HOWWETHINK(JOHNDEWEY)外文电子书籍.doc
《HOWWETHINK(JOHNDEWEY)外文电子书籍.doc》由会员分享,可在线阅读,更多相关《HOWWETHINK(JOHNDEWEY)外文电子书籍.doc(153页珍藏版)》请在冰点文库上搜索。
HowWeThink
JoneDewey
PartOne:
TheProblemofTrainingThought
Chapter1:
WhatisThought
?
I.VariedSensesoftheTerm
Foursensesofthought,fromthewidertothelimited
Nowordsareofteneronourlipsthanthinkingandthought.Soprofuseandvaried,indeed,isouruseofthesewordsthatitisnoteasytodefinejustwhatwemeanbythem.Theaimofthischapteristofindasingleconsistentmeaning.Assistancemaybehadbyconsideringsometypicalwaysinwhichthetermsareemployed.Inthefirstplacethoughtisusedbroadly,nottosayloosely.Everythingthatcomestomind,that"goesthroughourheads,"iscalledathought.Tothinkofathingisjusttobeconsciousofitinanywaywhatsoever.Second,thetermisrestrictedbyexcludingwhateverisdirectlypresented;wethink(orthinkof)onlysuchthingsaswedonotdirectlysee,hear,smell,ortaste.Then,third,themeaningisfurtherlimitedtobeliefsthatrestuponsomekindofevidenceortestimony.Ofthisthirdtype,twokinds―or,rather,twodegrees―mustbediscriminated.Insomecases,abeliefisacceptedwithslightoralmostnoattempttostatethegroundsthatsupportit.Inothercases,thegroundorbasisforabeliefisdeliberatelysoughtandits
(2)adequacytosupportthebeliefexamined.Thisprocessiscalledreflectivethought;italoneistrulyeducativeinvalue,anditforms,accordingly,theprincipalsubjectofthisvolume.Weshallnowbrieflydescribeeachofthefoursenses.
Chanceandidlethinking
1.Initsloosestsense,thinkingsignifieseverythingthat,aswesay,is"inourheads"orthat"goesthroughourminds."Hewhooffers"apennyforyourthoughts"doesnotexpecttodriveanygreatbargain.Incallingtheobjectsofhisdemandthoughts,hedoesnotintendtoascribetothemdignity,consecutiveness,ortruth.Anyidlefancy,trivialrecollection,orflittingimpressionwillsatisfyhisdemand.Daydreaming,buildingofcastlesintheair,thatloosefluxofcasualanddisconnectedmaterialthatfloatsthroughourmindsinrelaxedmomentsare,inthisrandomsense,thinking.Moreofourwakinglifethanweshouldcaretoadmit,eventoourselves,islikelytobewhiledawayinthisinconsequentialtriflingwithidlefancyandunsubstantialhope.
Reflectivethoughtisconsecutive,notmerelyasequence
Inthissense,sillyfolkanddullardsthink.Thestoryistoldofamaninslightreputeforintelligence,who,desiringtobechosenselectmaninhisNewEnglandtown,addressedaknotofneighborsinthiswise:
"Ihearyoudon'tbelieveIknowenoughtoholdoffice.IwishyoutounderstandthatIamthinkingaboutsomethingorothermostofthetime."Nowreflectivethoughtislikethisrandomcoursingofthingsthroughthemindinthatitconsistsofasuccessionofthingsthoughtof;butitisunlike,inthatthemerechanceoccurrenceofanychance"somethingorother"inanirregularsequencedoesnotsuffice.Reflectioninvolvesnotsimplyasequenceofideas,butaconsequence―aconsecutiveorderinginsuchawaythat
(3)eachdeterminesthenextasitsproperoutcome,whileeachinturnleansbackonitspredecessors.Thesuccessiveportionsofthereflectivethoughtgrowoutofoneanotherandsupportoneanother;theydonotcomeandgoinamedley.Eachphaseisastepfromsomethingtosomething―technicallyspeaking,itisatermofthought.Eachtermleavesadepositwhichisutilizedinthenextterm.Thestreamorflowbecomesatrain,chain,orthread.
Therestrictionofthinkingtowhatgoesbeyonddirectobservation
Reflectivethoughtaims,however,atbelief
II.Evenwhenthinkingisusedinabroadsense,itisusuallyrestrictedtomattersnotdirectlyperceived:
towhatwedonotsee,smell,hear,ortouch.Weaskthemantellingastoryifhesawacertainincidenthappen,andhisreplymaybe,"No,Ionlythoughtofit."Anoteofinvention,asdistinctfromfaithfulrecordofobservation,ispresent.Mostimportantinthisclassaresuccessionsofimaginativeincidentsandepisodeswhich,havingacertaincoherence,hangingtogetheronacontinuousthread,liebetweenkaleidoscopicflightsoffancyandconsiderationsdeliberatelyemployedtoestablishaconclusion.Theimaginativestoriespouredforthbychildrenpossessalldegreesofinternalcongruity;somearedisjointed,somearearticulated.Whenconnected,theysimulatereflectivethought;indeed,theyusuallyoccurinmindsoflogicalcapacity.Theseimaginativeenterprisesoftenprecedethinkingoftheclose-knittypeandpreparethewayforit.Buttheydonotaimatknowledge,atbeliefaboutfactsorintruths;andtherebytheyaremarkedofffromreflectivethoughtevenwhentheymostresembleit.Thosewhoexpresssuchthoughtsdonotexpectcredence,butrathercreditforawell-constructedplotorawell-arrangedclimax.Theyproducegoodstories,not―unlessbychance―
(4) knowledge.Suchthoughtsareanefflorescenceoffeeling;theenhancementofamoodorsentimentistheiraim;congruityofemotion,theirbindingtie.
