Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the nature oh John Howland's philosophy of education, to establish the influence responsible for the assumptions upon which this philosophy was based, and to trace Howland's application of this philosophy to the educational needs of early, nineteenth-century Rhode Island. The focal point of Howland's philosophy is his conception of a divine design created by an all-determining God. Around this conception Howland developed an ontology in which God and this design were the ultimate and all-determining reality; an epistemology in which man's belief in God and this design were grounded in reason, tradition, and revelation; an axiology in which man's actions were guided by God through values inherent in this design; and a philosophy of education which sought the moral and practical preparation of man for his role in carrying this design to its inevitable consummation. The divine design was God's instrument for bringing man happiness in this world and enabling man to attain salvation and unity with Him in the next world. God operated through three ag~ncies of m~ans, the mechanic arts, certain religious leaders of the sixteenth century, and "the natural laws," to insure the inevitable consummation of this design. For the design to be realized, man in all his imperfection, must be freed from ignorance and superstition, enlightened by divine truth, and bound together with his fellow man in mutual respect, dependence, and love. [TRUNCATED] / 2031-01-01