The Mind and Its Education

G >> George Herbert Betts >> The Mind and Its Education

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OBJECTIVE TESTS A FALSE MEASURE OF WILL POWER.--The actual amount of
volition exercised in making a decision cannot be measured by objective
results. The fact that you follow the pathway of duty, while I falter
and finally drift into the byways of pleasure, is not certain evidence
that you have put forth the greater power of will. In the first place,
the allurements which led me astray may have had no charms for you.
Furthermore, you may have so formed the habit of pursuing the pathway of
duty when the two paths opened before you, that your well-trained feet
unerringly led you into the narrow way without a struggle. Of course you
are on safer ground than I, and on ground that we should all seek to
attain. But, nevertheless, I, although I fell when I should have stood,
may have been fighting a battle and manifesting a power of resistance of
which you, under similar temptation, would have been incapable. The only
point from which a conflict of motives can be safely judged is that of
the soul which is engaged in the struggle.

4. VOLITIONAL TYPES

Several fairly well-marked volitional types may be discovered. It is, of
course, to be understood that these types all grade by insensible
degrees into each other, and that extreme types are the exception rather
than the rule.

THE IMPULSIVE TYPE.--The _impulsive_ type of will goes along with a
nervous organism of the hair-trigger kind. The brain is in a state of
highly unstable equilibrium, and a relatively slight current serves to
set off the motor centers. Action follows before there is time for a
counteracting current to intervene. Putting it in mental terms, we act
on an idea which presents itself before an opposing one has opportunity
to enter the mind. Hence _the action is largely or wholly ideo-motor and
but slightly or not at all deliberate_. It is this type of will which
results in the hasty word or deed, or the rash act committed on the
impulse of the moment and repented of at leisure; which compels the
frequent, "I didn't think, or I would not have done it!" The impulsive
person may undoubtedly have credited up to him many kind words and noble
deeds. In addition, he usually carries with him an air of spontaneity
and whole-heartedness which goes far to atone for his faults. The fact
remains, however, that he is too little the master of his acts, that he
is guided too largely by external circumstances or inward caprice. He
lacks balance.

Impulsive action is not to be confused with quick decision and rapid
action. Many of the world's greatest and safest leaders have been noted
for quickness of decision and for rapidity of action in carrying out
their decisions. It must be remembered, however, that these men were
making decisions in fields well known to them. They were specialists in
this line of deliberation. The motives for and against certain lines of
action had often been dwelt upon. All possible contingencies had been
imaged many times over, and a valuation placed upon the different
decisions. The various concepts had long been associated with certain
definite lines of action. Deliberation under such conditions can be
carried on with lightning rapidity, each motive being checked off as
worth so much the instant it presents itself, and action can follow
immediately when attention settles on the proper motive to govern the
decision. This is not impulse, but abbreviated deliberation. These
facts suggest to us that we should think much and carefully over matters
in which we are required to make quick decisions.

Of course the remedy for the over-impulsive type is to cultivate
deliberative action. When the impulse comes to act without
consideration, pause to give the other side of the question an
opportunity to be heard. Check the motor response to ideas that suggest
action until you have reviewed the field to see whether there are
contrary reasons to be taken into account. Form the habit of waiting for
all evidence before deciding. "Think twice" before you act.

THE OBSTRUCTED WILL.--The opposite of the impulsive type of will is the
_obstructed_ or _balky_ will. In this type there is too much inhibition,
or else not enough impulsion. Images which should result in action are
checkmated by opposing images, or do not possess vitality enough as
motives to overcome the dead weight of inertia which clogs mental
action. The person knows well enough what he should do, but he cannot
get started. He "cannot get the consent of his will." It may be the
student whose mind is tormented by thoughts of coming failure in
recitation or examination, but who yet cannot force himself to the
exertion necessary safely to meet the ordeal. It may be the dissolute
man who tortures himself in his sober moments with remorse and the
thought that he was intended for better things, but who, waking from his
meditations, goes on in the same old way. It may be the child undergoing
punishment, who is to be released from bondage as soon as he will
promise to be good, but who cannot bring himself to say the necessary
words. It not only may be, but is, man or woman anywhere who has ideals
which are known to be worthy and noble, but which fail to take hold. It
is anyone who is following a course of action which he knows is beneath
him.

