THE ROLE OF SCIENCE IN LIBERAL EDUCATION 493 



contacts with reality. Elementary science teachers are not 

 making philosophers or scientists of their students, but in 

 teaching nature study certain elementary philosophical truths, 

 such as the existence of order and the difference between living 

 and non-living, will arise. In respecting these fundamental 

 philosophical truths in their w^ork, teachers are being good 

 pedagogues — they are introducing their young students to the 

 world of ideas. 



Science in the secondary school has two primary objectives: 

 to expand the general knowledge of the sensible world initiated 

 in elementary school and to develop in context the tools of 

 science, particularly observation and the liberal arts of logic 

 and mathematics. In completing natural history, great empha- 

 sis on logical order provides ample opportunity of forming sharp 

 mental relationships. Moreover, the teacher carefully employs 

 every opportunity for deepening the student's awareness by 

 continually seeking out the philosophical truth revealed be- 

 neath the actual facts. Numerous principles are clarified by 

 the teacher and consistently applied throughout the course. 

 The experiential foundations for a clear comprehension of such 

 concepts as nature, causality and purpose are laid. This con- 

 stant concern for first principles proper to the subject prepares 

 the student for the beginnings of true science. 



At the college level the student is properly prepared to begin 

 the study of science, that is, science in the precise sense sug- 

 gested at the beginning of this article. To develop this intel- 

 lectual habit with its own proper principles and methodology 

 presupposes varied experiences concerning nature, consider- 

 able skill in the liberal arts, and a certain intellectual maturity. 

 As previously mentioned these are the obligations of the pre- 

 college curriculum. The college teacher is expected to guide the 

 student through dialectical argumentation and strict scientific 

 demonstrations to an initial grasp of those fundamental certi- 

 tudes that are the fruit of man's genius in seeking knowledge of 

 the physical world. The student slowly develops a relatively 

 clear understanding of his powers and limitations in the con- 

 tinued search for truth. A comprehensive investigation of the 



