115. E. Martig “Visual Psychology with Application to Education”

Clearness, clarity and vividness are undoubtedly the characteristics of a good textbook. The present psychology meets these requirements to a large extent. In terms of clarity, the author even seems to go too far. He keeps too close to the surface of the subject matter in his treatment of the material and in his choice of examples. For this reason, he only passes on to the candidates for the magisterium the most tangible, coarsest facts of the life of the soul. The more intimate manifestations of the spirit, the finer forms of its expression are not taken into account. We consider this to be a shortcoming, especially in view of the purpose of the book. The future teacher should also be introduced to the more secret expressions of the human inner being. It is precisely through this that the right ideal of education will develop in him. He will understand the golden rule of all pedagogy, that every pupil is to be treated individually; he will take pleasure in studying every new human soul. He will discover new points of view in every single object of education. He will put his best into his profession because he knows the knowledge of the developing human being in its finest ramifications. He will know how to make something out of the child because he knows the germ that is to develop. If he only understands the main threads of the spiritual fabric, his educational activity will be pedantic, mechanical, average, not appropriate to the subtleties of the soul, which he cannot hear. The arrangement of the material in this book seems to us otherwise excellent, the empirical treatment generally appropriate to the purpose. The discussion of the facts and the exegesis of the phenomena are always followed by the conclusion of the laws, and then their application to pedagogy. However, the pedantic uniformity with which this maxim is applied throughout the book makes it appear as if this method did not originate from the subject matter, but had been introduced into it from outside.