Democracy and Education · Chapter
Mind as Purely Individual explained
This chapter examines the historical and philosophical development that led to the identification of mind with the individual self, creating a dualism between the knowing mind and the world.
What happens
This chapter examines the historical and philosophical development that led to the identification of mind with the individual self, creating a dualism between the knowing mind and the world. It traces this from Greek and medieval views of universal reason, through the rise of nominalism and Protestantism, to the modern emphasis on personal experience and knowledge. This isolation of mind gave rise to epistemological problems about how knowledge is possible, and influenced educational dualisms such as subject matter versus method, and interest versus material.
Themes in this chapter
Critique of Traditional Curriculum
The chapter critiques the dualistic philosophy that splits subject matter from method, and treats interest as purely private, reflecting a broader critique of traditional educational approaches.
Unity of Knowledge and Action
The chapter argues against the separation of mind from the world and knowledge from social interests, implying the need for unity between knowing and doing.
Characters to notice
- Francis Bacon
Cited as an educational reformer who denounced learning acquired on hearsay and emphasized personal experience.
- John Locke
Mentioned alongside Montaigne and Bacon as a reformer asserting that knowledge must grow from personal experience.
Key passages
“The identification of the mind with the individual self and of the latter with a private psychic consciousness is comparatively modern.”
The idea that the mind is the same as the individual self, and that the self is a private inner consciousness, is a relatively recent development.
Highlights the historical contingency of the modern view of mind.
“Given a subject—the knower—and an object—the thing to be known—wholly separate from one another, it is necessary to frame a theory to explain how they get into connection with each other so that valid knowledge may result.”
If the knower and the known are completely separate, we need a theory to explain how they connect to produce valid knowledge.
Describes the epistemological problem created by the dualistic view of mind and world.