Nathan Isaacs (1895–1966) was a British educational psychologist. He worked in the metals trade, but after his marriage to
Susan Sutherland Fairhurst, they were partners in her work on early education.
Early life
Isaacs was born in
Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
, Germany, (or
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...
) in 1895, into a Jewish family of Russian background, who moved shortly to Switzerland. His father was
Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
, had philosophical interests, and did not work: his mother traded in garments from Eastern Europe. He was the middle child of three, having two sisters. In 1907, when Nathan was aged 12, the family migrated to the United Kingdom.
Isaacs attended school in London for about four years. He then had a job in Bessler, Waechter & Co., a firm in the
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...
trading in metals, particularly
pig-iron and
ferroalloys. In
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, he was a private soldier in the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
, serving in the
Royal Signals
The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communi ...
.
He met during this time
Lionel Robbins
Lionel Charles Robbins, Baron Robbins, (22 November 1898 – 15 May 1984) was a British economist, and prominent member of the economics department at the London School of Economics (LSE). He is known for his leadership at LSE, his proposed def ...
, to whom he introduced himself as an
agnostic, in the winter of 1916–7. He was in the
Battle of Passchendaele in 1917 with the
51st Highland Regiment
The 51st Highland Volunteers (51 HIGHLAND) is a battalion in the British Army's Army Reserve or reserve force in the Scottish Highlands, forming the 7th Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, also known as 7 SCOTS. It is one of two Re ...
, was gassed, and was invalided out of the army.
After the war ended, Isaacs again worked for Bessler, Waechter & Co., where he became a manager. He and Lionel Robbins in 1919 attended the psychology course at
London University
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...
given by Susan Brierley, née Fairhurst. Isaacs married Susan, after her first marriage to
William Broadhurst Brierley ended in divorce, in 1922. He rented a flat in Hunter Street,
Bloomsbury, and she carried on a
psychoanalytic
PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might ...
practice there.
Malting House School
Susan Isaacs became principal of
Malting House School
The Malting House School (also known as the Malting House Garden School) was an experimental educational institution that operated from 1924 to 1929. It was set up by the eccentric and, at the time, wealthy Geoffrey Pyke in his family home in Ca ...
in 1924. In April of that year, Robbins had dinner with the Isaacs', and found that Nathan was disillusioned with business, looking to retire and move to the country. An advertisement placed by
Geoffrey Pyke
Geoffrey Nathaniel Joseph Pyke (9 November 1893 – 21 February 1948) was an English journalist, educationalist, and inventor.
Pyke came to public attention when he escaped from internment in Germany during World War I. He had travelle ...
, who was setting up a
progressive school
Progressive education, or protractivism, is a pedagogical movement that began in the late 19th century and has persisted in various forms to the present. In Europe, progressive education took the form of the New Education Movement. The term ''p ...
, was drawn to Susan's attention by James Glover, a psychoanalytic colleague who had worked with Pyke. Susan, Nathan and Pyke hammered out an agreement. Pyke and his family moved into the house containing the school, rented from
Hugh Fraser Stewart
Hugh Fraser Stewart (1863–1948) was a British academic, churchman and literary critic.
Life
He was the second son of Ludovic(k) Charles Stewart, an army surgeon and son of Ludovick Stewart of Pityvaich, and Emma Ray or Rae. He was educated at T ...
, in
Newnham village, a Cambridge suburb. The Isaacs' rented a flat on Hills Road, Cambridge in autumn 1924, but Nathan continued to work in London, where he spent most of the week.
Jean Piaget
Jean William Fritz Piaget (, , ; 9 August 1896 – 16 September 1980) was a Swiss psychologist known for his work on child development. Piaget's theory of cognitive development and epistemological view are together called "genetic epistemolo ...
