In practice, overemphasis upon formed
material leads to an exaggeration of mathematical qualities,
since intellect finds its profit in physical things from matters
of size, form, and proportion and the relations that flow from
them. But these are known only when their perception is a fruit
of acting upon purposes which require attention to them. The
more human the purpose, or the more it approximates the ends
which appeal in daily experience, the more real the knowledge.
When the purpose of the activity is restricted to ascertaining
these qualities, the resulting knowledge is only technical.
To say that active occupations should be concerned primarily with
wholes is another statement of the same principle. Wholes for
purposes of education are not, however, physical affairs.
Intellectually the existence of a whole depends upon a concern or
interest; it is qualitative, the completeness of appeal made by a
situation. Exaggerated devotion to formation of efficient skill
irrespective of present purpose always shows itself in devising
exercises isolated from a purpose. Laboratory work is made to
consist of tasks of accurate measurement with a view to acquiring
knowledge of the fundamental units of physics, irrespective of
contact with the problems which make these units important; or of
operations designed to afford facility in the manipulation of
experimental apparatus. The technique is acquired independently
of the purposes of discovery and testing which alone give it
meaning.
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