One of the major inventions of modern education is the instructional use of "Anschauung," an experience-based learning technique that was influential both as a method of instruction (more effective than mere book-learning and rote memorization) and as a rejection of old social arrangements that inculcated traditional values through deductive and authoritarian teaching. Examines how the implications of appealing to Anschauung have changed according to socio-historical changes. (Contains 18 references.) (CB)