, the Swiss educator and theorist with whose thought Susan and Nathan Isaacs were closely involved, paid a visit to the Malting House School in 1927. The personal arrangements at the school lasted until that the end of that year. They were undermined by two love triangles. Susan had an affair with Pyke: it was a short fling, around the end of 1925, about which Pyke's wife Margaret knew at the time, but Nathan did not. It was followed by unreasonable behaviour on Pyke's part. Nathan, subsequently, had an affair with
Evelyn Lawrence, who joined the staff as psychologist in 1926. Nathan became her lover in August 1927, as Susan knew at the time. The Isaacs' left the school soon after. By that period, Pyke was running out of money and sold his interest in the school to
Edgar Obermer (1895–1958), one of the parents; with further funding Pyke kept the school going to 1929, when he had a serious breakdown and it closed.
Later life
Nathan Isaacs continued to work as a metals merchant, and during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
was a civil servant in the
Ministry of Supply. Evelyn Lawrence left Malting House School in 1928. After some time outside London, she started to share a London flat in
Primrose Hill
Primrose Hill is a Grade II listed public park located north of Regent's Park in London, England, first opened to the public in 1842.Mills, A., ''Dictionary of London Place Names'', (2001) It was named after the natural hill in the centre of ...
with her sister Hilda, close to where Susan and Nathan Isaacs were living: her affair with Nathan was ongoing. In 1943 she became director of the National Froebel Foundation. Susan knew of this relationship, and continued to relate well to Nathan intellectually: she concentrated on writing her book based on observations at Malting House.
After the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, Isaacs initially continued to work in London; while Susan was based in Cambridge. During
The Blitz
The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'.
The Germa ...
the Ministry of Supply was moved out of London, and Isaacs was posted to
Ashow
Ashow is a small village and civil parish in the Warwick district of Warwickshire, England, about 2.5 miles (4 km) south-east of central Kenilworth. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 104, increasing slightly t ...
in the Midlands for most of the rest of the war. Susan travelled there at weekends. Nathan saw little of Evelyn during this time: she had been evacuated at
Torquay
Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paig ...
.
In 1945 Isaacs returned to London, with a job at Derby & Co. He was awarded the
OBE for his war work, in 1948. In 1946 Susan began to succumb to recurrent
breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a r ...
, and she died in October 1948. She made clear her wish that Nathan, her carer, and Evelyn should support each other. They were married in April 1950.
While Piaget's early books met with criticisms formulated by Susan and Nathan Isaac, his later methodology was somewhat different. Isaacs and Evelyn Lawrence promoted his work in the United Kingdom, in alliance with the National Froebel Foundation, who in 1955 published a booklet ''Some Aspect's of Piaget's Work''.
Isaacs gave evidence to the committee compiling the
Plowden Report
The Plowden Report is the unofficial name for the 1967 report of the Central Advisory Council For Education (England) into Primary education in England. The report, entitled ''Children and their Primary Schools'', reviewed primary education in a wh ...
on education (commissioned 1963, published in 1967 after his death), as an authority on Piaget. The Report adopted a progressive line, reflecting much of Piaget's influence and the earlier work of Susan Isaacs.
Works and views
Over a long period, Isaacs worked on an essay that would be a major statement of his views. It appeared after his wife Susan died, as ''The Foundations of Common Sense'' (1949), bearing the subtitle "A Psychological Preface to the Problems of Knowledge". It had a hostile review from
J. J. C. Smart
John Jamieson Carswell Smart (16 September 1920 – 6 October 2012), was a British-Australian philosopher and was appointed as an Emeritus Professor by the Australian National University. He worked in the fields of metaphysics, philosophy of sc ...
, stating that "nowhere does he describe an experiment". Another reviewer wrote "
..to those who are willing to grant that certainty is achieved and not given,
..the book will appear
..a valuable contribution to philosophy."
In the educational field, Isaacs deprecated "empirical psychology". He admired both
James Mark Baldwin
James Mark Baldwin (January 12, 1861, Columbia, South Carolina – November 8, 1934, Paris) was an American philosopher and psychologist who was educated at Princeton under the supervision of Scottish philosopher James McCosh and who was one of ...
and
John Dewey for their approaches.
Under Baldwin's influence, he considered that clarity of speech and thought should early be encouraged in children.