ThoughtInducesbeliefintwoways
III.Initsnextsense,thoughtdenotesbeliefrestinguponsomebasis,thatis,realorsupposedknowledgegoingbeyondwhatisdirectlypresent.Itismarkedbyacceptanceorrejectionofsomethingasreasonablyprobableorimprobable.Thisphaseofthought,however,includestwosuchdistincttypesofbeliefthat,eventhoughtheirdifferenceisstrictlyoneofdegree,notofkind,itbecomespracticallyimportanttoconsiderthemseparately.Somebeliefsareacceptedwhentheirgroundshavenotthemselvesbeenconsidered,othersareacceptedbecausetheirgroundshavebeenexamined.
Whenwesay,"Menusedtothinktheworldwasflat,"or,Ithoughtyouwentbythehouse,"weexpressbeliefsomethingisaccepted,heldto,acquiescedin,oraffirmed.Butsuchthoughtsmaymeanasuppositionacceptedwithoutreferencetoitsrealgrounds.Thesemaybeadequate,theymaynot;buttheirvaluewithreferencetothesupporttheyaffordthebeliefhasnotbeenconsidered.
Suchthoughtsgrowupunconsciouslyandwithoutreferencetotheattainmentofcorrectbelief.Theyarepickedup―weknownothow.Fromobscuresourcesandbyunnoticedchannelstheyinsinuatethemselvesintoacceptanceandbecomeunconsciouslyapartofourmentalfurniture.Tradition,instruction,imitation―allofwhichdependuponauthorityinsomeform,orappealtoourownadvantage,orfallinwithastrongpassion―areresponsibleforthem.Suchthoughtsareprejudices,thatis,prejudgments,not
(5)judgmentsproperthatrestuponasurveyofevidence.[1]
Thinkinginitsbestsenseisthatwhichconsidersthebasisandconsequencesofbelief
IV.ThoughtsthatresultinbeliefhaveanimportanceIattachedtothemwhichleadstoreflectivethoughttoconsciousinquiryintothenature,conditions,andbearingsofthebelief.Tothinkofwhalesandcamelsinthecloudsistoentertainourselveswithfancies,terminableatourpleasure,whichdonotleadtoanybeliefinparticular.Buttothinkoftheworldasflatistoascribeaqualitytoarealthingasitsrealproperty.Thisconclusiondenotesaconnectionamongthingsandhenceisnot,likeimaginativethought,plastictoourmood.Beliefintheworld'sflatnesscommitshimwhoholdsittothinkingincertainspecificwaysofotherobjects,suchastheheavenlybodies,antipodes,thepossibilityofnavigation.Itprescribestohimactionsinaccordancewithhisconceptionoftheseobjects.
Theconsequencesofabeliefuponotherbeliefsanduponbehaviormaybesoimportant,then,thatmenareforcedtoconsiderthegroundsorreasonsoftheirbeliefanditslogicalconsequences.Thismeansreflectivethought-thoughtinitseulogisticandemphaticsense.
MenthoughttheworldwasflatuntilColumbusthoughtittoberound.Theearlierthoughtwasabeliefheldbecausemenhadnottheenergyorthecouragetoquestionwhatthoseaboutthemacceptedandtaught,especiallyasitwassuggestedandseeminglyconfirmedbyobvioussensiblefacts.ThethoughtofColumbuswasareasonedconclusion.Itmarkedthecloseofstudyintofacts,ofscrutinyandrevisionofevidence,ofworkingouttheimplicationsofvarioushypotheses,andof
Reflectivethoughtdefined
(6)comparingthesetheoreticalresultswithoneanotherandwithknownfacts.acts.BecauseColumbusdidnotacceptunhesitatinglythecurrenttraditionaltheory,becausehedoubtedandinquired,hearrivedathisthought.Skepticalofwhat,fromlonghabit,seemedmostcertain,andcredulousofwhatseemedimpossible,hewentonthinkinguntilhecouldproduceevidenceforbothhisconfidenceandhisdisbelief.Evenifhisconclusionhadfinallyturnedoutwrong,itwouldhavebeenadifferentsortofbelieffromthoseitantagonized,becauseitwasreachedbyadifferentmethod.Active,persistent,andcarefulconsiderationofanybelieforsupposedformofknowledgeinthelightofthegroundsthatsupportit,andthefurtherconclusionstowhichittends,constitutesreflectivethought.Anyoneofthefirstthreekindsofthoughtmayelicitthistype;butoncebegun,itisaconsciousandvoluntaryefforttoestablishbeliefuponafirmbasisofreasons.
?
2.TheCentralFactorinThinking
Thereisacommonelementinalltypesofthought:
Thereare,however,nosharplinesofdemarcationbetweenthevariousoperationsjustoutlined.Theproblemofattainingcorrecthabitsofreflectionwouldbemucheasierthanitis,didnotthedifferentmodesofthinkingblendinsensiblyintooneanother.Sofar,wehaveconsideredratherextremeinstancesofeachkindinordertogetthefieldclearlybeforeus.Letusnowreversethisoperation;letusconsiderarudimentarycaseofthinking,lyingbetweencareful