Louis Agassiz as a Teacher; illustrative extracts on his method of instruction by Lane Cooper
page 45 of 50 (90%)
page 45 of 50 (90%)
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nomenclature.
Methods may determine the result. The only true scientific system must be one in which the thought, the intellectual structure, rises out of, and is based upon, facts. He is lost, as an observer, who believes that he can, with impunity, affirm that for which he can adduce no evidence. Have the courage to say: 'I do not know.' Since the ability of combining facts is a much rarer gift than that of discerning them, many students lost sight of the unity of structural design in the multiplicity of structural detail. [Footnote: _Atlantic Monthly_ 33. 93.] It cannot be too soon understood that science is one, and that whether we investigate language, philosophy, theology, history, or physics, we are dealing with the same problem, culminating in the knowledge of ourselves. Speech is known only in connection with the organs of man, thought in connection with his brain, religion as the expression of his aspirations, history as the record of his deeds, and physical sciences as the laws under which he lives. [Footnote: _Atlantic Monthly_ 33. 95.] The most advanced Darwinians seem reluctant to acknowledge the intervention of an intellectual power in the diversity which obtains in nature, under the plea that such an admission implies distinct creative acts for every species. What of it, if it were true? Have those who |
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