The Art of Logical Thinking; Or, The Laws of ReasoningAtkinson, William Walker
Philosophy
The Art of Logical Thinking; Or, The Laws of Reasoning
Atkinson, William Walker
Logic; Reasoning
For instance, a child perceives a horse, a cow or a sheep and hears its
elders apply the term "_animal_" to it. This term is perfectly correct,
although symbolizing only a very general classification or
generalization. But, the child knowing nothing of the more limited and
detailed classification begins to generalize regarding the animal. To
it, accordingly, an "animal" is identical with the dog or the cow, the
sheep or the horse, as the case may be, and when the term is used the
child thinks that _all animals_ are similar to the particular animal
seen. Later on, when it hears the term "animal" applied to a totally
different looking creature, it thinks that a mistake has been made and
a state of confusion occurs. Or, even when a term is applied within
narrower limits, the same trouble occurs. The child may hear the term
"dog" applied to a mastiff, and it accordingly forms a concept of _dog_
identical with the qualities and attributes of the mastiff. Later,
hearing the same term applied to a toy-terrier, it becomes indignant and
cries out that the latter is no "dog" but is something entirely
different. It is not until the child becomes acquainted with the fact
that there are many kinds of creatures in the general category of "dog"
that the latter term becomes fully understood and its appropriate
concept is intelligently formed. Thus we see the importance of the step
of Presentation.
In the same way the child might imagine that because some particular
"man" had red hair and long whiskers, _all men_ were red-haired and
long-whiskered. Such a child would always form the concept of "man" as a
creature possessed of the personal qualities just mentioned. As a writer
once said, readers of current French literature might imagine that all
Englishmen were short, dumpy, red-cheeked and irascible, and that all
Englishwomen had great teeth and enormous feet; also that readers of
English literature might imagine that all Frenchmen were like monkeys,
and all Frenchwomen were sad coquettes. In the same way many American
young people believe that all Englishmen say "Don't you know" and all
Englishwomen constantly ejaculate: "Fancy!" Also that every Englishman
wears a monocle. In the same way, the young English person, from reading
the cheap novels of his own country, might well form the concept of all
Americans as long-legged, chin-whiskered and big-nosed, saying "Waal, I
want to know;" "I reckon;" and "Du tell;" while they tilted themselves
back in a chair with their feet on the mantelpiece. The concept of a
Western man, entertained by the average Eastern person who has never
traveled further West than Buffalo, is equally amusing. In the same way,
we have known Western people who formed a concept of Boston people as
partaking of a steady and continuous diet of baked beans and studiously
reading Browning and Emerson between these meals.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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