  1. THE KNOWING MIND COMPARED WITH THE THINKING MIND.In the preceding chapter we were told that the mind may know in two ways (1) by intuition and (2) by thinking. It is thus implied that the knowing mind includes the thinking mind plus intuition. Thinking always involves knowing, but knowing need not involve thinking, and when some logicians maintain that to know a thing one must think it, there is danger of being misled. They mean by this that in order to know anything in a permanent and highly serviceable way one must think it. All animals know, even such a stupid one as the oyster, and yet one would hardly give an oyster credit for thinking. Only the higher orders of animal life think. Some argue that the power is confined exclusively to the human family. This opinion is debatable. If the claimant means by thinking, reasoning then his ground is well taken. But if he is willing to give to thinking a broader content, then he has little defense for his stand. However, attach as broad a meaning to thinking as the derivation of the word will permit and even then it is a narrower term than knowing. Thinking plus intuition equals knowing, and in intuition there is probably no thinking. 2. KNOWING BY INTUITION.It has been affirmed that intuition is the process involved when the mind knows instantly.2 ILLUSTRATIONS: (1) As I raise my eyes a figure comes to view. My mind knows instantly that it is the figure three. (2)The ear catches immediately a tune which is being sung in the room below. Without deliberation the mind recognizes the tune as America. The mind may thus know by intuition through any one of the five senses. These are the wires of connection between the outer world and the mind within and transmission over these wires may be instantaneous or intuitive. This is not all. (3)My mind may center its attention on itself and may recognize there a mental picture or image of a pet dog. Since this activity is without any apparent deliberation the process must be intuitive. To define intuitive knowledge as that which comes to the mind through the senses only is incorrect, as it leaves out altogether the knowledge the mind may obtain of its own activity as in illustration “(3).” Knowledge is anything known. Intuitive knowledge is knowledge which comes to the mind immediately by direct observation. The field for intuitive knowledge may be the external world or the internal world though, of course, the former is the more common ground. It is here that the mind by intuition secures the most of its raw material which, through the process of thinking, is worked over into a connected, unified system of lasting value. The intuitions are the beginning and the basis of all knowledge, and knowledge gained by intuition is the basis of all thinking. 3. THE THINKING PROCESS.It is claimed that think comes from the same root as thick. From this one would conclude that the process of thinking is virtually a process of thickening. Surely as one thinks he enriches or thickens his knowledge. As one thinks percepts into concepts and concepts into judgments he makes richer in meaning the various notions concerned. Thinking is largely a matter of pressing many into one: of linking together the disconnected fragments of the conscious field. DEFINITION: Thinking is the deliberative process of affirming or denying connections. The same idea may be expressed in a variety of ways as the following indicate. (1) “Thinking is the conscious adjustment of a means to an end in problematic situations.” Miller. (2) “To think is to designate an object through a mark or attribute or what is the same thing, to determine a subject through a predicate.” Bowen. (3) “Thought is the comprehension of a thing under a general notion or attribute.” Wm.Hamilton. (4) “To think is to make clear through concepts the perceived objects.” Dressler. In the foregoing definitions it is implied that thinking is a connecting or thickening process. In all forms of The thinking process is the digestive process of the mind. Much as the digestive organs assimilate the food stuff of the physical world, so the thinking organ assimilates the food stuff of the mental world. ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE THINKING PROCESS: (1) The child is unable to explain the meaning of “hocus-pocus” as it occurs in the question, “What hocus-pocus is this?” The child mind is unable to establish any connection between the word and its real meaning. In short, is unable to think into it a meaning; it therefore becomes necessary for the teacher to establish some basis of connection and this he does by suggesting nonsense as a synonym. (2) The teacher holds before the class an Egyptian house god and asks, “What is it?” After a moment of hesitation some child who has seen pictures of “his satanic majesty” avers that the object is a “little devil.” Thus has a connection been established between the idol and pictures of satan. (3) John is unable to solve the following problem as he can discern no connection between the data given and the data required. Problem. 