--and he
goes and gives himself up to the officers. Nor could he do otherwise and
still remain a _man_.
3. STRONG AND WEAK WILLS
Many persons will admit that their memory or imagination or power of
perception is not good, but few will confess to a weak will. Strength of
will is everywhere lauded as a mark of worth and character. How can we
tell whether our will is strong or weak?
NOT A WILL, BUT WILLS.--First of all we need to remember that, just as
we do not have a memory, but a system of memories, so we do not possess
a will, but many different wills. By this I mean that the will must be
called upon and tested at every point of contact in experience before we
have fully measured its strength. Our will may have served us reasonably
well so far, but we may not yet have met any great number of hard tests
because our experience and temptations have been limited.
Nor must we forget to take into account both the negative and the
positive functions of the will. Many there are who think of the will
chiefly in its negative use, as a kind of a check or barrier to save us
_from_ doing certain things. That this is an important function cannot
be denied. But the positive is the higher function. There are many men
and women who are able to resist evil, but able to do little good. They
are good enough, but not good for much. They lack the power of effort
and self-compulsion to hold them up to the high standards and stern
endeavor necessary to save them from inferiority or mediocrity. It is
almost certain that for most who read these words the greatest test of
their will power will be in the positive instead of the negative
direction.
OBJECTIVE TESTS A FALSE MEASURE OF WILL POWER.--The actual amount of
volition exercised in making a decision cannot be measured by objective
results. The fact that you follow the pathway of duty, while I falter
and finally drift into the byways of pleasure, is not certain evidence
that you have put forth the greater power of will. In the first place,
the allurements which led me astray may have had no charms for you.
Furthermore, you may have so formed the habit of pursuing the pathway of
duty when the two paths opened before you, that your well-trained feet
unerringly led you into the narrow way without a struggle. Of course you
are on safer ground than I, and on ground that we should all seek to
attain. But, nevertheless, I, although I fell when I should have stood,
may have been fighting a battle and manifesting a power of resistance of
which you, under similar temptation, would have been incapable. The only
point from which a conflict of motives can be safely judged is that of
the soul which is engaged in the struggle.
4. VOLITIONAL TYPES
Several fairly well-marked volitional types may be discovered. It is, of
course, to be understood that these types all grade by insensible
degrees into each other, and that extreme types are the exception rather
than the rule.
THE IMPULSIVE TYPE.--The _impulsive_ type of will goes along with a
nervous organism of the hair-trigger kind. The brain is in a state of
highly unstable equilibrium, and a relatively slight current serves to
set off the motor centers. Action follows before there is time for a
counteracting current to intervene. Putting it in mental terms, we act
on an idea which presents itself before an opposing one has opportunity
to enter the mind. Hence _the action is largely or wholly ideo-motor and
but slightly or not at all deliberate_. It is this type of will which
results in the hasty word or deed, or the rash act committed on the
impulse of the moment and repented of at leisure; which compels the
frequent, "I didn't think, or I would not have done it!" The impulsive
person may undoubtedly have credited up to him many kind words and noble
deeds. In addition, he usually carries with him an air of spontaneity
and whole-heartedness which goes far to atone for his faults. The fact
remains, however, that he is too little the master of his acts, that he
is guided too largely by external circumstances or inward caprice. He
lacks balance.
Impulsive action is not to be confused with quick decision and rapid
action. Many of the world's greatest and safest leaders have been noted
for quickness of decision and for rapidity of action in carrying out
their decisions. It must be remembered, however, that these men were
making decisions in fields well known to them. They were specialists in
this line of deliberation. The motives for and against certain lines of
action had often been dwelt upon. All possible contingencies had been
imaged many times over, and a valuation placed upon the different
decisions. The various concepts had long been associated with certain
definite lines of action. Deliberation under such conditions can be
carried on with lightning rapidity, each motive being checked off as
worth so much the instant it presents itself, and action can follow
immediately when attention settles on the proper motive to govern the
decision. This is not impulse, but abbreviated deliberation. These
facts suggest to us that we should think much and carefully over matters
in which we are required to make quick decisions.
Of course the remedy for the over-impulsive type is to cultivate
deliberative action. When the impulse comes to act without
consideration, pause to give the other side of the question an
opportunity to be heard. Check the motor response to ideas that suggest
action until you have reviewed the field to see whether there are
contrary reasons to be taken into account. Form the habit of waiting for
all evidence before deciding. "Think twice" before you act.
