James Harvey Robinson

The Mind in the Making - The Relation of Intelligence to Social Reform

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

James Harvey Robinson (1863 - 1936) was an American Historian. In his writings he stressed the "new history" - the social, scientific, and intellectual progress of humanity rather than merely political happening. The Mind in the Making: The Relation of Intelligence to Social Reform was published in 1921. In the beginning of the book Robinson states his purpose as follows: "As an old Stoic proverb has it, men are tormented by the opinions they have of things, rather than by the things themselves. This is eminently true of many of our worst problems to-day. We have available knowledge and ingenuity and material resources to make a far fairer world than that in which we find ourselves, but various obstacles prevent our intelligently availing ourselves of them. The object of this book is to substantiate this proposition, to exhibit with entire frankness the tremendous difficulties that stand in the way of such a beneficent change of mind, and to point out as clearly as may be some of the measures to be taken in order to overcome them." He goes on to say: "I come back, then, to my original point that in this examination of existing facts history, by revealing the origin of many of our current fundamental beliefs, will tend to free our minds so as to permit honest thinking. Also, that the historical facts which I propose to recall would, if permitted to play a constant part in our thinking, automatically eliminate a very considerable portion of the gross stupidity and blindness which characterize our present thought and conduct in public affairs, and would contribute greatly to developing the needed scientific attitude toward human concerns--in other words, to _bringing the mind up to date_."

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Book Jungle
• Seitenzahl: 140
• Erscheinungstermin: 27. März 2008
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 235mm x 191mm x 8mm
• Gewicht: 276g
• ISBN-13: 9781605973838
• ISBN-10: 1605973831
• Artikelnr.: 23600686

Autorenporträt

James Harvey Robinson (June 29, 1863 in Bloomington, Illinois - February 16, 1936 in New York City)[1] was an American historian, who co-founded New History, which greatly broadened the scope of historical scholarship in relation to the social sciences. Jay Green concludes: From his innovations in historical methodology and research to his revisions of secondary and undergraduate pedagogy, Robinson endeavored to reform the modern study of history, making it relevant and useful to contemporary peoples. A quintessential Progressive, he combined astute in erudite thinking with a penchant for activism in order to challenge his professional colleagues' "obsolete" conception of history and to demonstrate written history's potential for inspiring social improvement Robinson was born in Bloomington, Illinois, the son of a bank president. After traveling to Europe in 1882 and returning to work in his father's bank, Robinson entered Harvard University in 1884, earning his M.A. in 1888 before returning to Europe. After further study at the University of Strasbourg and the University of Freiburg, he received his Ph.D. at Freiburg in 1890, and began teaching European history at the University of Pennsylvania in 1891, moving to Columbia University in 1895-1919, becoming a full professor in 1895. He trained numerous graduate students who went on to professorships around the United States. Following a series of faculty departures from Columbia in disputes about academic freedom, including that of his friend Charles A. Beard, Robinson resigned from Columbia in May 1919[3] to become one of the founders of the New School for Social Research and serve as its first director.