3/4 of my salary is $900, what is my salary? Data. Given: 3/4 of salary = $900. Required: 4/4 of salary = ? In order that John may think a solution the teacher must lead him to see some connection between 3/4 and 4/4. With this in mind the form of the data is changed to Given: 3-fourths = $900 Required: 4-fourths = ? or Given: 3 parts = $900 Required: 4 parts = ? John now notes that 4 parts is 4/3 times 3parts and consequently writes 4/3 of $900, which is $1,200 as the answer. Or he may find the value of 1part and then of 4parts. 4. NOTIONS, INDIVIDUAL AND GENERAL.A notion is any product of the knowing mind—anything which the mind notes or becomes aware of. But the mind knows in two ways, by intuition and by thinking. In consequence the mind has two kinds of notions, those which are intuitive or individual notions and those which originally result from thinking or general notions. An individual notion is a notion of one thing. Ageneral notion is a notion of a class of things. Note. Here it is necessary to distinguish between a thing and an object. An object is a thing which occupies space such as a pencil or a book. “Thing” is, therefore, a broader term than “object.” “Athing is that which has individual existence.” From the viewpoint of logic “thing” includes objects, qualities, relations, spiritual ILLUSTRATIONS OF NOTIONS. My notion of the pencil with which Iam writing is an individual notion, but my notion of pencil as a class name is general. My yellow dog, the honesty of Lincoln, Albert White, New York City, are individual notions, while dog, honesty, man, city, are general notions. A sure way to determine whether the notion is individual or general is to attempt to divide it into its kinds. Only general notions may be subdivided. 5. KNOWLEDGE AND IDEA AS RELATED TO THE NOTION.Knowledge is anything known, while anything of which the mind becomes aware is a notion. Notions are always bits of knowledge, but knowledge is not always a notion. Notions are mental products belonging to the mind which thinks them, while knowledge, though it must first be a mental product of someone’s mind, may not necessarily be a product of yours or mine. Notions are always found in the mind, while knowledge may be found in books, but not necessarily in some individual mind. Knowledge stands for everything known, the notion, for everything noted. The Egyptians may have possessed much knowledge of which we may never become aware. Much of their knowledge may never become notions of the American people. Anotion is an existing state of consciousness. Said notion may be committed to paper, and then it may give way to another notion. It now ceases to be your notion, “Idea,” because of its ambiguity, really has no place in logic. The term is frequently restricted to a reproduced percept. To illustrate: When the pencil is before me the mental product is a percept, but when the pencil is withdrawn and Itry to think of it, then have Ian idea of “pencil.” Probably idea is most commonly associated with meaning and belief. To illustrate: What is your idea as to the meaning of homogeny? or What are your ideas on the tariff? 6. THE LOGIC OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL TERMS INVOLVED IN THE NOTION.Concerning the knowing mind the psychologist classifies its activities and their products as follows:
The notion as any product of the knowing mind includes the six products as indicated by the psychologist. The individual notion which is intuitive includes the sensation, percept and image; the general notion which is
As we shall have occasion frequently to refer to these psychological terms it may be well to define them.
It is seen that the sensations furnish the raw material. Ignoring the few exceptions we may then say that a percept is a made-over group of sensations; a concept a thought-made group of percepts; a judgment a thought-made group of concepts; an inference a judgment derived from other judgments. Developed thinking is first found in the concept, and as we study the thought products, “concept,” “judgment” and “inference,” the truth is forced upon us that thinking as a process aims to group the many into one. Speaking figuratively, thinking is a matter of picking up the fragments along the shore of consciousness and tying them into bundles. 