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Principal Sr Lecturer
RUNNING through most of the educational literature today one finds a dominant
thread. The importance of this fact is for life as well as for education. The central
theme of this thread is expressed in such terms as “continuous progress,” “the
perfectibility of mankind,” and “perpetual betterment through scientific advances.”
The underlying philosophy of this outlook is signified by the term “naturalism .As
a philosophy of life (perhaps the oldest one) it maintains that nature is the only
reality worthy of the serious consideration of man, and that man himself is the apex
of this reality..
Naturalism is a concept that firmly believes that ultimate reality lies in the nature
of the matter. Matter is considered to be supreme and mind is the functioning of
the brain that is made up of matter. The whole universe is governed by laws of
nature and they are changeable. It’s through our sense that we are able to get the
real knowledge. The senses works like real gateways of knowledge and exploration
is he method that helps in studying nature
The meaning of the name naturalism is strongly implied in the word itself. It is the
view point which regards the world of nature as the all in all of realityNaturalism,
commonly known as materialism, is a philosophical paradigm whereby
everything can be explained in terms of natural causes. Physical matter is the only
reality -- everything can be explained in terms of matter and physical phenomena.
Naturalism, by definition, excludes any Supernatural Agent or activity. Thus,
naturalism is atheism. Naturalism's exclusion of God necessitates moral
relativism. Philosophers agree, without God there is no universe
,“Naturalism is the doctrine which separates nature from God, subordinates spirit
to matter and sets up unchangeable laws as supreme”.According to this law, nature
is supreme, all answers should be sought in nature and it alone can solve all the
philosophical problems.
Naturalism has strong belief in religious truth from nature: a belief that all
religious truth is derived from nature and natural causes, and not from revelation.
Ancient period
Naturalism appears to have originated in early Greek philosophy. The
earliest presocratic philosophers, such as Thales, Anaxagoras or most
especially Democritus, were labeled by their peers and successors "the physikoi"
physikos, meaning "natural philosopher," borrowing on the word physis, meaning
"nature") because they sought to explain everything by reference to natural causes
alone, often distinctly excluding any role for gods, spirits or magic in the creation
or operation of the world..
Thales was born at Miletus about the year 640 B.C He was a mathematician,
astronomer, and businessman. , during the early part of the sixth century B.C.,
observing water to be such a large constituent of many material and living forms,
decided upon it as the one single substance common to all things "The principle
of all things is water; all comes from water, and to water all returns."For
Thales, the principle of things is water, or moisture, which should not be
considered exclusively in a materialistic and empirical sense. Indeed it is
considered that which has neither beginning nor end - an active, living, divine
force. It seems that Thales was induced to proffer water as the first principle by the
observation that all living things are sustained by moisture and perish without it.
. Anaximander and Anaximander, who lived in the same century, formed, together
with Thales, the Milesian school Anaximander was born at Miletus about the year
611 B.C.. Anaximander was probably a disciple of Thales According to him"The
principle of all things is infinite atmosphere, which has a perpetual vitality of
its own, produces all things, and governs all things."For Anaximander, the first
principle of all things is the "indeterminate" - apeiron..
The first animals were fish, which sprang from the original humidity of the earth.
Fish came to shore assumed another form and thus gave origin to the various
species of animals. Man thus traces his origin from the animals. Because of this,
Anaximander has come to be considered the first evolutionist philosopher.
. Anaximenes
Anaximenes was born toward the end of the sixth century B.C He was probably a
disciple of Anaximander.According to Anaximenes the first principle from
which everything is generated is air. Air, through the two opposite processes of
condensation and rarefaction, which are due to heat and cold, has generated fire,
wind, clouds, water, heaven and earth.
But the ancient roots of naturalism have much fuller body in four other men
who have been called atomists, only two of whom were contemporaries.
Leucippus and Democritus,. Epicurus (341-270 b.c.), more than a century later,
whose carrier was largely subsequent to Aristotle’s was devoted to the ideas of
Democritus. And Lucretius (96-55 b.c.), though not even a Greek and born almost
two and one half centuries after Epicurus, was a great admirer of Epicurus. All
four are called atomists because they conceived of reality as fundamentally a
matter of atoms moving in space.
