The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-11-17
DENIES THE DEVIL
SENSATION SPRUNG AMONG sEDG-
WICK COUNTY TEACHERS.

sed9wick County Teachers' Association,
in which. Reviewing Two Authors He
has r. Gently Read, he Upholds Evolution
In its Widest Meaning and Attacks the
Worldwide Doctrine of the Conflict of
Good and Evil In Msn-says, "RAther,
Mans as Perfect as He Ought"
The Sedgwick County Teachers AS
sociation met in session at the court
house yesterday and had quiet an tn
teresting time.
The meeting opened with a business
session. Then followed paper entitl-
ed Training for Citizenship" by H.
Mead Lewis. This was quite an in
teresting paper and was applauded.
Geography" was the subject of an able
discourse by Mrs. v. c. Vangiesen and
| L. B. Miller. E. s. Burning read a
| paper on the History Of Kansas as
State" The paper Of the meeting, how
| ever, was "a Criticism Of the PhiloSo-
ply of Education by Rosenkranz. c.
G. Willard read this paper and it Great
| ed quite a sensation. It practically
/ denies the existence of the Devil and
was considered quite unorthodox for a
school teacher whose minds, usually,
are narrow when dealing with such sub
| jects.
Mr.. Miliard is a country school teach
er and quite an advanced thinker al
enough he Is comparatively an old man:
The phtlosopy of education is, or
Should be, the philosophy of common
| sense. But there is not much common
| sense in two books on that subject
which have lately been reading The
first in by Rosenkranz. 1t is written
In a dry. heavy, old-fashion style which
makes me tired. But can endure al
most any style, If the author clearly
understands his subject and handles
lit we'll
Reading this work-for I did read It
through from start to finish-brought
forcibly to mind an idea advanced late
~ by a popular writer: that all scientific
books written more than fifty years
ago were practically worthless. This
the writer referred to says has been
brought about by the general accept
ance of the theory of evolution, which
has come to stay. Since Agassiz no
writer who is an authority in science
has rejected It. Not only so, but most
modern religious writerUs admit its
truth and one doctor of divinity has
written a work in two volumes show
ing that religion is a product Of evolu-
ton.
The teacher who does not believe In
evolution does not understand it. To
religious people it is simply the plan by
which the Almighty works to produce
results. Every intelligent teacher ad-
mfts and teaches that the earth Is a
result of evolution through long ages
of time and the proofs that man came
into existence in a similar manner are
simply overwhelming. He who would
not believe must either not look or shut
his intellectual eyes. Most teachers
do not shut their eyes, but they look
and then shut their mouths.
RosenkranZ assumes as a basis for
his philosophy, that the teacher has
before him a lot of little fallen angles
whose natures are totally depraved;
that the thought and intentions of their
wicked little spirits are somehow Gagged
up in their bodies in state of slavery,
and that the human subject in this
state is oppressed by the physical world
and the powers of nature.
He says 1T is the object Of education
to elevate him to a condition of moral !
freedom. But the process he recon- |
mends is long and tedious. 1t seems |
to me it might be shortened and simpli- |
fed. If his assumption is true. why |
not give them a dose of morphine, or /
asphyxiate them with gas? That would !
release the Gagged spirit, give them NOR |
al freedom and this clog of a body !
would hinder them no more and the /
powers Of nature would no more OPP
press.
Why not be consistent and follow I'D |
a theory to its legitimate results? II /
the physical powers are a clog upon |
the mind. then as the body weakens |
from disease the mind should grow |
stronger, for It is less hindered; and a |
patient in the last stages of consump-
ton should be mental prodigy. The |
philosophy is failure. AS the body
weakens the mind weakens, bith in
sickness and old age.
And the process of education, as de-
scribed by Rosenkranz, does not tend |
toward freedom, moral or any other
kind. He proceeds 10 bind him with
chains-the laws of the state, good. bad
or indifferent, also the laws OF the
church, then the custom of society, and
finally sends him up to the clouds as a
spirit where divinities and demons bait
tie for his possession and then calls IL
a state of moral freedom. 1t is a Jug
Cling with words. His educated man
would be more of a slave than the most
ignorant rustic. We cannot free our
selves from the physical powers of ma
ture. A mortal cannot be good
II such is the philosophy of educa-
ton. our practice is much better than
our theory and the less philosophy we
have the better
There is no redeeming feature about
the book. unless its length might be
counted as one. 1t will hinder a young
teacher 70 read il and not help an old
one.
The other volume is entitled The
Education of the Greek People" and is
by Professor Thomas Davidson. 1t is
a well written book. The style is good
and there are some good ideas. 1t Is
well worth reading. The author is an
idealist and an old school theologian.
He endeavors 10 impress upon the read
or that the object OF education is 10
change the original nature of man into
the ideal nature. II this We're true we
might with certainty predict that rs
object would never be accomplished.
Man has just such nature as Il was
necessary for him to have in order for
him 10 continue 10 exist on this earth
Any considerable change of the origin
al nature would in a few generations
blot him out Of existence even IL the
change were toward the ideal nature OF ]
Davidson and Rosenkranz ID
Higher and better educational aurhori :
ties discard this idea Of a change Of /,
nature, Spence and Compare. for in I
stance, and Professor Holbrook sap
that notwithstanding al that has been
SAID 20 the contrary. the natural inciin- |