Abstract

This insightful and meticulous book is composed of two major parts. In the first part Brumbaugh argues that the classical concepts of space, time, and causality underlie contemporary understanding of the meaning and aims of education. But these concepts, like the Cartesian concept of “insular space,” are one-sided. Human beings are viewed as self-enclosed entities, as external to each other. Though rejected nowadays, this idea shapes educational thinking. We still consider the student as a kind of mental box which needs to be filled. Education is a process of filling this box with ideas, images, and feelings. But Brumbaugh wonders if the growing student is a self-enclosed entity. How are we to explain social life if society is a mere conglomeration of discrete individuals?