Freedom in Science and Teaching. by Ernst Haeckel (my reading book txt) đź“•
I make these remarks simply in the interests of fair play. Far be it from me to suggest that it is desirable that the inculcation of the doctrine of evolution should be made a prominent feature of general education. I agree with Professor Virchow so far, but for very different reasons. It is not that I think the evidence of that doctrine insufficient, but that I doubt whether it is the business of a teacher to plunge the young mind into difficult problems concerning the origin of the existing condition of things. I am disposed to think that the brief period of school-life would be better spent in obtaining an acquaintance with nature, as it is; in fact, in laying a firm foundation for the further knowledge Which is needed for the critical examination of the dogmas, whether scientific or anti-scientific, which are presented to the adult mind. At present, educati
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While we cannot but earnestly lament Virchow's inimical attitude in this great struggle for truth, we must not overlook the effects of his well-founded authority in a yet wider sphere. For instance, the hostile attitude which the greater part of the Berlin press persistently maintains towards the doctrine of development (particularly the Liberal "National-Zeitung") is to be referred to the influence of his authority. But much as this reactionary vein, in this and in other intelligent circles at Berlin, must be regretted on the one hand, on the other we must observe that by this evil we have been preserved from a far greater one. This greater evil—the greatest, in fact, which German science could have to encounter—would be the monopoly of knowledge at Berlin; a Centralisation of Science. The injurious fruits of this system of centralisation in France, for instance, the continual deterioration of French science through the Parisian "Monopoly of Knowledge," and its steady decline during half a century from the sublimest heights—these are all well known. From such a centralisation of German science—which would be especially dangerous if it occurred in the capital, Berlin—we may hope to be preserved; in the first place by the manifold differences and the many-sided individuality of the German national spirit, the much-abused German provincialism (Particularismus). While these provincial modes of thought can never have any permanent political value, nor be productive of a desirable form of government, it is beyond a doubt that their outcome has been fruitful and happy for German science. For it owes its splendid pre-eminence over that of other countries precisely to the many centres of culture which were offered by those numerous petty capitals of the minor German States which strove to outdo each other in eager emulation. It is to be hoped that this happy decentralisation of science in our politically united fatherland may continue to subsist!
And next to this centrifugal tendency of our German national mind nothing will so greatly contribute to it as a vigorous opposition to the free advance of science, such as is just now declaring itself in the metropolis. For by just so much as Berlin is dragged back by it in the mighty onward stream of free intellectual movement, by so much will it see itself outstripped by the other seats of culture in Germany, which follow the stream with enthusiasm, or at least without resistance. If Emil du Bois-Reymond raises the cry of "Ignorabimus," and Rudolf Virchow his still more audacious one of "Restringamur," as the watchwords of science, then, from Jena, let the shout be raised and echoed from a hundred other universities—"Impavidi progrediamur!"
THE END. WORKS OF PROFESSOR ERNST HAECKEL.FREEDOM IN SCIENCE AND TEACHING. From the German of Ernst Haeckel. With a Prefatory Note by T. H. Huxley, F.R.S. 1 vol., 12mo.
THE EVOLUTION OF MAN. A Popular Exposition of the Principal Points of Human Ontogeny and Phylogeny. From the German of Ernst Haeckel, Professor in the University of Jena, author of "The History of Creation," etc. With numerous Illustrations. In two vols., 12mo. Cloth. Price, $5.00.
"In this excellent translation of Professor Haeckel's work, the English reader has access to the latest doctrines of the Continental school of evolution, in its application to the history of man. It is in Germany, beyond any other European country, that the impulse given by Darwin twenty years ago to the theory of evolution has influenced the whole tenor of philosophical opinion. There may be, and are, differences in the degree to which the doctrine may be held capable of extension into the domain of mind and morals; but there is no denying, in scientific circles at least, that as regards the physical history of organic nature much has been done toward making good a continuous scheme of being."
THE HISTORY OF CREATION; or, the Development of the Earth and its Inhabitants by the Action of Natural Causes. A Popular Exposition of the Doctrine of Evolution in general, and of that of Darwin, Goethe, and Lamarck in particular. From the German of Ernst Haeckel, Professor in the University of Jena. The translation revised by Professor E. Ray Lankester, M.A., F.R.S., Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford. Illustrated with Lithographic Plates. In 2 vols., 12mo. Cloth, $5.00.