THE OBSTRUCTED WILL.--The opposite of the impulsive type of will is the
_obstructed_ or _balky_ will. In this type there is too much inhibition,
or else not enough impulsion. Images which should result in action are
checkmated by opposing images, or do not possess vitality enough as
motives to overcome the dead weight of inertia which clogs mental
action. The person knows well enough what he should do, but he cannot
get started. He "cannot get the consent of his will." It may be the
student whose mind is tormented by thoughts of coming failure in
recitation or examination, but who yet cannot force himself to the
exertion necessary safely to meet the ordeal. It may be the dissolute
man who tortures himself in his sober moments with remorse and the
thought that he was intended for better things, but who, waking from his
meditations, goes on in the same old way. It may be the child undergoing
punishment, who is to be released from bondage as soon as he will
promise to be good, but who cannot bring himself to say the necessary
words. It not only may be, but is, man or woman anywhere who has ideals
which are known to be worthy and noble, but which fail to take hold. It
is anyone who is following a course of action which he knows is beneath
him.
No one can doubt that the moral tragedies, the failures and the
shipwrecks in life come far more from the breaking of the bonds which
should bind right ideals to action than from a failure to perceive the
truth. Men differ far more in their deeds than in their standards of
action.
The remedy for this diseased type of will is much easier to prescribe
than to apply. It is simply to refuse to attend to the contrary thoughts
which are blocking action, and to cultivate and encourage those which
lead to action of the right kind. It is seeking to vitalize our good
impulses and render them effective by acting on them whenever
opportunity offers. Nothing can be accomplished by moodily dwelling on
the disgrace of harboring the obstructing ideas. Thus brooding over them
only encourages them. What we need is to get entirely away from the line
of thought in which we have met our obstruction, and approach the matter
from a different direction. The child who is in a fit of sulks does not
so much need a lecture on the disagreeable habit he is forming as to
have his thoughts led into lines not connected with the grievance which
is causing him the trouble. The stubborn child does not need to have his
will "broken," but rather to have it strengthened. He may be compelled
to do what he does not want to do; but if this is accomplished through
physical force instead of by leading to thoughts connected with the
performance of the act, it may be doubted whether the will has in any
degree been strengthened. Indeed it may rather be depended upon that the
will has been weakened; for an opportunity for self-control, through
which alone the will develops, has been lost. The ultimate remedy for
rebellion often lies in greater freedom at the proper time. This does
not mean that the child should not obey rightful authority promptly and
explicitly, but that just as little external authority as possible
should intervene to take from the child the opportunity for
_self_-compulsion.
THE NORMAL WILL.--The golden mean between these two abnormal types of
will may be called the _normal_ or _balanced_ will. Here there is a
proper ratio between impulsion and inhibition. Ideas are not acted upon
the instant they enter the mind without giving time for a survey of the
field of motives, neither is action "sicklied o'er with the pale cast of
thought" to such an extent that it becomes impossible. The evidence is
all considered and each motive fully weighed. But this once done,
decision follows. No dilatory and obstructive tactics are allowed. The
fleeting impulse is not enough to persuade to action, neither is action
unduly delayed after the decision is made.
5. TRAINING THE WILL
The will is to be trained as we train the other powers of the
mind--through the exercise of its normal function. The function of the
will is to direct or control in the actual affairs of life. Many
well-meaning persons speak of training the will as if we could separate
it from the interests and purposes of our daily living, and in some way
put it through its paces merely for the sake of adding to its general
strength. This view is all wrong. There is, as we have seen, no such
thing as _general_ power of will. Will is always required in specific
acts and emergencies, and it is precisely upon such matters that it must
be exercised if it is to be cultivated.
WILL TO BE TRAINED IN COMMON ROUND OF DUTIES.--What is needed in
developing the will is a deep moral interest in whatever we set out to
do, and a high purpose to do it up to the limit of our powers. Without
this, any artificial exercises, no matter how carefully they are devised
or how heroically they are carried out, cannot but fail to fit us for
the real tests of life; with it, artificial exercises are superfluous.
It matters not so much what our vocation as how it is performed. The
most commonplace human experience is rich in opportunities for the
highest form of expression possible to the will--that of directing us
into right lines of action, and of holding us to our best in the
accomplishment of some dominant purpose.
There is no one set form of exercise which alone will serve to train the
will. The student pushing steadily toward his goal in spite of poverty
and grinding labor; the teacher who, though unappreciated and poorly
paid, yet performs every duty with conscientious thoroughness; the man
who stands firm in the face of temptation; the person whom heredity or
circumstance has handicapped, but who, nevertheless, courageously fights
his battle; the countless men and women everywhere whose names are not
known to fame, but who stand in the hard places, bearing the heat and
the toil with brave, unflinching hearts--these are the ones who are
developing a moral fiber and strength of will which will stand in the
day of stress. Better a thousand times such training as this in the
thick of life's real conflicts than any volitional calisthenics or
priggish self-denials entered into solely for the training of the will!
