The Psychology of Nations: A Contribution to the Philosophy of HistoryPartridge, G. E. (George Everett)
Philosophy
The Psychology of Nations: A Contribution to the Philosophy of History
Partridge, G. E. (George Everett)
Education; History -- Philosophy; War
On the pedagogical side we might expect reasonably to see a deepened
sincerity on the part of all who in any way stand in the position of
teachers. We are dependent upon leaders in a democratic country, and
all leaders in whatever place in society would now, one might hope,
feel a heightened sense of duty, both to understand and to influence
American life, to represent in their own persons and teachings the
highest ideals, and indeed to become truly creative forces in
society. Boutroux says that Germany is a product of an external
phenomenon--_education_. America, we should say, must become more and
more a product of an internal phenomenon--_education_. That is, the
forces that will continue to shape our country must be in the form of
leadership growing out of the best impulses and the true meaning of
our civilization. No forces will make of us something we are not by
nature; our strength must continue to come from within, but it is the
aristocratic spirit, the aristocracy of genius in the fields of
intellect, morality and art that must of course have the fullest
opportunity to influence all our institutions, even the school room.
So to organize our educational system that it shall be thrown wide
open to all new and good influences; so to conduct the school that it
shall be immediately responsive to these influences, is one of the
most urgent needs of the internal life of the nation. This, rather
than the introduction of any new content into the school is now our
chief need. Some of these influences must be personal, belonging to
the present. Some belong to the past. We must make American history,
poetry, oratory, science, art and philosophy serve more completely
than they do now the ideals and the right ambitions of the nation.
This is the way we must both bring the past to fuller realization and
also create new life which shall make amends for the deficiencies of
the past.
_III. Practical Interests_
_The foundation of internationalism, in our view, is the recognition
of the legitimate desires and needs of peoples._ The desires of
peoples when educated should become interests in the performance of
all normal functions of national life. The functions are practical;
they take the form of many commonplace and daily activities. The
recognition of the legitimacy of the desires of nations implies, or at
least naturally leads to, cooeperation in their accomplishment. It is
very probable, therefore, and it appears to be required in any
internationalism that is more than a name, that there shall be in the
future wide cooeperation in the performance of various activities by
international organizations and agreements. If this is to be the order
of the future, new educational efforts will be demanded, and there
must be different methods and different points of view in several
phases of our educational system, for now all education is devised
with reference to an autonomous state of the nation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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