Leucippus and Democritus
Leucippus and Democritus explained the world in a commonsense reeducation of
Nature two simple things: empty space and atoms. They assumed that there is and
can be such a thing as empty space, a vacuum or void containing nothing.. This
empty space they considered to be the same as nothing, nonexistence, or
nonbeing. About the substance filling empty space, giving us all the things
making up the world, they reasoned that it must be constituted by small
indivisible units piled one upon another. These hypothetical units they called
atomsLittle was said about empty space, nor could there be; it was a void in
which atoms could move. The atoms, however, were considered to be of an
infinite variety of sizes, shapes, and weights. Everything in Nature as we now
behold it is the result of atoms moving through space. When the atoms come
together in clusters, things come into being; when they move apart, objects
dissolve and fall into nonexistence. Even mind and soul are made up of atoms,
evolving and dissolving in the same manner. But mind and soul are made of fine,
smooth atoms which are perfectly round, similar to the atoms of which fire was
supposedly composed. Mind and soul, like fire, have great mobility; and their
atoms therefore must be very active.
Thomas Hobbes
The first book of Émile describes the period from birth to learning to speak.
The most important thing for the healthy and natural development of the child at
this age is that he learn to use his physical powers, especially the sense organs.
The teacher must pay special attention to distinguishing between the real needs of
the child and his whims and fancies. The second book covers the time from the
child’s learning to speak to the age of 12. Games and other forms of amusement
should be allowed at this age, and the child should by no means be overtaxed by
scholarly instruction at too early an age. The child Émile is to learn through
experience, not through words; he is to bow not to the commands of man but to
necessities. The third book is devoted to the ages from 12 to 15. This is the time
of learning, not from books of course but from the “book of the world.” Émile
must gain knowledge in concrete situations provided by his tutor. He learns a
trade, among other things. He studies science, not by receiving instruction in its
facts but by making the instruments necessary to solve scientific problems of a
practical sort. Not until the age of 15, described in the fourth book, does Émile
study the history of man and social experience and thus encounter the world of
morals and conscience. During this stage Émile is on the threshold of social
maturity and the “age of reason.” Finally, he marries and, his education over, tells
his tutor that the only chains he knows are those of necessity and that he will thus
be free anywhere on earth.
Francis Bacon
According to Bacon, man would be able to explain all the processes in nature if
he could acquire full insight into the hidden structure and the secret workings of
matter. Bacon's conception of structures in nature, functioning according to its
own working method, concentrates on the question of how natural order is
produced, namely by the interplay of matter and motion. In De Principiis atque
Originibus, his materialistic stance with regard to his conception of natural law
becomes evident. The Summary Law of Nature is a virtus (matter-cum-motion) or
power in accordance with matter theory, or “the force implanted by God in these
first particles, form the multiplication thereof of all the variety of things proceeds
and is made up” . Similarly, in De Sapientia Veterum he attributes to this force an
“appetite or instinct of primal matter; or to speak more plainly, the natural motion
of the atom; which is indeed the original and unique force that constitutes and
fashions all things out of matter” . Suffice it to say here that Bacon, who did not
reject mathematics in science, was influenced by the early mathematical version
of chemistry developed in the 16th century, so that the term “instinct” must be seen
as a keyword for his theory of nature Bacon's theory of active or even vivid force
in matter accounts for what he calls Cupid in De Principiis atque Originibus .
Bacon's ideas concerning the quid facti of reality presuppose the distinction
“between understanding how things are made up and of what they consist, …. and
by what force and in what manner they come together, and how they are
transformed” . This is the point in his work where it becomes obvious that he tries
to develop an explanatory pattern in which his theory of matter, and thus his
atomism, are related to his cosmology, magic, and alchemy.
METAPHYSICAL POSITION
Concept of God
Many naturalists do not use the term God , but surprisingly there are Naturalists
who talk about God ,and although they do not advance classical arguments for His
existence they go on to give some definition of His nature.
According toWiesman, the renowned Naturalist God is within Nature .He is not
all nature nor more than nature .He is that particular structure of nature in nature
which is sufficiently limited to be described as making possible the realization of
value and as the foundation of all values
God is that process within Nature which is a kind of open door to all who would
grow in richness of life and at the same time God is the stable ground in Nature
which sustains and constitute the values by which life is enriched ,Because of
this,God, the structure of value itself,is the greatest of all values, the most worthy
in human experience to which man must adjust if he is to grow in the possession
and enjoyment of value.
