Habits of Mind: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education

In the midst of heavy criticism of the American educational system, Antonio de Nicolas injects an amazingly simple theory: Higher education in a free society must foster the habits of mind that enable individuals to perform free mental acts. Plato first identified these habits of the free mind in 'The Republic' as the abstraction of images from external objects, the formation of opinion, and the diverse operations of both cognition and imagination. In other words, we must hold education responsible for training inner mental technologies, or skills, instead of transferring accumulations of facts, data, and information. 'Habits of Mind' surveys all the major philosophies of education and evaluates historical significance, educational relevance, and, for the first time, effectiveness in producing those mental skills which define an educated person. Professor de Nicolás traces the actual history of our habits of mind through our Greek heritage, the Protestant Reformation, the universities of the Counter-Reformation, and the English schools of Luis Vives. Substantial selections in the second part of the book show that the “classic” philosophers propagated our contemporary intellectual habits. Rousseau, Locke, Descartes, Dewey, Ortega y Gassett, and many others compose the corpus of all educational philosophies. Finally, de Nicolás reenvisions our cultural origins and demonstrates that the best of Plato's educational philosophy has yet to enter modern educational practice. Antonio T. de Nicolás is a professor of philosophy at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He is the author of 'Avatara: The Humanization of Philosophy Through the Bhagavad Gita' and the translator of 'Spiritual Exercises' of Ignatius de Loyola, retitled 'Powers of Imagining'.