The Science of Human Nature | Page 9

William Henry Pyle
the development of mind in the
individual. There can certainly be no doubt of the development of mind

in an individual human being. The infant, when born, shows little
manifestation of mentality; but as its body grows, its mind develops,
becoming more and more complex as the individual grows to maturity.
=The World as Dynamic.= The view of the world outlined above, and
held by all scientific men of the present time, may be termed the
dynamic view. Man formerly looked upon the world as static, a world
where everything was fixed and final. Each thing existed in itself and
for itself, and in large measure independent of all other things. We now
look upon things and events as related and dependent. Each thing is
dependent upon others, related to others.
Man not only lives in such a world, but is part of such a world. In this
world of constant and ceaseless change, man is most sensitive and
responsive. Everything may affect him. To all of the constant changes
about him he must adjust himself. He has been produced by this world,
and to live in it he must meet its every condition and change. We must,
then, look upon human nature as something coming out of the past and
as being influenced every moment by the things and forces of the
present. Man is not an independent being, unaffected by everything that
happens; on the contrary, he is affected by all influences that act upon
him. Among these influences may be mentioned weather, climate, food,
and social forces.
The condition of the various organs of a child's body determine, to
some extent, the effect which these various forces have upon it. If a
child's eyes are in any way defective, making vision poor, this
tremendously influences his life. Not only is such a child unable to see
the world as it really is, but the eyestrain resulting from poor vision has
serious effects on the child, producing all sorts of disorders. If a child
cannot hear well or is entirely deaf, many serious consequences follow.
In fact, every condition or characteristic of a child that is in any way
abnormal may lead on to other conditions and characteristics, often of a
serious nature. The growth of adenoids, for example, may lead to a
serious impairment of the mind. Poor vision may affect the whole life
and character of the individual. The influence of a parent, teacher, or
friend may determine the interest of a child and affect his whole life.

The correct view of child life is that the child is affected, in greater or
less degree, by every influence which acts upon him.
=Significance of Development and Causality.= What are the
consequences of the view just set forth? What is the significance of the
facts that have been enumerated? It is of great consequence to our
thinking when we come to recognize fully the idea of causality. We
then fully accept the fact that man's body and mind are part of a causal
and orderly world.
Let us consider, for example, the movement of a muscle. Every such
movement must be caused. The physiologist has discovered what this
cause is. Ordinarily and normally, a muscle contracts only when
stimulated by a nerve current. Tiny nerve fibrils penetrate every muscle,
ending in the muscle fibers. The nerve-impulse passing into the fibers
of the muscles causes them to contract. The nerve stimulus itself has a
cause; it ordinarily arises directly or indirectly from the stimulation of a
sense organ. And the sense organs are stimulated by outside influences,
as was explained previously.
Not only are our movements caused, but our sensations, our ideas, and
our feelings follow upon or are dependent upon some definite bodily
state or condition. The moment that we recognize this we see that our
sensations, ideas, and feelings are subject to control. It is only because
our minds are in a world of causality, and subject to its laws, that
education is possible. We can bring causes to bear upon a child and
change the child. It is possible to build up ideas, ideals, and habits. And
ideas, ideals, and habits constitute the man. Training is possible only
because a child is a being that can be influenced. What any child will
be when grown depends upon what kind of child it was at the
beginning and upon the influences that affect it during its early life
while it is growing into maturity. We need have no doubt about the
outcome of any particular child if we know, with some degree of
completeness, the two sets of factors that determine his life--his
inheritance and the forces that affect this inheritance. We can predict
the future of a child to the extent that we know and understand the
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