The Children: Some Educational Problems | Page 7

is through the possession of this power that he alone
of all creatures can be educated; it is the possession of this power which
places him above the rest of creation, and it is in the possession of this
power that the possibility of his greatness, and also of his baseness, lies.
Now, an instinct may be defined as an inborn and inherited system of
means for the attainment of a definite end of such a nature that once the
appropriate external stimulus is applied the system tends to work itself
out in an automatic manner until the end is attained, and independently
of any control exercised by the individual. The working out of such an
action may be accompanied by consciousness, but the power of
memory would only be valuable in so far as the instinct was imperfect,
and in so far as the better attainment of the end was fostered by direct
individual experience. Thus the greater the range of instinct the less the
scope of and the less the need for education--i.e., for acquiring
experiences that will function in rendering more efficient future action;
and conversely, the less the range of instinct the greater the need for
education, for acquiring experiences that may function in the guidance
and direction of future action.
Now, in man the range of instinct is small. In fact, it is questionable
whether in the strict usage of the term he possesses any one perfect
instinct. But to overcome this weakness of his nature he possesses the
power or faculty of reason, and this consists in the ability to self-find,
to self-adapt, and to self-establish systems of means for the attainment
of definite ends. "Man's splendid power of learning through experience
and of applying the contents of his memory to forecast and mould the
future is his peculiar glory. It is this which distinguishes him from and
raises him above all other animals. This it is that makes him man. This
it is that has enabled him to conquer the whole world and to adapt
himself to a million conditions of life."[4] This it is that also makes
possible the education of the child, and raises the hope that by a truer
and deeper conception of the process of education we shall be enabled
to mould the character of the children to worthy ends.

But although man is pre-eminently the rational animal, yet reason only
operates, and can only operate, in so far as it is called into activity by
the need of satisfying some inborn or acquired desire. That is, man
possesses not only reason, but also certain instinctive tendencies to
action. In early life, the instincts of curiosity, of imitation, of emulation,
and the various forms of the play instinct are ever inciting the child to
action, and ever evoking his reason-activity to acquire new experiences
which shall function in the more efficient performance of future action.
At a later stage other instinctive tendencies make their appearance, as
e.g. the parental instinct, and serve as motives for the further
acquisition of new experiences--for the establishment of other systems
of means for the attainment of desired ends. But as the child passes
from infancy to youth and manhood, these instinctive tendencies,
although ever present, alter their character, and acquired ends or
interests become the motives of actions. But these acquired ends or
interests are not something created out of nothing: they are grafted
upon and arise out of the innate and inherited instinctive tendencies of
man's nature. Thus, e.g., the instinct of mere self-preservation may pass
into the desire to attain a certain standard of life, or to maintain a
certain social status; the instinct of curiosity into the desire to find out
and to systematise knowledge for its own sake. But for the realisation
of these instinctive ends, whether in their crude or acquired forms, the
finding and the establishment of systems of means in every case is
necessary, and in order that they may be realised man must acquire the
requisite capacities for action. In the case of the animal the instinct or
impulse to action is inherited, but the capacity for action is also inborn
or innate. Man possesses all the innate ends or interests which the
animal possesses. Moreover, upon these innate ends or interests can be
grafted ends or interests innumerable and varied in character, but in
order that they may be satisfied he must through the evoking into
activity of reason find and adapt means for their attainment. Thus the
general nature of our conscious human life is that throughout we are
striving to attain ends of a more or less explicit nature, and
endeavouring to find out and to establish means for their attainment.
Whether in the performance of some simple, practical act, or in trying