474 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



simply a human unit that what suits him would not equally 

 well suit Tom Jones. 



Allow me to put the problem of education in a sort of com- 

 bined biological and psychological form. It is impossible to con- 

 ceive of any organism as existing apart from relations to other 

 things that immediately or remotely affect it in other words, its 

 environment, which term will be used to designate the sum total 

 of all those influences of whatsoever kind that are in any way 

 related to or can affect such organism. Very often the most im- 

 portant factors in the environment are other organisms of the 

 same kind, and this applies especially in the case of man. 



In the discussion of educational problems it seems to be of 

 vital importance to realize that we must consider man as a whole. 

 Great mistakes have been made, and are being made, from regard- 

 ing mind and body apart. As a matter of fact, we never know 

 them apart. We have to do with that complex whole we call 

 man. We only know the mind through the body, and speaking 

 generally, so far as we can see, for every psychological manifesta- 

 tion there is a correlated or corresponding physical process. It 

 is of importance not only to concede this in a theoretical way, but 

 to be fully convinced of it ; otherwise our education will labor 

 under those misconceptions, irregularities, and inadequacies which 

 have beset it in the past. 



We get at the mind through the body. To one devoid of all 

 sensation the world is as good as non-existent, and such an indi- 

 vidual would be a mere vegetative organism incapable of any ap- 

 preciable development. Apart from the senses there are probably 

 no avenues to the mind for us. The dependence of the mind on 

 the body in this broad way is then clear. It is not, however, very 

 fully recognized yet that what hinders the development of the 

 body or stands in the way of physical vigor or growth must be in 

 a corresponding degree an impediment to the growth and devel- 

 opment of the mind. Modern psychologists are more and more 

 recognizing the mind as a growth and development ; and undoubt- 

 edly when this great fact and the complete interdependence of 

 mind and body are recognized we will be free from misconcep- 

 tions that have fettered education of all kinds in the past. 



The teacher who realizes this inevitable relation of mind and 

 body can not be indifferent to the hygienic conditions and phys- 

 ical state of his pupils. The condition of the atmosphere of the 

 schoolroom, the temperature, the quality and the direction of 

 rays of light will be as much considered as the three R's, for in 

 fact they are of vastly more importance in the development of the 

 organism, as a whole, with which he is concerned. 



Up to this point I have been endeavoring to show that the 

 educator, in proportion as he has correct and comprehensive views 