No one can doubt that the moral tragedies, the failures and the
shipwrecks in life come far more from the breaking of the bonds which
should bind right ideals to action than from a failure to perceive the
truth. Men differ far more in their deeds than in their standards of
action.

The remedy for this diseased type of will is much easier to prescribe
than to apply. It is simply to refuse to attend to the contrary thoughts
which are blocking action, and to cultivate and encourage those which
lead to action of the right kind. It is seeking to vitalize our good
impulses and render them effective by acting on them whenever
opportunity offers. Nothing can be accomplished by moodily dwelling on
the disgrace of harboring the obstructing ideas. Thus brooding over them
only encourages them. What we need is to get entirely away from the line
of thought in which we have met our obstruction, and approach the matter
from a different direction. The child who is in a fit of sulks does not
so much need a lecture on the disagreeable habit he is forming as to
have his thoughts led into lines not connected with the grievance which
is causing him the trouble. The stubborn child does not need to have his
will "broken," but rather to have it strengthened. He may be compelled
to do what he does not want to do; but if this is accomplished through
physical force instead of by leading to thoughts connected with the
performance of the act, it may be doubted whether the will has in any
degree been strengthened. Indeed it may rather be depended upon that the
will has been weakened; for an opportunity for self-control, through
which alone the will develops, has been lost. The ultimate remedy for
rebellion often lies in greater freedom at the proper time. This does
not mean that the child should not obey rightful authority promptly and
explicitly, but that just as little external authority as possible
should intervene to take from the child the opportunity for
_self_-compulsion.

THE NORMAL WILL.--The golden mean between these two abnormal types of
will may be called the _normal_ or _balanced_ will. Here there is a
proper ratio between impulsion and inhibition. Ideas are not acted upon
the instant they enter the mind without giving time for a survey of the
field of motives, neither is action "sicklied o'er with the pale cast of
thought" to such an extent that it becomes impossible. The evidence is
all considered and each motive fully weighed. But this once done,
decision follows. No dilatory and obstructive tactics are allowed. The
fleeting impulse is not enough to persuade to action, neither is action
unduly delayed after the decision is made.

5. TRAINING THE WILL

The will is to be trained as we train the other powers of the
mind--through the exercise of its normal function. The function of the
will is to direct or control in the actual affairs of life. Many
well-meaning persons speak of training the will as if we could separate
it from the interests and purposes of our daily living, and in some way
put it through its paces merely for the sake of adding to its general
strength. This view is all wrong. There is, as we have seen, no such
thing as _general_ power of will. Will is always required in specific
acts and emergencies, and it is precisely upon such matters that it must
be exercised if it is to be cultivated.

WILL TO BE TRAINED IN COMMON ROUND OF DUTIES.--What is needed in
developing the will is a deep moral interest in whatever we set out to
do, and a high purpose to do it up to the limit of our powers. Without
this, any artificial exercises, no matter how carefully they are devised
or how heroically they are carried out, cannot but fail to fit us for
the real tests of life; with it, artificial exercises are superfluous.
It matters not so much what our vocation as how it is performed. The
most commonplace human experience is rich in opportunities for the
highest form of expression possible to the will--that of directing us
into right lines of action, and of holding us to our best in the
accomplishment of some dominant purpose.

There is no one set form of exercise which alone will serve to train the
will. The student pushing steadily toward his goal in spite of poverty
and grinding labor; the teacher who, though unappreciated and poorly
paid, yet performs every duty with conscientious thoroughness; the man
who stands firm in the face of temptation; the person whom heredity or
circumstance has handicapped, but who, nevertheless, courageously fights
his battle; the countless men and women everywhere whose names are not
known to fame, but who stand in the hard places, bearing the heat and
the toil with brave, unflinching hearts--these are the ones who are
developing a moral fiber and strength of will which will stand in the
day of stress. Better a thousand times such training as this in the
thick of life's real conflicts than any volitional calisthenics or
priggish self-denials entered into solely for the training of the will!