7. THOUGHT IN THE SENSATION AND PERCEPT.So far in this discussion it has been assumed that there is no thinking involved in the sensation or the percept. There are good authorities, however, who insist on dignifying the sensation, even with a crude form of thinking. To illustrate: One may be reading an interesting novel. The mind is being entertained and ignores the activities of the objective world, yet we cannot say that the mind is dead to the world outside. There is a dim consciousness of certain noises without. These unlocalized sounds are sensations; but how is the mind able to recognize them as sounds or noises? To interpret the noises is As the percept is a localized group of sensations then there must be involved in perception a more complex form of thinking, since in grouping sensations there is a recognition of connections. If there is thinking in the sensation which is the simplest and lowest form of the knowing-mind then thinking conditions all knowledge and really is the basic elemental cell of all knowing. On the other hand there are those who maintain that the sensation and percept are mere reflections of consciousness; the sensation being a reflected quality and the percept a reflected object. These mental situations come into being instantly—there is no time for thought and we all know that thought requires time. (“As quick as thought” is misleading, since light travels more rapidly by many times than the agencies of thought.) It will probably never be settled to the satisfaction of all just when thinking commences. The question is as difficult as some others which have never been solved. For example: Where does life commence? When does the plant merge into the animal? Which was first the egg or the hen? Does the objective world really exist or is it only a mental interpretation of vibrations? etc. Logically considered the question is immaterial. All will agree that developed thought is involved in the concept, judgment and inference, while, if it appears at all in the percept and sensation, it is more or less undeveloped and consequently lies quite without the province of the logical field. 8. EVOLUTION AND THE THINKING MIND.Speaking in general terms evolution is a development from a lower to a higher state. Thus have come the various species of the vegetable and animal world. The An analogous development is seen in the thinking mind. The little child thinks in lumps, and these lumps are only faultily linked together, but the adult thinks in terms of the grains of the lump, each grain having its place, which it must occupy for the sake of all the other grains as well as the entire lump. The child’s thinking is vague, general and inaccurate, while the adult’s thinking should be definite, specialized and accurate. Thinking in the lump means little discrimination and very faulty integration or unity, while thinking in terms of the grains means detailed discrimination and perfect integration. To illustrate: The child sees a dog trotting along the side walk which, according to the suggestion of his mother, he learns to call “bow-wow.” Later he observes a cat and at once says “bow-wow,” because all that the child notes is that something with legs, ears and a tail is trotting along the side walk. Anything which fits these general marks is a “bow-wow.” Similarly when a child first observes a robin perched on a gate post he fails to distinguish between the two—it is all bird from the top of the robin’s head to the bottom of the gate post. Progress in thinking is measured by progress in discrimination. The skilled thinker divides the large unit into very small units, compares these with each other and then reunites them into a more perfect and unified whole. First there is an analysis and then a synthesis. Like a shuttle the power of thought works in and out; it goes in to separate, it comes out to unify. There is another aspect in the analogy between the life of the physical and mental worlds. Somewhere in the order of progress there is a connecting link between the mineral and vegetable kingdoms, likewise between the vegetable and animal kingdoms. The sensation is as much a state of feeling as an act of knowing and consequently is the connecting link between the feeling mind and the knowing mind. 9. THE CONCEPT AS A THOUGHT PRODUCT.Conception is the process of thinking many notions into one class. The product of such a process is called a concept. (1)The concept may stand for a group of concrete general notions—as the concept man, which stands for the five general notions: Caucasian, Mongolian, Ethiopian, Malay and American Indian. (2)The concept may stand for a group of concrete individual notions. For example, the same concept man represents all of the individual men of the world. (3)The concept may stand for a group of abstract general notions. To wit: Virtue represents such general notions as honesty, justice, industry, purity, etc. (These are general notions because they admit of a subdivision into kinds. Industry, for instance, may be divided Thus does the concept stand for a group of all kinds of