placed in a position to advance his own interests irrespective of, or in
direct opposition to, the rights and comforts of others, then the
utilitarian view of the end of education must appear one-sided. To
emphasize the good of the individual irrespective of the rights of
others, and to educate all of its members with such an end in view,
society would tend to destroy the unity of its own corporate life.

=The Psychological Aim.=--According to others, although education aims
to benefit the child, this benefit does not come from the acquisition of
any particular type of knowledge, but is due rather to a development
which takes place within the individual himself as a result of
experiencing. In other words, the child as an intelligent being is born
with certain attributes which, though at first only potential, may be
developed into actual capacities or powers. Thus it is held that the
real aim of education is to develop to the full such capacities as are
found already within the child. Moreover, it is because the child has
such possibilities of development within him, and because he starts at
the very outset of his existence with a divine yearning to develop these
inner powers, that he reaches out to experience his surroundings. For
this reason, they argue that every individual should have his own
particular capacities and powers fully and harmoniously developed. Thus
the true aim of education is said to be to unfold the potential life of
each individual and allow it to realize itself; the purpose of the
school being primarily not to make of the child a useful member of
society, but rather to study the nature of the child and develop
whatever potentialities are found within him as an individual. Because
this theory places such large emphasis on the natural tendencies and
capacities of the child, it is spoken of as the psychological aim of
education.