Bertrand Russell states the position of naturalism regarding man’s origin and
nature quite categorically when he says that “man has developed out of the animals
and there is no serious gap between him and the amoeba,” and that “ and that
“from the protozoa to man there is nowhere a very wide gap either in structure or
in behavior. From this fact it is a highly probable inference that there is also
nowhere a very wide mental gap.”
Two important aspects of the query about man are whether he has a soul and
whether he is good or bad. For Naturalists they are not much interested in the soul
of man and his moral conditions . According to Naturalism ,man is a child of
nature; yet, nevertheless, he is a most significant child .For in the evolutionary
processes that have been at work in the universe so far, man is on the very crest of
the wave. He has capacities and has achieved heights common to no other child of
Nature
Concept of Universe
The naturalist rejected the role that intellect or reason play in the knowing process
and put forth the claim that the only valid from of knowing process and put forth
the claim that he only valid form of knowledge is that derived from experience. For
the early naturalists, “experience” chiefly meant that mode of acquiring knowledge
based on direct contact of the organism with the physical world thought the senses.
The more sophisticated naturalists included the refined modes of knowing used by
the empirical sciences. Both, however, imply a denial of reason as a source of
knowledge. In practice, both types of experience are evident in naturalistic
educational theory.
. THE LOGIC OF NATURLISM
There are tow general observations to be made concerning the logic of naturalism
which will help to describe the setting for its more specific discussion. The first is
that, most generally considered, formal deductive logic such as was mentioned
briefly in the introduction has a minor place in the methods of logic approved by
naturalism.
The second observation is that is great variation in the methods of logic employed
by naturalists. The logic of the earlier and more naïve naturalism is the simple
material logic of induction. In modern naturalism, if the epistemology is realistic,
greater place is given to deductive logic because of the confidence placed in the
independence of relations by realists.
Naturalism believes that “A refined moral life is just as much a work of Nature as
much a work of Nature as is a coarse and vulgar immortality.Nature is versatile.
Thes experience is no doubt a valid one. You are being sustained in living a good
life. For it is in harmony with Nature ,when it is inclusively , to do good and avoid
evil”
To naturalists, values arise from the human beings' interaction with the
environment .Instincts. drives and impulses need to be expressed rather than
repressed. According to them, there is no absolute good or evil in the world.
Values of life are created by the human needs
The first principle has to do with the general character of values. It is that Nature is
the kind of order that just simply possesses values. According to naturalism, the
values which people commonly enjoy, as well as others yet to be possessed, are
resident in Nature; they do not transcend NatureThe second principle has to do
with the way in which the most desirable values are to be realized, according to
naturalism. This principle is that the way in which an individual can get the most
value out of life is to harmonize his life as closely as possible with Nature. 1.
Ethical Value
Ethics of naturalism is hedonistic, as long as this characterization is accompanied
by the caution that in the conscious though at least of many naturalists the highest
good is the most highly refined and abiding pleasure.
we may not make it such a supreme value that we will sacrifice all other possible
values for it. The important thing to note about this highest moral good, first of all,
is a thing to be enjoyed; it is some thing, more on the feeling side of experience,
which the person who possesses it undergoes and enjoys as contentment or
satisfaction. To a person so framing his conception of moral values, the pleasure
ethics of naturalism may seem weak and selfish, because private enjoyment, even
though it may be in no way contrary to convention, is placed prior to all other
considerations.
This may raise questions about the evil which is the counterpart of this highest
good.. Evil is a fact of Nature. There just is evil in the cosmos, in the same way
that there simply is good in it.The moral accidents of Nature have commonly been
given the name physical evil. They are many and well known: earthquake, famine,
hurricane, disease, pestilence, etc. Clearly, these are evils of Nature; man has
nothing to do with producing them. There are also evils, more clearly moral, which
men inflict on one another. War with its inflicted death and destruction is a notable
example. .
Aesthetic Value
The principles enunciated above regarding the ethical values of naturalism hold
also for aesthetic values. They, too, are rooted in nature and do not depend on any
source outside nature for their validation. Nature itself provides the criterion for
beauty there is no need to call upon universal principles such as unity and
proportion to judge beauty. A landscape is beautiful simply because it is nature. A
painting is beautiful because it reflects nature, not because it elevates man above
nature.
For naturalists, as could be surmised, aesthetic experience and the values it yields
are both purely natural in character and do not involve any spiritual or supernatural
factors. First of all, according to naturalism, the subject who is engaged by
aesthetic experience is a child of Nature. Man, the subject who has aesthetic
experiences, is a sentient organism developed by Nature, which is capable of
centering his meanings in such a way as to experience aesthetic values. These
values, therefore, do not transcend Nature; they are events in the experience of this
highly developed organism which is the result alone of evolutionary processes at
work in Nature.