notions, individual and general, abstract and concrete. THE PROCESS OF CONCEPTION ILLUSTRATED. I see for the first time in my life a pencil. In other words Ibecome conscious of a localized group of sensations—this is a percept. Iam told that the name of that which Isee is pencil. Inote that this particular pencil has a thread of black lead encased in a cylindrical strip of wood which is brown in color. Asecond object is presented which Irecognize as a pencil though the shape is prismatic rather than cylindrical and the color green rather than brown. But Icall it a pencil because it has a thread of black lead encased in a strip of wood. The notion which Inow have in mind stands for two pencils and is therefore represented by a class name. As Iobserve other pencils of various shapes, made of wood and paper with threads of different colored lead, my notion of pencil broadens till finally it stands for all pencils. This is the process of conception according to the definition, namely: “The process of thinking many notions into one class.” In this case the notions are individual. An examination of conception makes evident two distinct characteristics. 10. THE JUDGMENT AS A THOUGHT PRODUCT.Judging is the process of conjoining and disjoining notions. (1) A judgment may conjoin or disjoin two individual notions. To wit: Conjoined—This pencil belongs to Albert White. Disjoined—This pencil does not belong to Mary Smith. (2) A judgment may conjoin or disjoin two general notions. Conjoined—Some men are virtuous. Disjoined—Some men are not virtuous. (3) A judgment may conjoin or disjoin a general and an individual notion. Conjoined—Abraham Lincoln was virtuous. Disjoined—Edgar Allen Poe was not temperate. In order that the knowing mind may conjoin notions it must recognize some mark of similarity or connection. This is the thinking aspect of the judgment. It is likewise to a certain degree the judging aspect as the latter is simply a matter of affirming or denying connections between notions. But thinking is a broader term than judging. There may be connections established between a name and a notion. For example in the case of the dog which the child sees trotting along the sidewalk and which the mother refers to as a “bow-wow”; the term “bow-wow” is not a percept and has no meaning independent of its association with the dog, hence it is not a notion, yet some connection has been made in the child’s mind between “bow-wow” and his notion of dog. This is a simple form of thinking, but not of judging, as the latter affirms or denies connections between notions only. The fact that judging and thinking so closely resemble each other has given just cause for some logicians to designate judging as the most fundamental element in all thinking. “The simplest form of thinking,” says Creighton, “is judging.” In order to think many notions into one class it is necessary to conjoin notions. To illustrate: The child who has a general notion of man sees for the first time a negro. If he recognizes the negro as a colored man he must conjoin his general notion of man with this individual notion. In short, a concept is built by means of a series of judgments. It may be said further 11. INFERENCE AS A THOUGHT PRODUCT.Reasoning is the process of deriving a new judgment from a consideration of other judgments. The product of any reasoning process may be called an inference, although, as will appear in a later chapter, inference is commonly used as indicating the process as well as the product. Often reasoning may assume a syllogistic form with the inference as its conclusion. Asyllogism is an arrangement of three propositions using three different terms. The following are syllogisms: (1) All children should play. Mary is a child. Hence, Mary should play. (2) No teacher should judge hastily. You are a teacher. Hence, you should not judge hastily. In the second syllogism the inference, “you should not judge hastily,” is derived from the other two judgments by merely eliminating the common term teacher and disjoining the remaining two terms. The inference is consequently a new judgment. Therefore, reasoning is only a matter of judging carried to a more complex stage. To summarize—conception is largely a matter of conjoining a general notion with an individual notion, judging of conjoining and disjoining all kinds of notions and inference of conjoining and disjoining judgments. All three processes go to form the larger process of thinking. The concept, the judgment and the inference are products arising from conjoining and disjoining notions. 