This commentary contends that Henry J. Perkinson's arguments in "Teachers without Goals, Students without Purposes" (1993) are, on the whole, a failure. This criticism is based on the following points: (1) terms such as "modernism" and "postmodernism" are used without adequate definitions; (2) the book inadequately makes the case that knowledge comes from within the knower; (3) the book uses Popperian evolutionary epistemology, which does not fully support its position concerning knowledge from within; (4) the book also poorly supports its claims that learning occurs better without purposes and that transmission of knowledge from teacher to student is immoral and prevents further growth; (5) in the book's discussion of transactions from teachers to students, it confuses authoritarian with authoritative transactions; (6) the book asserts that children are born with "understandings," yet it states that without language, understanding cannot exist; (7) the book insufficiently anticipates problems in dealing with students' individual needs and interests in large, diverse classrooms; and (8) the book argues that individuals can know from within and can do so without any justification, which rejects a justificatory theory of rationality. The commentary agrees with Perkinson that students should not merely be filled up with facts, that knowledge has no ultimate justification, and that education should be tailored to the individual. (JDD)