There is also a minor sense in which aesthetic values are natural. This is that they
are not superior values which only a few select people are capable of enjoying.
They are values which touch areas where we all live; they are natural because they
are “native in the ordinary experience of all men.”
. Religious value
. The chief religious value of naturalism is that aspect of Nature which makes it
possible to realize values and which sustains values which are worth-while. Since
all other possible values stem from this element in Nature, it is the most wrathful
object that there is an the greatest value above all others. The most significant life
that can be lived is the life which is committed to the achieving of values in one’s
own life and in the world. So that the prime imperative of a naturalistic religion is
that its adherents ally themselves with the value-realizing force in Nature and help
to bring into existence values which are not actual in the present.
4. Social Value
Rousseau’s naturalism rooted man in Nature rather than society. So much did he
regard man as a child of Nature, as over against society, that he proposed in his
Emile to keep Emile away from society until adolescences. In his Social Contract
he reveals how the problem of social organization is complicated by the
importance of the freedom of man. Individual man, he contended, is not a man
unless he is free; if he is in bondage, he is less than a man. Yet unbridled freedom
is neither in harmony with his own welfare not the welfare of society. Evidently
some social organization is needed, but one which preserves for man his freedom..
It would seem that for naturalism social values are synthetic values which result
from agreements in which individual men bind themselves together. They are
secondary goods, not so much preferred as individual goods, which result
indirectly as a consequence of the desire to avoid the grater evils which accompany
anarchy. They are not organic values which are determined in part by the very
nature of society and which would never be possessed by individual men
separately, even if they did not need to be saved from conflict and chaos by some
kind of social organization
FORMS OF NATURALISM
Absolute Methodical Naturalism is the view that it is in some sense impossible
for any empirical method to discover supernatural facts, even if there are some.
[This is compatible with (but does not entail) the view that something other than
empirical methods might be able to discover supernatural facts.]
Contingent Methodical Naturalism entails the belief that, judging from past
experience, empirical methods are far more likely to uncover natural facts than
supernatural ones. It is generally an ill-advised waste of resources to pursue
supernatural hypotheses, but it would not be impossible to confirm them
empirically if any were true.
Naturalism in Education
THERE is not a great wealth of literature dealing specifically with naturalism in
education, even though naturalism is still commonly practiced in education
2. Education should be pleasurable; for children have a good time when they are
doing things which the present development of their physical and mental
equipment makes them ready to do. This readiness for specific kinds of activity is
evidenced by their interest. Consequently, interest in a subject and interest in ways
of dong things are guides to parents and teachers, bot h as to subjects of study and
methods of teaching for which children have a natural readiness at any given stage
of development.
3. Education should engage the spontaneous self-activity of the child. As
already noted, the child educates himself in great measure, most of his knowledge
is base on what he discovers in his won active relations with things and people.
Especially is this the case with our perceptions, developed almost completely by
our own unconscious efforts in early childhood but constituting the machinery for
a high percentage of our adult experiences. Adults are foolish, therefore, if they do
not use this native self-activity as an ally in their teaching. The way to do this,
Spencer advised, is to tell the learner as little as possible and induce him to
discover as much as possible.
5.Education is for the body as well as the mind;and this should not be
forgotten.Even if it were possible, there is no point in making a man mentally fit
for life and neglecting his physical fitness . Mind and body must both be caredfor
and the whole being of the student unfolded as a unit.
As “naturalism” indicates, the purposes of education are found within nature. The
explicit denial of any goals outside man or the physical world in which he lives
constitutes a radical departure from traditionalism, which usually had some
ultimate supernatural goal.
Since the naturalist denies the validity of any aims outside the natural sphere, his
concern must be with immediate or proximate aims. Perhaps these aims might be
summed in the dictum that schools should develop the “whole child,” that is, the
entire natural organism. Whereas traditional education had placed major emphasis
upon intellectual function, the naturalist proposes that the child be given
opportunity to grow physically, mentally , socially, emotionally, aesthetically,
vocationally, under the auspices of the school.
