Democracy and Education · Chapter
Habits as Expressions of Growth explained
This chapter explores the nature of habits as active expressions of growth, emphasizing that habits are not merely passive accommodations but involve executive skill, active control of the environment, and the formation of intellectual and
What happens
This chapter explores the nature of habits as active expressions of growth, emphasizing that habits are not merely passive accommodations but involve executive skill, active control of the environment, and the formation of intellectual and emotional dispositions. It distinguishes between active habits that transform the environment and passive habituations, and warns against routine or 'fixed' habits that stifle plasticity and intelligence.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This passage marks the dramatic climax because it identifies the psychological peak of the conflict: the momen…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Experience and Learning by Doing
Habits are described as forms of executive skill and active control of the environment through action, emphasizing learning through doing.
- Environment and Indirect Education
The chapter discusses how habits involve adaptation of the environment to our activities, and how habituation provides a background for active adjustments.
Key passages
“A habit means an ability to use natural conditions as means to ends. It is an active control of the environment through control of the organs of action.”
A habit is the capacity to employ natural conditions as tools to achieve goals, actively managing the environment by managing one's own actions.
Defines habit as active, purposeful control rather than passive conformity.
“Adaptation, in fine, is quite as much adaptation of the environment to our own activities as of our activities to the environment.”
Ultimately, adaptation involves both changing the environment to suit our actions and adjusting our actions to fit the environment.
Highlights the reciprocal nature of adaptation, contrasting active habits with passive habituation.
“Routine habits are unthinking habits: 'bad' habits are habits so severed from reason that they are opposed to the conclusions of conscious deliberation and decision.”
Routine habits are performed without thought, and 'bad' habits are those disconnected from reason, acting against deliberate judgment.
Distinguishes between flexible, intelligent habits and rigid, mechanical ones that hinder growth.
