BRIEF PROPER

I. The courses of instruction in the public schools as now arranged are inadequate for fully developing the child, for

A. They tend almost exclusively toward the de-
velopment of the mental powers, because
1. The subjects taught are such as re-
quire memorizing chiefly.

2. The child is now a hearer, merely, not
a doer.

B. They tend to foster a purely idealistic attitude in the child, for

1. They do not force the child to relate ideas of things to the things them

selves.

C. Much of the training which they give, the child is unable to find applicable to everyday life.

D. They do not provide adequately for the development of the child's physical powers,

for

1. Gymnastic exercises are not regularly conducted.

II. The introduction of manual training would tend to strengthen the courses where they are now weak, for

A. Manual training exercises develop properly

the physical powers.

B. They cultivate dexterity of hand.

C. They train the child to see correctly, reason soundly, and execute accurately.

D. They cultivate habits of exactness, order, and neatness, for

1. The tools must be kept in their places and the work bench kept in order.

2. Careless or slovenly work at once accuses its author.

E. They develop independence and self-reliance, for

1. Each child takes part in planning its

own work.

2. The results obtained depend entirely on the child's own care and skill. F. They stimulate mental development in a natural way, for

1. They encourage the planning and carrying out of original ideas with

means at the disposal of the child. G. They keep the child in touch with the practical side of life, for

1. They lead to the production of useful

commodities.

H. They help to fit the child to make a wise choice of a vocation in life, for

1. They give it a chance to learn something about the various trades.

2. They enable it to test its own capabilities in a variety of ways.

III. The addition of manual training will not interfere with the ordinary academic work now done in the schools, for

A. The manual training exercises will be alter

nated properly with purely intellectual work and will thus preserve a just proportion between mental and bodily exertion.

B. This will enable the child to do more and better intellectual work in the time devoted

to that work than would otherwise be possible, because

1. It is a well-known fact that the child cannot profit by instruction if its mind is overtaxed or its physical needs are not satisfied.

C. Manual training stimulates intellectual development directly as well as indirectly,

for

1. Judgment and intelligence are re

quired to solve the tasks it sets.

IV. The argument that the cost of introducing manual training generally into the public schools would be prohibitive is not sound, for

A. The equipment need not be elaborate, because 1. Valuable training can be given by means of simple, moderate-priced tools.

B. The cost of equipment can be spread over a number of years.

C. The operating cost can be kept within reasonable bounds, because

1. The materials used need not be ex

pensive.

2. Many of the pupils would be glad to pay for the articles made if allowed

to take them home.

CONCLUSION

I. Since manual training would strengthen the present courses of study,

II. Since it would benefit rather than injure the intellectual work now done in the schools,

III. And since the cost of its general introduction into the schools would not be excessive,

Therefore it should be made a part of the public school work of the State.

8. DEDUCTION AND INDUCTION

Reasoning consists, for the most part, either in inferring the particular from the general or in inferring the general from the particular. Thus, if I argue that X will try to pay his just debts because he is an honest man, I am assuming as a general truth that all honest men try to pay their just debts, and from that am inferring the particular truth I wish to establish. My reasoning in this case is said to be deductive. On the other hand, if from my observation of honest men I find that they invariably try to pay their just debts, and come to the conclusion that all honest men try to pay their just debts, I am inferring a general truth from a number of particular truths. In this case my reasoning is said to be inductive.

We have thus two general methods of reasoning, the deductive and the inductive, each the exact opposite of the other. Though opposite to, they are by no means independent of each other, however. Rather, each is the complement of the other. A deduction implies a general truth to start with, and a general truth is the result of an inductive process. Moreover, induction must, at a certain stage of its progress, adopt the deductive method before it can finally establish its conclusion.

The basis of a deductive argumentation is the syllogism. This consists of a set of three propositions, two of which, called the major and minor premises,

are joined together in such a way as to admit of the third, called the conclusion, being derived from them. For example:

(1) All our fellow-men are entitled to our

(2) Seaweeds are not flowering plants. Major premise

It will be observed that in each of these syllogisms the two premises together contain but three terms, one term being common to the two, and that of these three terms, two appear again in the conclusion. Thus the conclusion has nothing in it that is not derived from the premises; and if the premises be admitted as true, there is no escape from accepting the conclusion as true also.

It must not be supposed, of course, that in actual discourse we ordinarily find syllogisms fully expressed, as in the examples given above. As a matter of fact, we seldom find them so expressed. The writer who would stop to make all the minute steps of his reason