WORKS OF THOMAS H. HUXLEY, LL. D., F.R.S. MAN'S PLACE IN NATURE. 1 vol., 12mo. Cloth, $1.25. LAY SERMONS, ADDRESSES, AND REVIEWS. 1 vol., 12mo. Cloth, $1.75. ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES. 1 vol., 12mo. Cloth, $1.00. CRITIQUES AND ADDRESSES. 12mo. Cloth, $1.50. MORE CRITICISMS ON DARWIN, AND ADMINISTRATIVE NIHILISM. 1 vol., 12mo. Limp cloth, 50 cents. AMERICAN ADDRESSES; with a Lecture on the Study of Biology. 12mo. Cloth, $1.25. A MANUAL OF THE ANATOMY OF VERTEBRATED ANIMALS. Illustrated. 1 vol., 12mo. Cloth, $2.50. PHYSIOGRAPHY: an Introduction to the Study of Nature. With Illustrations and Colored Plates. 12mo. Cloth, $2.50. A MANUAL OF THE ANATOMY OF INVERTEBRATED ANIMALS. Illustrations and Colored Plates. 12mo. Cloth, $2.50. ELEMENTS OF PHYSIOLOGY AND HYGIENE. By T. H. Huxley and W. J. Youmans. 1 vol., 12mo. $1.50. RECENT EDUCATIONAL WORKS. Principles and Practice of Teaching. By JAMES JOHONNOT."Experience is beginning to show that teaching, like every other department of human thought and activity, must change with the changing conditions of society, or it will fall in the rear of civilization, and become an obstacle to improvement.... In this volume an endeavor has been made to examine education from the standpoint of modern thought, and to contribute something to the solution of the problems that are forcing themselves upon the attention of educators. To these ends, a concise statement of the well-settled principles of psychology has been made, and a connected view of the interdependence of the sciences given, to serve as a guide to methods of instruction, and to determine the subject-matter best adapted to each stage of development. The systems of several of the great educational reformers have been analyzed, with a view to ascertain precisely what each has contributed to the science of teaching, and how far their ideas conform to psychological laws; and an endeavor has been made to combine the principles derived from both experience and philosophy into one coherent system."
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WORDS, and how to put them together. By Harlan H. Ballard, Principal of Lenox High-School, Lenox, Mass. 18mo. Cloth. Price, 40 cents.
GENERAL HISTORY, from b. c. 800 to a. d. 1876. Outlined in Diagrams and Tables; with Index and Genealogies. For General Reference, and for Schools and Colleges. By Samuel Willard, A. M., M. D., Professor of History in Chicago High-School. 8vo. Cloth. Price, $2.00.
HARKNESS'S PREPARATORY COURSE IN LATIN PROSE AUTHORS, comprising four books of Cæsar's Gallic War, Sallust's Catiline, and eight Orations of Cicero. With Notes, Illustrations, a Map of Gaul, and a Special Dictionary. 12mo. Cloth. Price, $1.75.
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New Volume of "The International Scientific Series." EDUCATION AS A SCIENCE."In the present work I have surveyed the Teaching Art, as far as possible, from a scientific point of view; which means, among other things, that the maxims of ordinary experience are tested and amended by bringing them under the best ascertained laws of the mind."—From Preface.
"Dr. Bain's renovated curriculum is certainly extensive enough, even if it omits Greek and Latin. According to this, higher education should embrace—first, science; second, the humanities, including history and the social science, and some portions of the universal literature; and, third, English composition and literature."—New York Evening Express.
"The work should become a text-book for teachers, not to be followed servilely or thoughtlessly, but used for its suggestiveness."—Boston Gazette.
"Professor Bain is not a novice in this field. His work is admirable in many respects for teacher, parent, and pupil."—Philadelphia North American.
"A work of great value to all teachers who study it intelligently."—Boston Advertiser.
"At once speculative and practical, entering largely into the philosophy of teaching, and manfully handling facts."—Philadelphia Press.
PRIMERS IN SCIENCE, HISTORY and LITERATURE.The object of these primers is to convey information in such a manner as to make it both intelligible and interesting to very young pupils, and so to discipline their minds as to incline them to more systematic after-studies. They are not only an aid to the pupil, but to the teacher, lightening the task of each by an agreeable, easy, and natural method of instruction. In the Science Series some simple experiments have been devised, leading up to the chief truths of each science. By this means the pupil's interest is excited, and the memory is impressed so as to retain without difficulty the facts brought under observation. The woodcuts which illustrate these primers serve the same purpose, embellishing and explaining the text at the same time.
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