12. THINKING AND APPREHENSION.Says Jevons: “Simple apprehension is the act of the mind by which we merely become aware of something, 13. STAGES IN THINKING.In all thinking there are three steps or stages which may be termed discrimination, comparison, integration. In the case of the two pencils held in the hand, it is noted that one is longer than the other. Let us analyze the process which made possible this conclusion. Step one—Attention is given first to one pencil and then to the other. In each case the pencils are distinguished from the hand and the other surrounding objects. This is discrimination. Step two—The pencils are compared in length. Step three—The two notions are united in the judgment, “Pencil number one is longer than pencil number two.” This is integration. Another illustration. The child is requested to solve Statement: Given: 8 tons cost $165. Required: 16 tons cost? Discrimination. The child notes that 8tons cost $165 and at this rate he is required to find the cost of 16tons. Comparison. The child perceives that 16tons is twice 8tons. Integration. The child concludes that the cost of 16tons will be twice the cost of 8tons or $330. When we think, we first tear to pieces that we may become acquainted with every part. This may be called analysis. Then we put the related pieces together again. This may be called synthesis. Before, however, the parts are re-united a certain amount of comparison is necessary. The three stages of thought might thus be denominated: (1)analysis, (2)comparison, (3)synthesis. After the synthesis or integration it is necessary to name the result, consequently a fourth step is sometimes given, namely denomination. 14. OUTLINE.THOUGHT AND ITS OPERATION. (1) The Knowing Mind Compared with the Thinking Mind. (2) Knowing by Intuition. (3) The Thinking Process. Defined. Other definitions. (4) Notions. Individual. General. Thing and object distinguished. (5) Knowledge and Idea as Related to the Notion. (6) The Logic of Psychological Terms Involved in the Notion. The sensation The concept Terms defined. (7) Thought and the Sensation and Percept. (8) Evolution and the Thinking Mind. (9) The Concept as a Thought Product. (10) The Judgment as a Thought Product. The simplest form of thinking. (11) Inference as a Thought Product. (12) Thinking and Apprehension. (13) Stages in Thinking. Discrimination. Comparison. Integration. (Denomination.) 15. SUMMARY.(1) Knowing is a broader term than thinking as the former equals the latter plus intuition. (2) Intuitive knowledge is that which comes to the mind immediately by direct observation. Although intuitive knowledge comes to the mind without thought, yet such knowledge is essential to all thinking. Intuitive knowledge is the foundation upon which the thinking mind builds. (3) Thinking is the deliberative process of affirming and denying connections. Thinking is a “thickening process,” the smaller units being pressed together to make a larger. Thinking is chiefly a matter of reducing plurality to unity. (4) A notion is any product of the knowing mind. An individual notion is the notion of one thing. A general notion is a notion of a class of things. A thing includes objects, qualities, relations or any existing entity. Athing is that which has individual existence. (5) A bit of knowledge must have been a notion of some one’s mind, but may not necessarily be a notion of your mind. Knowledge may be found in books, but a notion is a mental product found only in the mind. Idea is ambiguous, though its meaning is usually restricted to an image, a meaning or a belief. (6) The products of the knowing mind are the sensation, the image, percept, concept, judgment, inference. The sensation, image and percept are individual notions, while the concept, judgment and inference are general notions. A sensation is a vague, unlocalized product of the knowing mind. A percept is a consciously localized group of sensations. An image is a reproduced percept. A concept is a mental product arising from thinking many notions into one class. A judgment is a mental product arising from conjoining and disjoining notions. An inference is a judgment derived from antecedent judgments. The developed thought processes are the concept, the judgment and the inference. (7) Just where the simplest form of thinking appears in the various activities of the knowing mind is still an undecided question. It is agreed that thinking in its developed and more complex form is found in conception, judging and reasoning. (8) Thinking evolves from the simple to the more complex, just as life has evolved. The child thinks in vague, indefinite wholes, while the adult thinks in clear, definite parts. The child discriminates very imperfectly while the adult discriminates accurately. The sensation seems to be the connecting link between the feeling mind and the knowing mind, while the percept links together the knowing mind and the thinking mind. (9) Conception is the process of thinking many notions into one class. The product of such a process is a concept. The concept stands