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1、Education and DisciplineBetrand RussellAny serious educational theory must consist of two parts： a conception of the ends of life， and a science of psychological dynamics， i.e.， of the laws of mental change. Two men who differ as to the ends of life cannot hope to agree about education. The educatio
2、nal machine， throughout Western civilization， is dominated by two ethical theories： that of Christianity， and that of nationalism. These two， when taken seriously， are incompatible， as is becoming evident in Germany. For my part， I hold that where they differ， Christianity is preferable， but where t
3、hey agree， both are mistaken. The conception which I should substitute as the purpose of education is civilization， a term which， as I meant it， has a definition which is partly individual， partly social. It consists， in the individual， of both intellectual and moral qualities： intellectually， a cer
4、tain minimum of general knowledge， technical skill in ones own profession， and a habit of forming opinions on evidence； morally， of impartiality， kindliness， and a modicum of self-control. I should add a quality which is neither moral nor intellectual， but perhaps physiological： zest and joy of life
5、. In communities， civilization demands respect for law， justice as between man and man， purposes not involving permanent injury to any section of the human race， and intelligent adaptation of means to ends. If these are to be the purpose of education， it is a question for the science of psychology t
6、o consider what can be done towards realizing them， and， in particular， what degree of freedom is likely to prove most effective. On the question of freedom in education there are at present three main schools of thought， deriving partly from differences as to ends and partly from differences in psy
7、chological theory. There are those who say that children should be completely free， however bad they may be； there are those who say they should be completely subject to authority， however good they may be； and there are those who say they should be free， but in spite of freedom they should be alway
8、s good. This last party is larger than it has any logical right to be； Children， like adults， will not all be virtuous if they are all free. The belief that liberty will insure moral perfection is a relic of Rousseauism， and would not survive a study of animals and babies. Those who hold this belief
9、 think that education should have no positive purpose， but should merely offer an environment suitable for spontaneous development. I cannot agree with this school， which seems too individualistic， and unduly indifferent to the importance of knowledge. We live in communities which require cooperatio
10、n， and it would be utopian to expect all the necessary cooperation to result from spontaneous impulse. The existence of a large population on a limited area is only possible owing to science and technique； education must， therefore， hand on the necessary minimum of these. The educators who allow mos
11、t freedom are men whose success depends upon a degree of benevolence， self-control， and trained intelligence which can hardly be generated where every impulse is left unchecked； their merits， therefore， are not likely to be perpetuated if their methods are undiluted. Education， viewed from a social
12、standpoint， must be something more positive than a mere opportunity for growth. It must， of course， provide this， but it must also provide a mental and moral equipment which children cannot acquire entirely for themselves. The arguments in favor of a great degree of freedom in education are derived
13、not from mans natural goodness， but from the effects of authority， both on those who suffer it and on those who exercise it. Those who are subject to authority become either submissive or rebellious， and each attitude has its drawbacks. The submissive lose initiative， both in thought and action； mor
14、eover， the anger generated by the feeling of being thwarted tends to find an outlet in bullying those who are weaker. That is why tyrannical institutions are self-perpetuating： what a man has suffered from his father he inflicts upon his son， and the humiliations which he remembers having endured at
15、 his public school he passes on to natives when he becomes an empire-builder. Thus an unduly authoritative education turns the pupils into timid tyrants， incapable of either claiming or tolerating originality in word or deed. The effect upon the educators is even worse： they tend to become sadistic
16、disciplinarians， glad to inspire terror， and content to inspire nothing else. As these men represent knowledge， the pupils acquire a horror of knowledge， which， among the English upper class， is supposed to be part of human nature， but is really part of the well-grounded hatred of the authoritarian pedagogue. Rebels， on the other hand， though they may be necessary， can hardly be just to what exists. Moreover， there are many ways of rebelling， and only a small minori