SCHOOL WORK AND WILL TRAINING.--The work of the school offers as good an
opportunity for training powers of will as of memory or reasoning. On
the side of inhibition there is always the necessity for self-restraint
and control so that the rights of others may not be infringed upon.
Temptations to unfairness or insincerity in lessons and examinations are
always to be met. The social relations of the school necessitate the
development of personal poise and independence.

On the positive side the opportunities for the exercise of will power
are always at hand in the school. Every lesson gives the pupil a chance
to measure his strength and determination against the resistance of the
task. High standards are to be built up, ideals maintained, habits
rendered secure.

The great problem for the teacher in this connection is so to organize
both control and instruction that the largest possible opportunity is
given to pupils for the exercise of their own powers of will in all
school relations.

6. FREEDOM OF THE WILL, OR THE EXTENT OF ITS CONTROL

We have seen in this discussion that will is a mode of control--control
of our thoughts and, through our thoughts, of our actions. Will may be
looked upon, then, as the culmination of the mental life, the highest
form of directive agent within us. Beginning with the direction of the
simplest movements, it goes on until it governs the current of our life
in the pursuit of some distant ideal.

LIMITATIONS OF THE WILL.--Just how far the will can go in its control,
just how far man is a free moral agent, has long been one of the mooted
questions among the philosophers. But some few facts are clear. If the
will can exercise full control over all our acts, it by this very fact
determines our character; and character spells destiny. There is not the
least doubt, however, that the will in thus directing us in the
achievement of a destiny works under two limitations: _First_, every
individual enters upon life with a large stock of _inherited
tendencies_, which go far to shape his interests and aspirations. And
these are important factors in the work of volition. _Second_, we all
have our setting in the midst of a great _material and social
environment_, which is largely beyond our power to modify, and whose
influences are constantly playing upon us and molding us according to
their type.

THESE LIMITATIONS THE CONDITIONS OF FREEDOM.--Yet there is nothing in
this thought to discourage us. For these very limitations have in them
our hope of a larger freedom. Man's heredity, coming to him through ages
of conflict with the forces of nature, with his brother man, and with
himself, has deeply instilled in him the spirit of independence and
self-control. It has trained him to deliberate, to choose, to achieve.
It has developed in him the power _to will_. Likewise man's environment,
in which he must live and work, furnishes the problems which his life
work is to solve, and _out of whose solution will receives its only true
development_.

It is through the action and interaction of these two factors, then,
that man is to work out his destiny. What he _is_, coupled with what he
may _do_, leads him to what he may _become_. Every man possesses in some
degree a spark of divinity, a sovereign individuality, a power of
independent initiative. This is all he needs to make him free--free to
do his best in whatever walk of life he finds himself. If he will but do
this, the doing of it will lead him into a constantly growing freedom,
and he can voice the cry of every earnest heart:

Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul!
As the swift seasons roll!
Leave thy low-vaulted past!
Let each new temple, nobler than the last,
Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast,
Till thou at length art free,
Leaving thine outgrown shell by life's unresting sea!

7. PROBLEMS IN OBSERVATION AND INTROSPECTION

1. Give illustrations from your own experience of the various types of
action mentioned in this discussion. From your own experience of the
last hour, what examples of impulsive action can you give? Would it have
been better in some cases had you stopped to deliberate?

2. Are you easily influenced by prejudice or personal preference in
making decisions? What recent decisions have been thus affected? Can you
classify the various ones of your decisions which you can recall under
the four types mentioned in the text? Under which class does the largest
number fall? Have you a tendency to drift with the crowd? Are you
independent in deciding upon and following out a line of action? What is
the value of advice? Ought advice to do more than to assist in getting
all the evidence on a case before the one who is to decide?

3. Can you judge yourself well enough to tell to which volitional type
you belong? Are you over-impulsive? Are you stubborn? What is the
difference between stubbornness and firmness? Suppose you ask your
instructor, or a friend, to assist you in classifying yourself as to
volitional type. Are you troubled with indecision; that is, do you have
hard work to decide in trivial matters even after you know all the facts
in the case? What is the cause of these states of indecision? The
remedy?

