74 The Concept of Method 



(3) The moment I deliberately shut my eyes to part of the situ- 

 ation, the moment I set bounds to my vision by any creed which 

 narrows me down to the single aspect A, that moment I cease 

 to be free, but am constrained by the laws of the situation, by 

 the rule which not only tells me what to do in that particular situ- 

 ation, but which makes me close my eyes to the richness and 

 variety of my experience and say that it consists of only this 

 paltry aspect "A " which can be confined within the narrow limits 

 of a rule of conduct or a maxim of the most efficient reaction. 



To sum up: our experience continually presents for our solu- 

 tion rather complicated problematic situations. By analogy we 

 seek to solve the problem by the application of some rule. Such 

 a procedure has the obvious advantages of being simple, safe, 

 and speedy. But its simplicity is gained only through the wilful 

 neglect of the difficulties, and its safety is only hypothetical. The 

 disadvantages of any such short and swift method are: (i) It 

 often emphasises the unessential element in a complex situation 

 and overlooks another factor that is really determinant; (2) it 

 creates an artificially simple situation to which it is applicable, 

 by the deliberate rejection of certain actually existing elements; 

 and (3) it limits my freedom and makes me the slave of a rule 

 and the second determined factor in the solution of a situation. 



It would seem, therefore, that if the problematic exj>eriences 

 which I have to solve are to have any educational value their 

 solution is to be sought in some other w^ay. If the solution can- 

 not be found in the materials or elements in the situation, may it 

 not be found in the other factor — the personality of the indi- 

 vidual who has the experience? If it is not a mechanical matter 

 of static elements, may not a clue be found in the processes of 

 personaUty? May it not be a principle of actiz-ity that we are 

 really in search of, when we try to solve a problematic situation? 



The search for standards is universal. It is one of the com- 

 mon needs of our common life, however unconsciously it may lie 

 hidden beneath the variations of daily experience. The need of 

 food, shelter, and clothing which impels much of our activity that 

 is physical is paralleled in the ethical sphere by the search for 

 standards, which may spring out of the physical and which cer- 

 tainly react upon the material of our common experience. 



This impulse to discover standards is of great significance for 

 education. Its appearance marks the time when man becomes 