According to Spencer this can be achieved by “that education which prepares for
direct and indirect self-preservation; that which prepares for parenthood; that
which prepares for citizenship; that which prepares for the miscellaneous
refinements of life.” Thus the school’s most important job as an educational
agency is to see to it that the child learns how to preserve his own physical health
and well-being. Preparation for citizenship and leisure time activities appear at the
end of the list and are of lesser importance.
“Complete living” is the general aim summing up the five specific ones. As this
is not very explicit term, it may be made more under stand able by a parallel
attempt at generalization in Spencer’s third essay, “Moral Education.” In this
second statement of it he speaks of the “Business of life” and elaborates by saying
that education should “produce a citizen who, ate the same time that he is well
conducted, is also able to make his way in the world.” These generalizations
convey the impression that moral responsibility coupled with practical self-
sufficiency are virtues of the educated man. This impression is borne out by the
specific objectives which are now to be discussed.
3. Raising children. Though a bachelor, Spencer held that the most important
function that most men and women have to perform is that of being parents.
Therefore education should deal unashamedly both with the care of children in the
nursery and the discipline of them as growing boys and girls. So much did Spencer
believe this that he urged that education be elevated as a subject of study to a
position of supreme importance in the curriculum.
4. Maintenance of social and political relations. Beyond the home in the far-
reaching social structure, man must have some under standing and mastery of
social and political processes if living is to be complete. He must be a wise citizen
who is equipped for effective social and political action.
5. Enjoyment of leisure. Life is not all serious struggle, keeping physically strong,
earning a living, being a responsible parent and an earnest citizen. Complete living
also includes freedom from struggle some of the time for “gratification of the tastes
and feelings.”
In the words of Ross "teacher in a naturalistic set up is only a setter of the stage, a
supplier of materials and opportunities, a provider of an ideal environment, a
creator of conditions under which natural development takes place. Teacher is only
a non-interfering observer".
For Rousseau, the teacher, first of all, is a person who is completely in tune with
nature .He has a profound faith in the original goodness of human nature. He
believes that human beings have their own time-table for learning. So Rousseau in
his didactic novel "Emile organized education according to Emile's (a boy) stages
of development. For each stage of development, the child, shows certain signs that
he is ready to learn what is appropriate to that stage. Appreciating the educative
role of the natural environment as an educative force the teacher does not interfere
with nature, but rather cooperates with the ebb and flow of natural. forces.
Significantly, the teacher who is aware of human nature and its stages of growth
and development, does not force Emile to learn but rather encourages learning, by
insulating him to explore and to grow by his interactions with the environment.
.
Rousseau opines that teacher should not be in a hurry to make the child learn.
Instead he should be patient, permissive and non-intrusive. Demonstrating great
patience the teacher can not allow himself to tell the student what the truth is but
rather must stand back and encourage the learner's own self discovery. According
to him the teacher is an invisible guide to learning. While ever-present, he is never
a taskmaster. Naturalists are of the view that teacher should not be one who
stresses books, recitations and massing information in literary form, "rather he
should give emphasis on activity, exploration ,learning by doing".
, Great emphasis was placed upon the study which teachers should make of the
environmental background of each student, since unacceptable behavior was
rooted there rather than in the pupil’s ill will. Teachers were advised to learn of the
racial, national, and religious backgrounds of their students if a pupil caused
trouble or lacked initiative in school, the home conditions should be studied to see
whether a home broken by divorce, death, or marital conflict is responsible for the
child’s difficulties. If a teacher were unable to manage a class , he was held
responsible because he lacked insight into child nature. All of these innovations in
pedagogy were based on the revised view of the nature of the child. He was
innately good or, at worst, neutral, and one must seek the source of bad behavior in
the environment rather then in the child.
. Concept Of Student
True, all God’s creation was good, but man’s own free acts had ushered in sin and
evil. No small wonder, then, the following statement by Rousseau fell upon
Christendom like a bombshell :Everything is good as it comes from the hands of
the Author of Nature; but everything degenerates in the hands of man…. He will
leave nothing as nature made it, not even man. Like a saddle-horse that must be
trained for man’s service he must be made over according to his fancy, like tree in
his garden.
One of the clichés which has been current in education for some time is to the
effect hat “teachers do not teach subjects, they teach pupils.” Whatever this slogan
may convey in meaning, it does direct attention to the importance of the pupil, the
person being taught, the educed. Though philosophies do not teach subjects, they
teach pupils.” Whatever this slogan may convey in meaning, it does direct
attention to the importance of the pupil, and certainly not in understanding his
essential nature, he is sufficiently central that one task of each of the education
chapters in this book is to understand the learner as each of the education chapters
in this book is to understand the learner as each of the respective philosophies
understands him.
