A Practical Enquiry into the Philosophy of Education

The author presents a practical, philosophically grounded guide to teaching that draws on decades of experience to argue for establishing education as a disciplined science. He surveys Nature's methods for cultivating mental powers and the pupil's acquisition of knowledge, analyzing devices such as reiteration, individuation, association (grouping), and classification (analysis). He treats teaching the use of knowledge through common sense and conscience, training for fluent communication, and specific exercises that imitate natural processes. The final sections recommend principles for selecting truths and subjects for schools and families and offer practical steps for introducing these methods into existing elementary instruction.