4. Have you a strong power of will? Can you control your attention? Do
you submit easily to temptation? Can you hold yourself up to a high
degree of effort? Can you persevere? Have you ever failed in the
attainment of some cherished ideal because you could not bring yourself
to pay the price in the sacrifice or effort necessary?

5. Consider the class work and examinations of schools that you know.
Does the system of management and control throw responsibility on the
pupils in a way to develop their powers of will?

6. What motives or incentives can be used to encourage pupils to use
self-compulsion to maintain high standards of excellence in their
studies and conduct? Does it pay to be heroic in one's self-control?

CHAPTER XVIII

SELF-EXPRESSION AND DEVELOPMENT

We have already seen that the mind and the body are associated in a
copartnership in which each is an indispensable and active member. We
have seen that the body gets its dignity and worth from its relation
with the mind, and that the mind is dependent on the body for the crude
material of its thought, and also for the carrying out of its mandates
in securing adaptation to our environment. We have seen as a corollary
of these facts that the efficiency of both mind and body is conditioned
by the manner in which each carries out its share of the mutual
activities. Let us see something more of this interrelation.

1. INTER-RELATION OF IMPRESSION AND EXPRESSION

_No impression without corresponding expression_ has become a maxim in
both physiology and psychology. Inner life implies self-expression in
external activities. The stream of impressions pouring in upon us hourly
from our environment must have means of expression if development is to
follow. We cannot be passive recipients, but must be active participants
in the educational process. We must not only be able to _know_ and
_feel_, but to _do_.

[Illustration: FIG. 20]

THE MANY SOURCES OF IMPRESSIONS.--The nature of the impressions which
come to us and how they all lead on toward ultimate expression is shown
in the accompanying diagram (Fig. 20). Our material environment is
thrusting impressions upon us every moment of our life; also, the
material objects with which we deal have become so saturated with social
values that each comes to us with a double significance, and what an
object _means_ often stands for more than what it _is_. From the lives
of people with whom we daily mingle; from the wider circle whose lives
do not immediately touch ours, but who are interpreted to us by the
press, by history and literature; from the social institutions into
which have gone the lives of millions, and of which our lives form a
part, there come to us constantly a flood of impressions whose influence
cannot be measured. So likewise with religious impressions. God is all
about us and within us. He speaks to us from every nook and corner of
nature, and communes with us through the still small voice from within,
if we will but listen. The Bible, religious instruction, and the lives
of good people are other sources of religious impressions constantly
tending to mold our lives. The beautiful in nature, art, and human
conduct constantly appeals to us in aessthetic impressions.

ALL IMPRESSIONS LEAD TOWARD EXPRESSION.--Each of these groups of
impressions may be subdivided and extended into an almost indefinite
number and variety, the different groups meeting and overlapping, it is
true, yet each preserving reasonably distinct characteristics. A common
characteristic of them all, as shown in the diagram, is that they all
point toward expression. The varieties of light, color, form, and
distance which we get through vision are not merely that we may know
these phenomena of nature, but that, knowing them, we may use the
knowledge in making proper responses to our environment. Our power to
know human sympathy and love through our social impressions are not
merely that we may feel these emotions, but that, feeling them, we may
act in response to them.

It is impossible to classify logically in any simple scheme all the
possible forms of expression. The diagram will serve, however, to call
attention to some of the chief modes of bodily expression, and also to
the results of the bodily expressions in the arts and vocations. Here
again the process of subdivision and extension can be carried out
indefinitely. The laugh can be made to tell many different stories.
Crying may express bitter sorrow or uncontrollable joy. Vocal speech may
be carried on in a thousand tongues. Dramatic action may be made to
portray the whole range of human feelings. Plays and games are wide
enough in their scope to satisfy the demands of all ages and every
people. The handicrafts cover so wide a range that the material progress
of civilization can be classed under them, and indeed without their
development the arts and vocations would be impossible. Architecture,
sculpture, painting, music, and literature have a thousand possibilities
both in technique and content. Likewise the modes of society, conduct,
and religion are unlimited in their forms of expression.

