The Salvaging of CivilizationWells, H. G. (Herbert George)
Philosophy
The Salvaging of Civilization
Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)
Civilization, Modern -- 20th century; Education
Now I will further assume that as yet the community has little or no
control over the raw product, over the life, that is to say, that comes
into it. I admit that from at least the time of Plato onward the
possibility has been discussed of _breeding_ human beings as we do
horses and dogs. There is an enormous amount of what is called eugenic
literature and discussion to-day. But I will set all that sort of thing
aside from our present discussion because I do not think anything of the
kind is practicable at the present time.
Quite apart from any other considerations, one has to remember one
entire difference between the possible breeding of human beings and the
actual breeding of dogs and horses. We breed dogs and horses for
uniformity, for certain very limited specified _points_--speed, scent
and the like. But human beings we should have to breed for variety: we
cannot specify any particular _points_ we want. We want statesmen and
poets and musicians and philosophers and swift men and strong men and
delicate men and brave men. The qualities of one would be the weaknesses
of another.
It is really a false analogy, that between the breeding of men and the
breeding of horses and dogs. In the case of human beings we want much
more subtle and delicate combinations of qualities. For any practical
purposes we do not know what we want nor do we know how to get it. So
let us rule that theme out of our present discussion altogether.
And I also propose to rule out another set of topics from this
discussion--simply because if we don't do so we shall have more matter
than we can handle conveniently in the time at our disposal. I propose
to leave out all questions of health and physical welfare. There is, as
you know, a vast literature now in existence, concerned with the health
and welfare of children before and after birth, concerned with infantile
life, with social conditions and social work directed to the production
of a vigorous population. I am going to assume here that all that sort
of thing is seen to--that it is all right, that somebody is doing that,
that we need not trouble for the present about any of those things.
This leaves us with the mental life only of our community and its
individuals to consider. On that I propose to concentrate this
discussion.
Now the human mind in its opening stages in a civilized community passes
through a process which may best be named as _schooling_. And under
schooling I would include not only the sort of things that we do to a
prospective citizen in the school and the infant school but also
anything in the nature of a school-like lesson that is done by the
mother or nurse or tutor at home, or by playmates and companions
anywhere. Out of this schooling arises the general mental life. It is
the structural ground-stuff of all education and thought.
Now what is this _schooling_ to do--what is it doing to the new human
being?
Let us recall what our own schooling was.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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