November 28, 1913] 



SCIENCE 



759 



to think about his immediate needs. Even 

 in our universities comparatively little in- 

 terest is given to the study of man as he 

 lives, moves and has his being to-day. 



The process of education should prepare 

 students for life and not convert them into 

 receptacles for storing up miscellaneous 

 forms of information. If we succeed in 

 grasping the vital principle concerned in 

 this distinction, we see that the discussion 

 of such questions as whether science or the 

 humanities have the greater educational 

 value are as absurd and futile as Don 

 Quixote's attacks upon the windmills. The 

 problems of ' ' living ' ' can not be expressed 

 in pedagogical phraseology. An intelligent 

 discussion of the activities of living beings 

 and the methods to be used in directing 

 them is only possible in terms of biology. 



Education or, as it has often been defined, 

 the intelligent direction of human activities, 

 is a process, the successful adaptation of 

 which to human needs should be measured 

 by the effects on the entire life of the indi- 

 vidual, and not merely by results observed 

 during the very restricted period beginning 

 with the entrance into school and ending 

 upon graduation from college. 



When judged from this standpoint, edu- 

 cation is the intelligent assistance given to 

 an individual to estimate his own capacity 

 to adjust life at the level within which he 

 may live happily and successfully. 



As a corollary to these premises, it be- 

 comes obvious that those deserving the title 

 of educators should have some knowledge of 

 the fundamental characteristics of living 

 beings. Man, as we all know, is an exceed- 

 ingly complex organism, made up of many 

 different parts or organs adapted for special 

 vital functions. The harmonious interaction 

 of all these organs, and the contact of the 

 individual with his environment, are estab- 

 lished and maintained by the sense-organs, 

 as well as the brain and nervous system. 



Interference with the function of a sense 

 organ, the internal viscera, or the brain 

 and nervous system, causes an imperfect 

 adjustment of the individual's life and a 

 condition called disease is the result. 



The brain and nervous system are impor- 

 tant parts in the mechanism of adjustment, 

 but the trends given to our activities are 

 largely determined by other organs. The 

 distinctive mental qualities of men and wo- 

 men, as reflected in the personality, are 

 therefore not only due to differences in the 

 brain and nervous system, but depend upon 

 the influence exerted upon the processes of 

 adjustment by internal organs. This fact 

 has recently received striking experimental 

 confirmation. "Without entering further 

 into the discussion of this interesting ques- 

 tion, we merely wish to emphasize the neces- 

 sity of considering all questions relating to 

 the education of the personality from the 

 broad biological standpoint. The person- 

 ality represents the focus of all our activ- 

 ities and therefore if we desire to study its 

 genesis and to direct its development we 

 should not restrict our view of education to 

 a psychologic basis. It is one task, and a 

 very important one, to attempt to analyze 

 mental traits, but it is quite another to 

 determine whether specific personal char- 

 acteristics are not due to excessive secretion 

 of the thyroid gland, a dilated heart, ade- 

 noids, defective vision, et cetera. The edu- 

 cator should be quick to avail himself of 

 everjr advance made in psychology, but 

 these facts must be supplemented by a still 

 broader knowledge of living beings. 



The biological conception of education 

 simplifies nomenclature. We have only two 

 conditions to consider: first, that of rela- 

 tively perfect adjustment of the individual,, 

 or health, and defective adaptation, or dis- 

 ease. Incidentally this has a great advan- 

 tage, as the word insanity at once drops out 

 of use, and the problem of "mental defi- 