Clifford Geertz, writing of a lecture given by the philosopher
George Raymond Geiger (1903–1998) on "cultural foundations of common sense", called it a "fine Deweyian subject". But in ''The Foundations of Common Sense'' Isaacs expressed the view that those authors had not gone far enough.
With Dewey, Isaacs is now cited as one of the founders of
progressive education
Progressive education, or protractivism, is a pedagogical movement that began in the late 19th century and has persisted in various forms to the present. In Europe, progressive education took the form of the New Education Movement. The term ''pr ...
.
Isaacs wrote ''Children's Why Questions'', as a response to, and criticism of,
Jean Piaget
Jean William Fritz Piaget (, , ; 9 August 1896 – 16 September 1980) was a Swiss psychologist known for his work on child development. Piaget's theory of cognitive development and epistemological view are together called "genetic epistemolo ...
's ''The Language and Thought of the Child'' (1924). The project was financed by Geoffrey Pyke, and resulted also in a 1927 anonymous editorial by Isaacs in ''
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...
'', under the title "Education and science", alluding to the curious child.
He agreed with
A. S. Neill that the assumption of curiosity in the education of children turned out in practice to be dependent on social class. The work was published in the form of an appendix to Susan's ''Intellectual Growth in Young Children'' (1930).
"Why" questions are a subclass of
wh-questions
A question is an utterance which serves as a request for information. Questions are sometimes distinguished from interrogatives, which are the grammatical forms typically used to express them. Rhetorical questions, for instance, are interrogative ...
: Isaacs proposed a sub-classification, as "informational", "epistemic", "justificatory" and "affective and expressional". In discussion of a lecture of
Wolfe Mays
Wolfe Mays (1912 – 21 January 2005) was a British philosopher. He was the founder of British Society for Phenomenology and the editor of Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology, its journal.
Mays is known for his efforts for introduci ...
, Isaacs commented, on young children's understanding of questions, and Piaget's use of them, that the understanding had to be seen as incremental, depending on the acquisition of concepts.
Philosopher
By the early 1930s, Isaacs had joined the
Aristotelian Society: he gave a paper there in 1931 that influenced the ''Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economic Science'' (1932) by Lionel Robbins. His interest in philosophy was continuing. But he was unsatisfied with typical philosophical discussion.
It has been commented that when Isaacs tried to publish about philosophy proper, he met with continual rejection. His paper ''What do Linguistic Philosophers Assume?'' (1960) was published, when
Oxford philosophy was topical.
Lydia Smith, biographer of Susan Isaacs, as a Professor of Education writing about the work of Susan and Nathan Isaacs on
educational psychology
Educational psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of human learning. The study of learning processes, from both cognitive and behavioral perspectives, allows researchers to understand individual differences in ...
and
child development
Child development involves the Human development (biology), biological, developmental psychology, psychological and emotional changes that occur in human beings between birth and the conclusion of adolescence. Childhood is divided into 3 stages o ...
, stated that "Nathan Isaacs was primarily a philosopher; he was interested in the sources of knowledge, and especially in the relationship between language and thought."
[Lydia A. H. Smith, ''The Function of Language for the Young Child: A Report on Research and Experiences in England 1972-1982'', The Journal of Education Vol. 166, No. 3 (Fall 1984), pp. 273–290. Published by: Sage Publications, Inc. ] Isaacs published in 1960 ''A Brief Introduction to Piaget'', in the USA. It contained his works ''Growth of Understanding in the Young Child'', and ''New Light on Children's Idea of Number''. A foreword to the 1972 edition, written by his widow Evelyn Lawrence, states that by this period Isaacs was mostly interested in philosophical topics:
epistemology
Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics.
Epis ...
,
ethics
Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concer ...
,
logic
Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premise ...
.
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Isaacs, Nathan
1895 births
1966 deaths
20th-century British businesspeople
Educational psychologists
British Army personnel of World War I
Royal Corps of Signals soldiers
German emigrants to the United Kingdom