Ian Cumming - Helvetius

The International Library of Sociology

HELVETIUS

Founded by KARL MANNHEIM

The International Library of Sociology

THE SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION
In 28 Volumes

HELVETIUS

His Life and Place in the History of Educational Thought

by

IAN CUMMING

With an Introduction by
NICHOLAS HANS

First published in 1955 by

Routledge

Reprinted in 1998, 2000 (twice), 2001 by

Routledge

2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN

Transferred to Digital Printing 2010

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group

1955 Ian Cumming

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

The publishers have made every effort to contact authors/copyright holders of the works reprinted in The International Library of Sociology. This has not been possible in every case, however, and we would welcome correspondence from those individuals/companies we have been unable to trace.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Helvetius

ISBN 978-0-415-17765-8 (hbk), ISBN 978-0-415-60583-0 (pbk)

The Sociology of Education: 28 Volumes

ISBN 0-415-17833-9

The International Library of Sociology: 274 Volumes

ISBN 0-415-17838-X

Publishers Note

The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality of this reprint but points out that some imperfections in the original may be apparent

By kind permission of the comte and comtesse DAndlau

CLAUDE-ADRIEN HELVETIUS

Des Sages dAthnes et de Rome,
Il eut les murs et la candeur;
Il peignit lhomme daprs lhomme,
Et la vertu daprs son cur.

Lines written by the Abb de la Roche

Portrait by L. M. Van Loo 1755

by NICHOLAS HANS
Research Fellow, Institute of Education, University of London

EVERY year the Institute of Education, University of London, welcomes a dozen or so of fellows from overseas Dominions, sister states in the British Commonwealth. They are all post-graduate scholars who come to the mother country to complete their academic training and to add some valuable contribution to the study of education. Either lecturers in their home Universities or inspectors in their publicly maintained school systems they naturally select a subject connected with education in their own country with a utilitarian purpose of using the acquired knowledge in their careers on their return home. Seldom, if ever do they turn their gaze upon a country outside the British Commonwealth or venture into the past beyond the 19th century.

My friend Dr Cumming is an exception. Coming from New Zealand he studied France of the 18th century and philosophy of Helvetius far removed from his country in time and space. And yet I think his selection of Helvetius as subject of his research was not a result of idle curiosity or a chance choice because he happened to know French. No doubt he sensed the affinity of the ideas of the French enlightenment and especially of the ideas of Helvetius with the democratic, secular and utilitarian school system of New Zealand. Indeed if we consider the main features of New Zealand education we shall find them all in this book which apparently has no connection with contemporary interests. What did Helvetius recommend? Universal education irrespective of sex, race, religion or social origin. State controlled, publicly maintained schools with secular contents. Curricula based on scientific method with a utilitarian purpose. An adaptation to the childs nature and the brave belief that leducation peut tout. We can use the same words to describe the New Zealand education as it exists today. Certainly the personality of Helvetius and his life provided an additional attraction. However, the main point, which Dr Cumming understands so well, is that no country can escape its historic heritage, even if it is a virgin land at the other end of the globe.