itself even while the will obeys another will-- emancipation" (13). In other words, the student's intelligence is not reliant on the master's, but the master's will strengthens the student's will, the student's self-confidence, to learn independently. "To emancipate an ignorant person, one must be, and one need only be, emancipated oneself, that is to say, conscious of the true power of the human mind" (15). Learned Master vs. Ignorant (School) Master "It goes without saying that a scientist might do science without explicating it. But how can we admit that an ignorant person might induce science in another?" (14). While exiled in Belgium, the French-speaking Jacotot taught Flemish-speaking students about the Télémaque using a bilingual French-Flemish translation (1-2). His students learned to intelligently read and write about the Télémaque in French, despite having no prior French instruction (2). Later, Jacotot taught other subjects that he didn't know anything about, including painting and the piano (15). The Circle of Power A circle of powerlessness ties the student to the explicator of the old method (15). "The circle of power, on the other hand, can only take effect by being made public" (15). To break the circle of powerlessness, Rancière argues that "the circle of emancipation must be begun" (16). This, for Rancière, calls for a return to original "universal teaching," meaning learning something without any means of having it explained. "In reality, universal teaching has existed since the beginning of the world, alongside all the explicative methods. This teaching, by oneself, has, in reality, been what has formed all great men" (16). Universal teaching Jacotot's method "was not a method for instructing the people; it was a benefit to be announced to the poor; they could do everything any man could. It sufficed only to announce it" (18). Thus, for Rancière, emancipation becomes a political act of affirming and awakening the equal intelligence of all people. He writes: "All men have equal intelligence" (18) Reception A review in French Studies wrote that the book would have a small audience outside France due to the specificity of its themes, the resurgence of right-wing politics, and growing unemployment in which few would have the leisure to pursue the inward dialogue Rancière recommends. References Bibliography 1987 non-fiction books Books about the philosophy of education French books Stanford University Press books Books by Jacques Rancière