Education and the Philosophical Ideal by Horatio W. Dresser - Read the Complete Text for free at NewThoughtLibrary.com

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Horatio W. Dresser's

Education and the Philosophical Ideal

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Preface - Introduction - The New Point of View - Educational Ideals - Equanimity - The Subconscious Mind - The Spiritual Ideal in Childhood - An Experiment in Education - The Expression of the Spirit - An Ideal Summer Conference - The Ministry of the Spirit - The Mystery of Pain and Evil - The Philosophical Ideal - The Criteria of Truth - Organic Perfection - Immortality - Index - p. 247

obligation and the one who disregards or fulfils it. No man can be either righteous or unrighteous alone. The terms "good" and "bad" possess significance only when applied to something, or some deed, which does or does not fulfil an ideal relation, a purpose.

It is a related purpose which gives centrality either to human life or to the universe at large. Even though existence be an enigma so far as its ultimate origin is concerned, our own finite reasoning is great enough to lead the mind back from the wonderful system of nature, which modern science so beautifully describes, to the purposive harmony which necessarily exists as its source. And we know that a purpose is possible only through an ideal which is to be realised by the adjustment of means to ends. It is the obvious presence of a world-purpose, of universal adjustments of means to ends, which leads the mind to posit the existence of an ultimate Being wise enough to be the source of this underlying harmony and thereby adapt all organic activities to one end.

The conclusion follows easily enough that the universe is not merely a purposive organism of mutually dependent contributory parts, but that it is adapted to the attainment of the highest perfection, the greatest good, not of the greatest number, but of the whole. The universe does not exist for man alone, nor for nature, nor simply to complete the life of God, but for the whole. As so constituted, it would seem that it could not be better.

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