The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1890-03-27
Education and Morals.

obligations But, on the other hand 1T is doubt
full if such training does anything whatever to in
crease the power of resisting impulses of an i'm.
moral kind. 1t has to be admitted therefore. that
in an intellectual education pure and simple,
here is very little moral power.
In a recent issue, we discussed at some
length the subject of Education and
Crime" and touched upon the question of
which President Adams treats-the moral
power furnished by an education to resist
temptation, taking however, the opposite
view from him and combining ourselves
almost wholly to the idea that education
increases moral perception and gives moral
balance. In his contribution to the Forum.
Mr.. Adams admits that education increases
the power of moral perception, but will not
admit that with this power there is also
furnished the power or additional power to
resist temptation. Therefore, agreeing with
him in the first half of the question. we
shall. in this article consider simply what
he denies to be its cOnSequent-the second
half. that intellectual training does increase
the power OF resisting impulses of an i'm
moral kind. We argue that it does.
Now, in the first sentence of our quoted
extract, Mr.. Adams makes a statement.
which he uses as premise to an important
conclusion. Naturally. ne must have had
some reliable authority. for making the
statement. He says, "On the other hand
it is evident that the successful training of
the mind increases the power of perceving
the force and the benefits of moral obliga-
tiOnS." Now. how could he come to such a
0QciSOO without the aid of
observation? Since he must have employed
either one or both, he could not have come
to the conclusion that education increases
the power OF moral perception without the
necessary facts leading to it. And such
| facts must be actual instances where people
! have shown by their conduct that they have
an increased moral perception. And such
conduct must be refraining from certain
acts which they formerly committed, per
haps innOcently. For it is the action that
tells. and not the word. If person should
say that he had this increased power of
perceivng the force and the benefits of
moral obligations, and then in action should
contradict himself, would you not consider
him insane or else lacking in what he as
sumed to possess? Surely he would not
deliberately work to his own disadvantage.
So, in arriving by syllogsm to the con-
clusiOn that lin an intellectual education.
pure and simple. there is very little moral
power" Mr.. Adams, in stating the second
term denies the first, one or the other of
them must be false, 1--WE say the second
term. and hence the conclusion is vitiated.
Only the first term of the syllOgism is cor
rect. To establish it. it has been ascer-
tanned by experience and from observation
that the contrary to the second term is true
that the training of the mind does increase
I, <,f IL
moral nature; and hence it has to be ad-
mitted that in an intellectual training, pure
and simple. there is moral power.
Again, it is evident that President A dams
would make distinction between intellect
ual training and moral training. He mod
lties the former with the two words 'pure
and simple" implying that there is no con.
nectiOn between it and moral conduct. If
education, or intellectual education, as Mr..
Adams calls it. is not the source of moral
conduct we ask what is? True. morality
is found among the lowly. and immortality
among those of high estate; but when sta
tistcs show, as we stated in a recent ISSUE
that large proportion of the criminals
come from the uneducated classes, is it not
fair to say that what distinguishes the
classes intellectually is also the instrument
to distinguish them morally?
Can you conceive of a person studying
for ten or twelve years acquaintng himself
with the history of mankind and his in
situations, becoming familiar with the va
rOus phases of society and their interactiOn
to day. and yet receiving not line of moral
training? Can the intellect and morals be
so divorced as this? No, these two are
united almost universally in an inseparable
relation; and moreover when Mr.. A dams
says that the training of the mind ''in-
creases the power Of perceiving the force