OUR ANDROCENTRIC CULTURE; or, THE MAN-MADE WORLD


VIII.

EDUCATION.


The origin of education is maternal. The mother animal is seen to teach
her young what she knows of life, its gains and losses; and, whether
consciously done or not, this is education. In our human life,
education, even in its present state, is the most important process.
Without it we could not maintain ourselves, much less dominate and
improve conditions as we do; and when education is what it should be,
our power will increase far beyond present hopes.

In lower animals, speaking generally, the powers of the race must be
lodged in each individual. No gain of personal experience is of avail
to the others. No advantages remain, save those physically transmitted.
The narrow limits of personal gain and personal inheritance rigidly hem
in sub-human progress. With us, what one learns may be taught to the
others. Our life is social, collective. Our gain is for all, and
profits us in proportion as we extend it to all. As the human soul
develops in us, we become able to grasp more fully our common needs and
advantages; and with this growth has come the extension of education to
the people as a whole. Social functions are developed under natural
laws, like physical ones, and may be studied similarly.

In the evolution of this basic social function, what has been the effect