Excerpt from A Study of Memory for Connected Trains of Thought

Any one who, working from the point of view of a student of education, ventures upon the territory of the experimental psychologist is forced to come to some conclusion, for better or for worse, as to whether experimental psychology has anything to give to the intelligent appreciation of education. A decision on this matter will rest largely upon point of view. One's general philosophy will go far toward determining whether one says that the teacher has no real use for the experimentalist or that education must be revolutionized by this comparatively new science. From the historical point of view, it is interesting to note that consistency should keep experimental psychology the willing bond-servant of the science of education. For, if we regard the attempt of Herbart to deal quantitatively with consciousness as furnishing the initial impulse toward the development of experimental study of mental phenomena, then it is plain that in its beginnings this science was created to further an analysis, the great aim of which was a theory of teaching. Herbart was primarily interested in education, and his psychological theories were probably influenced largely by the bias of his educational principles. The experimental psychology that gives us what it declares to be a purely academic analysis of consciousness - an analysis professedly useless to the teacher - such a science is, indeed, an ungrateful child. As a matter of fact, is it not likely that a science of education, if ever there is such a subject, must be based on a psychology that does not fall short of a study of acts of will in such a way as to further practical efficiency in dealing with children and men? May not our generation be justified in saying not only that knowledge is power, but that all significant knowledge must be a source of practical strength?

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.