6 HISTORY AND SIGNIFICANCE OF SCIENCE 



idea of natural causation; and once this idea becomes a 

 major factor in human thinking, nature will become for all 

 time the one and only source of authority in explaining 

 phenomena. Even unconsciously, the workman feels the 

 worthlessnessof authoritative knowledge of the older sort, and 

 thus stands with the scientist, who regards the traditional 

 explanations as negations of a rational explanation of the 

 world. 



Recent tendencies in education further illustrate the 

 influence of this changing concept of authority. The ascet- 

 icism and scholasticism of the Middle Ages gave way before 

 the humanism of the Renaissance. The new ideal found its 

 counterpart in the thought of ancient times. The literature 

 of Greece and Rome was ardently studied and read for its 

 humanistic values. Latin, being already the language of the 

 learned, became one vehicle of the new philosophy. Greek, 

 being the only pathway to the elder source of European 

 humanism, assumed a corresponding importance. Thus 

 Latin and Greek became associated with modern human- 

 istic philosophy, a union which has been maintained until 

 the present day. The teaching of the Greek and Latin 

 languages per se assumed a commanding position in the 

 educational scheme of western Europe, and was maintained 

 therein long after the original need for such teaching had 

 disappeared. But the authority of tradition, voiced by the 

 pronouncements of classical scholars, no longer convinces. 

 The public in general, and the leaders of education in partic- 

 ular, have turned from the authority of custom to that of 

 psychology, of pedagogy, and of everyday experience. The 

 claim that humanistic values inhere within the very lan- 

 guages of Greece and Rome must rest upon a more secure 

 foundation than educational tradition, if Greek and Latin 

 continue as vital elements in general education. 



The authority in education from now on must be scientific 

 authority. We are still profoundly ignorant of what consti- 

 tutes scientific procedure within so complex a field. We 