for groups of all kinds of objects. Conception has the two aspects of affirming connections and of building many into one. The first is the thinking side of the (10) Judging is the process of conjoining or disjoining notions. Judgment is the product of judging. Judgments conjoin and disjoin all kinds of notions. Judging and thinking, though they closely resemble each other, are not synonomous terms. Thinking is a broader term in that connections may be established between a notion and a name for that notion. Judging is the most fundamental of all thinking, as the concept is built from a series of judgments and an inference is simply a made-over judgment. (11) Inference. Reasoning is the process of deriving a new judgment from a consideration of antecedent judgments. This derived judgment may be called an inference. Sometimes the term inference denotes the process of reasoning as well as the product. Reasoning often takes the form of a syllogism. The concept, the judgment and the inference are products arising from conjoining and disjoining notions. (12) Some give to the thinking mind the three aspects, apprehension, judging and reasoning. Apprehension is another word for the two processes, perception and conception. (13) The three important stages in thinking are discrimination, comparison, integration; or analysis, comparison and synthesis. 16. REVIEW QUESTIONS.(1) Show the difference between the knowing mind and the thinking mind. (2) Describe the process known as intuition. (3) What is intuitive knowledge? (4) Is the assumption that think comes from the same root as thick a feasible one? Explain. (5) Define thinking in at least two ways. (6) “Inability to think is due to inability to note connections.” Show this by making use of some problem in arithmetic. (7) Distinguish between individual and general notions. (8) Which is the broader term, object or thing? Explain. (9) What kind of notions only admit of subdivisions? Illustrate. (10) What is the difference between knowledge and notions? Explain. (11) Explain and illustrate the meaning of idea. (12) Classify the various activities of the knowing mind and define each. (13) Explain by definition and illustration the products of the knowing mind. (14) Relate the general notion to the psychological products of the knowing mind. (15) “The thinking mind is a unit.” Explain fully. (16) Trace the analogy between the evolution of the physical world and the evolution of thought. (17) Show that the sensation and the percept may be regarded as connecting links between lower and higher states. (18) Define and illustrate conception. (19) Show that the concept stands for all kinds of notions. (20) Point out the thinking aspect of conception as distinguished from the activity which gives the process its name. (21) Define the judgment. Illustrate two kinds. (22) Show that the concept is built by means of a series of judgments. (23) Show that judging is the fundamental element in the thought products. (24) Define and illustrate reasoning. (25) Describe the syllogism. (26) Explain the use of apprehension. (27) What are the stages in thinking? Illustrate fully. (28) Show that thinking is a matter of analysis and synthesis. 17. QUESTIONS FOR ORIGINAL THOUGHT AND INVESTIGATION.(1) Give your argument in favor of the statement, “Dogs think, but do not reason.” (2) Show by illustration that thinking would be impossible without intuition. (3) “Thinking is the conscious adjustment of a means to an end in problematic situations.” Illustrate this. (4) The class is unable to solve the following problem: “Isell my house for $12,000, which is a gain of 25% on the cost. Find the cost.” What is the trouble? State the problem so that some connection is apparent. (5) “Two-thirds of my salary is $2,400. What is my salary?” A child solves this by dividing $2,400 by two and multiplying this result by three. Illustrate a plan for establishing right connections. (6) May a judgment express a general notion? Illustrate. (7) Is a thought a thing? Illustrate. (8) Show the illogic of dividing notions into individual, general and abstract. (9) Show that goodness is a general notion. (10) Is the concept an idea? Explain. (11) Prove that a mental image is always an individual notion. (12) “In sensation is there implicit thinking?” Argue both sides of the question. (13) Show that the concept, the judgment and the inference are products of the thinking mind. (14) Show by illustration where perception ceases and conception begins. (15) Is there actually any difference between thinking and judging? Illustrate. (16) “Reasoning is controlled thought.” Explain. (17) Of the three stages in thinking which one most concerns the teacher? Illustrate. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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