SCHOOL WORK AND WILL TRAINING.--The work of the school offers as good an
opportunity for training powers of will as of memory or reasoning. On
the side of inhibition there is always the necessity for self-restraint
and control so that the rights of others may not be infringed upon.
Temptations to unfairness or insincerity in lessons and examinations are
always to be met. The social relations of the school necessitate the
development of personal poise and independence.
On the positive side the opportunities for the exercise of will power
are always at hand in the school. Every lesson gives the pupil a chance
to measure his strength and determination against the resistance of the
task. High standards are to be built up, ideals maintained, habits
rendered secure.
The great problem for the teacher in this connection is so to organize
both control and instruction that the largest possible opportunity is
given to pupils for the exercise of their own powers of will in all
school relations.
6. FREEDOM OF THE WILL, OR THE EXTENT OF ITS CONTROL
We have seen in this discussion that will is a mode of control--control
of our thoughts and, through our thoughts, of our actions. Will may be
looked upon, then, as the culmination of the mental life, the highest
form of directive agent within us. Beginning with the direction of the
simplest movements, it goes on until it governs the current of our life
in the pursuit of some distant ideal.
LIMITATIONS OF THE WILL.--Just how far the will can go in its control,
just how far man is a free moral agent, has long been one of the mooted
questions among the philosophers. But some few facts are clear. If the
will can exercise full control over all our acts, it by this very fact
determines our character; and character spells destiny. There is not the
least doubt, however, that the will in thus directing us in the
achievement of a destiny works under two limitations: _First_, every
individual enters upon life with a large stock of _inherited
tendencies_, which go far to shape his interests and aspirations. And
these are important factors in the work of volition. _Second_, we all
have our setting in the midst of a great _material and social
environment_, which is largely beyond our power to modify, and whose
influences are constantly playing upon us and molding us according to
their type.
THESE LIMITATIONS THE CONDITIONS OF FREEDOM.--Yet there is nothing in
this thought to discourage us. For these very limitations have in them
our hope of a larger freedom. Man's heredity, coming to him through ages
of conflict with the forces of nature, with his brother man, and with
himself, has deeply instilled in him the spirit of independence and
self-control. It has trained him to deliberate, to choose, to achieve.
It has developed in him the power _to will_. Likewise man's environment,
in which he must live and work, furnishes the problems which his life
work is to solve, and _out of whose solution will receives its only true
development_.
It is through the action and interaction of these two factors, then,
that man is to work out his destiny. What he _is_, coupled with what he
may _do_, leads him to what he may _become_. Every man possesses in some
degree a spark of divinity, a sovereign individuality, a power of
independent initiative. This is all he needs to make him free--free to
do his best in whatever walk of life he finds himself. If he will but do
this, the doing of it will lead him into a constantly growing freedom,
and he can voice the cry of every earnest heart:
Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul!
As the swift seasons roll!
Leave thy low-vaulted past!
Let each new temple, nobler than the last,
Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast,
Till thou at length art free,
Leaving thine outgrown shell by life's unresting sea!
7. PROBLEMS IN OBSERVATION AND INTROSPECTION
1. Give illustrations from your own experience of the various types of
action mentioned in this discussion. From your own experience of the
last hour, what examples of impulsive action can you give? Would it have
been better in some cases had you stopped to deliberate?
2. Are you easily influenced by prejudice or personal preference in
making decisions? What recent decisions have been thus affected? Can you
classify the various ones of your decisions which you can recall under
the four types mentioned in the text? Under which class does the largest
number fall? Have you a tendency to drift with the crowd? Are you
independent in deciding upon and following out a line of action? What is
the value of advice? Ought advice to do more than to assist in getting
all the evidence on a case before the one who is to decide?
3. Can you judge yourself well enough to tell to which volitional type
you belong? Are you over-impulsive? Are you stubborn? What is the
difference between stubbornness and firmness? Suppose you ask your
instructor, or a friend, to assist you in classifying yourself as to
volitional type. Are you troubled with indecision; that is, do you have
hard work to decide in trivial matters even after you know all the facts
in the case? What is the cause of these states of indecision? The
remedy?
4. Have you a strong power of will? Can you control your attention? Do
you submit easily to temptation? Can you hold yourself up to a high
degree of effort? Can you persevere? Have you ever failed in the
attainment of some cherished ideal because you could not bring yourself
to pay the price in the sacrifice or effort necessary?
5. Consider the class work and examinations of schools that you know.
Does the system of management and control throw responsibility on the
pupils in a way to develop their powers of will?
6. What motives or incentives can be used to encourage pupils to use
self-compulsion to maintain high standards of excellence in their
studies and conduct? Does it pay to be heroic in one's self-control?