The pupil is to the teacher what man is to the philosopher. For man who is
interpreted by the philosopher also has various practical engagements, one of
which is being a pupil at school in his formative years, may be a student in
institutions of advanced learning during his more mature years, and we hope a
learner throughout life. If a philosopher is also a teacher and at the some time is
consistent in both though and practice, he will view man as a pupil in the
classroom in the same way he thinks of him when philosophizing. So the doctrine
of the pupil is virtually the doctrine of man in the classroom.
The naturalist, as Herbert Spencer represents him, first regards the pupil from the
physical side. For the child is at bottom a little animal, whatever else he may be.
He has a body, or, to be more accurate, he is a body one of his first requirements
therefore is that he be healthy, a vigorous animal, able to stand the wear an tear of
living
I hate books; they only teach us to talk about things we know nothing about.
Jean Jacques Rousseau
Its curriculum is usually based on the needs, interests and abilities of the child in
relation to its levels of development. So, a child-centered curriculum forms an
amicable answer of the Naturalist. It helps in recognizes individual differences and
experiences of the child should form the core element of the curriculum
Professional courses in child and educational psychology became the center of the
educational program for teachers. “Know the child and you will know what to
teaches” became the slogan of the newer professional programs in education
As a doctrine, naturalism does not favor in imposing any boundary on the children.
So advocates of this theory have not framed any curriculum of education. They
think that each and every child has the power to and demand of his own to frame
curriculum. A child will gather experience from nature according to his own
demand. He is not to be forced to practice any fixed curriculum. This concept
about curriculum existed till the time of Rousseau but it changed after wards. Later
on naturalism was influenced by scientific development. So the thinkers think that
to give natural pleasure to man, science should be utilized in life. Hence, their
concept of curriculum also changed. According to neo-naturalists, curriculum will
be broad and the practice of science comes first. Considering the views and needs
of the children, the experiences of the curriculum should be selected. They have
advised to include the following in the curriculum -
1. Science dealing with nature will include Physics, Chemistry, Botany etc.
These branches of science will help children to be acquainted with nature.
2. Mathematics and language will be included because these will help to
acquire the subjects of science.
3. History and Social Science - in order to acquire modern knowledge, one
should practice the process of evolution. It will also help to realize the importance
of those in their present life.
4. Agriculture and Carpentry will offer opportunity to the children to act them
in freedom and will increase their power of observation.
5. Naturalists felt the importance of Physical Education and Health Training
for self protection. But they did not form any particular curriculum for this. They
say that the children should be given opportunity for their free movement of bodies
in natural environments. They will thus acquire techniques of self-protection from
nature and expose themselves in nature.
6. Drawing naturalists have considered drawing as the main technique of self-
expression. They have included drawing as compulsory in the curriculum.
Naturalists have also commented about ethical and spiritual training in the
curriculum. They were against spiritual training as according to them children
should pick their own religion from experiences they acquire. They also said that
ethical training should not be imposed on children. They will build their own ethical
sense in natural order by receiving rewards and punishments.
. The effects of secularism on the curriculum have probably been both negative and
positive. On the negative side of the ledger, secularism has succeeded in
eliminating from the schools any overt traces of commitment to nay beliefs.
On the positive side, secularism has helped elevate the natural and social sciences
to the same position of prestige and importance formerly held by the sacred
subjects.
It is the area of methodology, perhaps, that naturalism has had the greatest effect
on education. Since this philosophy constitutes both a reaction against traditional
educational methods and a proposal for substituting “natural” methods in their
place, it might be well to indicate what both facets are. The natural mode of self
expression is Play and learning should be done through cheerful spontaneous and
creativity of play. The process of discovery is given importance. The activities like
excursions, fieldtrips and practical experiments are recommended to enhance
learning
What, then, does the naturalist propose as substitutes for the methodology of the
traditionalist? First, he maintains that all teaching methods should be based on
experience. Since he relies on the inductive method, he insists that the first
criterion for judging the value of a teaching method should be based on self-
activity of the pupil finding the answers for himself. The pupil himself must
observe nature in order to find facts and discover answer to his problems. To tell
the pupil all the facts, to show him the procedures, to give this the answers, merely
makes him a recipient of reports of others’ experiences. The child has not learned
but merely memorized or “absorbed” what he has been told. Thus all teaching
methods should be characterized by pupil activity involving direct or at least
vicarious experience; the pupil must educate himself.
