Machine summary:
like the materialists of to-day we reduce the entire life and creative activity of man into terms of chemistry and physics and deny the distinct entity of the human spirit, then education will have to be shaped accordingly.
To this indomitable spirit of conquest and adventure in man, he pays a stirring tribute in a recent poem entitled "The spirit of Earth welcomes the advent of Adam" · (View the image of this page) (View the image of this page) In conformity with the general trend of Islamic thought in this direction, Iqbal is emphatic that, in his development, man must take account of his material conditions which set the stage for the greater part of his conscious activity.
Thus the ideal and the real are not two opposing forces and the affirma• tion of the spiritual self demands a willing acceptance of the world of matter with a view to making it an ally in the process of our develop• ment.
The practical question which confronts the thoughtful educator in this connection is: what is the respective value and significance of the ideal and the real in the life of man?
. Unlike some modern thinkers, who are impatient and contemptuous of the past and its cultural achievements and would gladly wipe the slate of society clean in order to write on it anew, Iqbal, as we have seen, realizes the power of the past and is keenly aware of the value of History in the education and the general evolution of a people.