LIMITATIONS OF EXPRESSION.--While it is more blessed to give than to
receive, it is somewhat harder in the doing; for more of the self is,
after all, involved in expression than in impression. Expression needs
to be cultivated as an art; for who can express all he thinks, or feels,
or conceives? Who can do his innermost self justice when he attempts to
express it in language, in music, or in marble? The painter answers when
praised for his work, "If you could but see the picture I intended to
paint!" The pupil says, "I know, but I cannot tell." The friend says, "I
wish I could tell you how sorry I am." The actor complains, "If I could
only portray the passion as I feel it, I could bring all the world to my
feet!" The body, being of grosser structure than the mind, must always
lag somewhat behind in expressing the mind's states; yet, so perfect is
the harmony between the two, that with a body well trained to respond to
the mind's needs, comparatively little of the spiritual need be lost in
its expression through the material.

2. THE PLACE OF EXPRESSION IN DEVELOPMENT

Nor are we to think that cultivation of expression results in better
power of expression alone, or that lack of cultivation results only in
decreased power of expression.

INTELLECTUAL VALUE OF EXPRESSION.--There is a distinct mental value in
expression. An idea always assumes new clearness and wider relations
when it is expressed. Michael Angelo, making his plans for the great
cathedral, found his first concept of the structure expanding and
growing more beautiful as he developed his plans. The sculptor,
beginning to model the statue after the image which he has in his mind,
finds the image growing and becoming more expressive and beautiful as
the clay is molded and formed. The writer finds the scope and worth of
his book growing as he proceeds with the writing. The student, beginning
doubtfully on his construction in geometry, finds the truth growing
clearer as he proceeds. The child with a dim and hazy notion of the
meaning of the story in history or literature discovers that the meaning
grows clear as he himself works out its expression in speech, in the
handicrafts, or in dramatic representation.

So we may apply the test to any realm of thought whatever, and the law
holds good: _It is not in its apprehension, but in its expression, that
a truth finally becomes assimilated to our body of usable knowledge._
And this means that in all training of the body through its motor
expression we are to remember that the mind must be behind the act; that
the intellect must guide the hand; that the object is not to make
skillful fingers alone, but to develop clear and intelligent thought as
well.

MORAL VALUE OF EXPRESSION.--Expression also has a distinct moral value.
There are many more people of good intentions than of moral character in
the world. The rugged proverb tells us that the road to hell is paved
with good intentions. And how easy it is to form good resolutions. Who
of us has not, after some moral struggle, said, "I will break the bonds
of this habit: I will enter upon that heroic line of action!" and then,
satisfied for the time with having made the resolution, continued in the
old path, until we were surprised later to find that we had never got
beyond the resolution.

It is not in the moment of the resolve but in the moment when the
resolve is carried out in action that the moral value inheres. To take a
stand on a question of right and wrong means more than to show one's
allegiance to the right--it clears one's own moral vision and gives him
command of himself. Expression is, finally, the only true test for our
morality. Lacking moral expression, we may stand in the class of those
who are merely good, but we can never enter the class of those who are
good for something. One cannot but wonder what would happen if all the
people in the world who are morally right should give expression to
their moral sentiments, not in words alone, but in deeds. Surely the
millennium would speedily come, not only among the nations, but in the
lives of men.

RELIGIOUS VALUE OF EXPRESSION.--True religious experience demands
expression. The older conception of a religious life was to escape from
the world and live a life of communion and contemplation in some
secluded spot, ignoring the world thirsting without. Later religious
teaching, however, recognized the fact that religion cannot consist in
drinking in blessings alone, no matter how ecstatic the feeling which
may accompany the process; that it is not the receiving, but this along
with the giving that enriches the life. To give the cup of cold water,
to visit the widow and the fatherless, to comfort and help the needy and
forlorn--this is not only scriptural but it is psychological. Only as
religious feeling goes out into religious expression, can we have a
normal religious experience.

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