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19^2 Highland, Harry Joseph, 1917- -
.H55 Utopian education; a study or the.
ideal worlds from Sir Thojnas More tc
H.G.Wells.
2v.(vi,35i^p.)
Thesis (Ph.D.) - N.Y.U., School of
Education, 1942 •
Bibliography:v.2, p.0332,-3514..
C93185,v.1
C93186,v.2
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THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED.
y, ,Vt
Sponsoring Committee:
Forrest Edwin Long, Chairman
Adolph Erich. Meyer
Paul Rankov Radosavl jevich.
AN ABSTRACT OF
UTOPIAN EDUCATION
A STUDY OF THE IDEAL WORLDS
FROM SIR THOMAS MORE TO H. G. WELLS
HARRY JOSEPH HIGHLAND i
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of Doctor of
Philosophy in the School of Education of
New York University
1942 r
UTOPIAN EDUCATION
A STUDY OF THE IDEAL WORLDS
FROM SIR THOMAS MORE TO H. 0. WELLS
Certain utopias, which were written during the
period from the Renaissance to the first World War, were
selected for this study. An effort was made to discover
the problems of living which have persisted throughout
this period. If these problems of living could be found,
educators might possibly be able to construct an educa
tional system which would prepare the youth of today for
the world of tomorrow,
A list of twelve utopias, chosen according to>
three criteria, was sent to a jury of experts who were
requested to delete or add any utopia as they deemed
proper. The modified list of utopias, based upon this
juryfs decisions, Included the works of Sir Thomas More,
Francis Bacon, Tommaso Campanella, Jonathan Swift, Louis
Sebastian Mercier, Edward Everett Hale, Edward Bulwer-Lytton,
William Morris, William Dean Howells, Edward Bellamy, and
Herbert George Wells,
Two methods of research were used. The first,
the socio-historlc, may be characterized as a descriptive
2
technique of research* The second was the causal method,
wherein cause was taken to mean, briefly, such factors
as are associated with a given condition and without
which the condition would not exist*
The study was organized into seven parts, the
first five of which included a treatment of the political,
social, and economic aspects of the contemporary scene,
a brief biographical sketch of the author of each utopia,
an analysis of the utopias, and finally a comparison of
the educational systems presented in the utopias with the
system which existed when they were written* The sixth
part of the study is devoted to an analysis of the per
sistent problems of living found in the utopias* These
are compared with the problems of living found in the
Cardinal Principles of Education and the Education
Policies Commission's Purposes of Education in American
Democracy* The seventh part of the study is an attempt
to see whither education is going*
The six major areas of living found after an
examination of the eleven utopias included education for
citizenship, education for economic efficiency and economic
participation, the mastering of the fundamental processes,
the development of a healthy individual and society,
character development, and education for family life*
Four more areas of living were found* While they were
3
not persistent throughout the centuries ainoe the Ken-
aissance, they are areas which have appeared from time
to time and yhich should he part of the newe* educational
system. These four areas are leisure education, education
against wealth and waste of human resources, a program of
adult education, and education for peace.
The last chapter of the thesis, a post-script,
is a view of the future and a plea for planning. After
a brief survey of the period between two wars, a program
of political, economic, and educational reconstruction
is analyzed. Here, the opinions of various leaders,
writers, and organizations are presented in an attempt
to show the direction of the new educational system.
The value of this study lies in the fact that
it is an attempt to produce a guide for educational
thinking. It is not meant to serve as a rigid foundation
on which future education should be built, but rather
as a guide for planning. Throughout the study, the need
for planning and cooperative action is apparent. The
attainment of a better world can oome through intelligent
planning, cooperative action, and the use of a progressive
guide for thinking*
M l
Sponsoring Committees
Forrest Edwin Long, Chairman
Adolph Erich Meyer
Paul Rankov Radosavljevich
UTOPIAN EDUCATION
A STUDY OF THE IDEAL WORLDS
FROM SIR THOMAS MORE TO H. G. WELLS
HARRY JOSEPH HIGHLAND-
7 • '
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of Doctor of
Philosophy in the School of Education of
New York University
2.942 ■ ?beaia aooepted
n... QCT' i m i
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indistinct print.
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PREFACE
Ever since Plato, men have written about Ideal
worlds, and some, who were more courageous, have attempted
to establish them, Utopias are valuable not because they
present blue prints for a model world, but rather because
they stimulate thought and criticism of the existing society.
Realists can temper the idealists1 proposals and mak® them
practicable. Herein lies the true value of utopias.
This study was started before the war had actually
broken out, but it was begun in the days when it was
apparent that the world created at Versailles was not utopian
nor even on the road to utopia. I should like to thank
Dr. Sol Liptzen, Professor of Comparative Literature at th®
College of the City of New: York, for introducing me to the
riches that are to be found in utopias. With his guidance
I came to realize that utopias were not merely works of
fantasy, but works of writers who believed that men were
capable of achieving a fuller and better life.
I should like to thank the members of my committee
for their assistance and cooperation. Professor Forrest Edwin
Long, Prcf essor Adolph Erich Meyer, and Professor Paul Rankov
Radosavljevich of New York University, through their criticismi
and suggestions have helped me complete this thesis* In
addition, I should like to thank Dr* William W. Brickman of
New York University for his assistance with the outline for
this study*
Furthermore, my deepest thanks is given to my
committee of experts, through whose suggestions, the final
list of utopias was formulated* The members of this committee
were: Dr* Harry Elmer Barnes, Dr* Charles A. Beard, Dr* Boyd ft
Bode, Dr* Emory S. Bogardus, Dr* Merle Curti, Dr* Herbert Healton,
Mr* Granville Hicks, Dr* John Haynes Holmes, Dr* William H.
Kilpatrick, Dr* Michael Kraus, Dr* J. P. Lichtenberger,
Dr* Robert S. Lynd, Mr* Thomas Mann, Dr* Guildo Masso,
Mr* Lewis Mumford, Dr. Re Inhold Niebuhr, Dr* Lynn Thorndike,
Dr* Wilson D. Wallis, Dr* Carleton Washburns, and Dr* Thomas
Woody,
Many months of reading and research have gone into
this study, and throughout all of them my wife, Esther Harris
Highland, helped me sustain my enthusiasm* It was sometimes
difficult in the world of today — a world of war and violence
— to close myself in a library and bury myself in a utopian
novel. However, with her encouragement and aid I reached
my goal. I should like to thank her for her assistance in
editing this study, and for her counsel whenever I found
myself in difficult straits*
Harry Joseph Highland
iii