CONCEPT OF DISCIPLINE
Naturalism emerged at a time when education was confined within the rigid
rules of discipline by the influence of Idealism. Naturalism aims at making
education free from the bondage of rigid discipline under which children were
tortured. So according to this doctrine, education is not a formal training but
a natural biological process of children. Education should be within nature
If, for example, a child is habitually slow in getting dressed and ready to go for a
walk with the rest of the family, scolding, harsh words, and ruffled feeling are
punishment for everyone else as well as the problem child, and may avail little.
Instead, let the rest of the family go for the walk and leave the habitually late child
to suffer the natural consequences of being slow, missing the enjoyment for which
the other members of the family were ready. When a child begins to expect such
consequences as certain to follow if he does not measure up to what is expected of
him, he will act so as to enjoy the benefits which follow from appropriate conduct.
Furthermore, when punishment of this sort is used, ruffled feelings do not get
mixed up with discipline. It is easier for parent or teacher to hold a firm position
with discipline. It is easier for parent or teacher to hold a firm position with the
child and yet not lose rapport with him completely. Even the disobedient child
should feel that he has not lost all the sympathy of his guardians. But in the
common snapping and snarling of parents, the emotional break between parent and
child is too sharp and may do more damage than the punishment does good
WOMEN EDUCATION
Rousseau describes the education of Sophie, the girl who marries Émile. In
Rousseau’s view, the education of girls was to be similar with regard to
naturalness, but it differed because of sexual differences. A girl cannot be
educated to be a man. According to Rousseau, a woman should be the centre of
the family, a housewife, and a mother. She should strive to please her husband,
concern herself more than he with having a good reputation, and be satisfied with
a simple religion of the emotions. Because her intellectual education is not of the
essence, “her studies must all be on the practical side.”
AGENCIES OF EDUCATION
Man is considered the basic unit rather than a part of member of a social organism.
Society is made up of individuals; are not sparks of offspring of society. The only
reason for the latter’s existence flows from the need of protecting the individual
from hostile forces or assisting the individual to achieve more happiness, security,
and contentment by cooperation with his fellowman
It would not be at all surprising if a student were to jump to the inference that
naturalism has no rationale for the existence of the school. After all, it has great
confidence in Nature and less confidence in human society. In both there is very
frequent reference to the guidance which is to be gained for education by following
the ways of Nature as evidenced in growth and in the impromptu activates of
children.
If naturalism is true, then it may follow that mothers and /or fathers are the natural
teachers, and there is no firm basis for adding to institutions, as we have done
making education a specialized function to be fulfilled in a formal agency of
society.
Other naturalists believed that the parents role is very important in the child’s
education, one should have formalized institutions ( schools) whose very existence
is rooted in nature..
Naturalism, in summary, recognizes only two primary educational agencies, the
home and the state (through the state-sponsored secular school). Of course, of
twentieth- century naturalist undoubtedly would acknowledge the important
function that secondary educational agencies serve. Mass communication media
such as radio, television, movies, newspapers, all play important parts in the
modern child’s education.
EVALUATION OF NATURALISM
From these philosophical limitations one can derive certain short comings in the
educational theories of naturalists. Perhaps the most significant of these from the
point of view of many philosophers is the absence of any permanent goals for
education. Without some permanence of aims education can easily become a
haphazard, day to day activity without any central focus.
The somewhat naïve view that human nature is essentially good resulted in the
elevation of pupil freedom to the detriment of even the mini al order and discipline
essential from optimal learning. Even Dewey criticized this aspect of naturalistic
education.
From this list of shortcomings one might conclude that naturalism contributed
nothing to education. It must be remembered, however, that revolutionary
movements are nourished by weakness or deficiencies in existing institutions. A
few of the most significant contributions of naturalism to educational theory and
practice should be cited.
Comenius, John Amos, The Great Didactic. London : A & C Black, 1910. The
application of Comenius’ sense-realism to education.
Herbart, J.F., The Science of Education. Boston : D.C.Heath & Company, 1902.
Weber, Christian O., Basic Philosophies of Education. New York : Holt, Rinehart
and Winston, Inc., 1960. This book, especially in chapters 11-14,.
The Concise Oxford Dictionary, Sixth Edition, III. Impression, 1976, p-868.