Thought-Culture; Or, Practical Mental TrainingAtkinson, William Walker
Science
Thought-Culture; Or, Practical Mental Training
Atkinson, William Walker
Thought and thinking
_Intuition_ is the faculty of the Mind whereby it evolves what have been
called Primary Truths or Primary Ideas. By Primary Ideas are meant the
ideas of Space, Time, Cause, Identity, etc. By Primary Truths are meant
the so-called "Self-Evident Truths" of geometry, mathematics and logic.
Under the head of Intuition are also sometimes included the activities
of the Subconscious or Superconscious regions of the mind, of which we
have spoken in detail in a volume under that name of this series. Some
authorities hold to the older idea of "Innate Ideas" by which is meant
that every human being is born with the knowledge of certain fundamental
truths, unconnected with any experience. Others hold that these ideas
are simply the result of the experience of the race, transmitted to us
as "germ ideas" which must grow by experience and exercise.
* * * * *
That each and every faculty of the Mind may be strengthened and
developed by Culture and Exercise is now held to be a fact by nearly
every authority worthy of that name. Just as the physical muscle may be
cultivated by the proper methods, so may the mental faculties be
strengthened and cultivated by the appropriate methods and means.
Inasmuch as the majority of the race are deficient in the development of
one or more of the leading mental faculties, it becomes a matter of
great interest and importance that all should acquaint themselves with
the means whereby their deficiencies may be corrected and remedied. We
shall now proceed to the consideration of Thought-Culture in general,
and then to the consideration of the culture of each particular general
faculty, in detail.
CHAPTER IV.
THOUGHT-CULTURE
Thought-Culture is based upon two general scientific facts which may be
stated as follows:
I. The brain centres of thought may be developed by exercise. While we
do not assert that the brain and the mind are identical, it is
nevertheless a scientific truth that "the brain is the organ of the
mind" and that one of the first requisites for a good mind is a good
brain. It has been proven by experiment that the brain-cells concerned
in special mental activities multiply in proportion to the active use of
the special faculties employed in the mental operation. It has also been
ascertained that disuse of special faculties of the mind tends to cause
a process akin to atrophy in the brain-cells concerned in the particular
activity, so that it becomes difficult to think clearly along those
particular lines after a long period of disuse. Moreover, it is known
that the education and mental culture of a child is accompanied by an
increase and development of the brain-cells connected with the
particular fields of thought in which the child is exercised.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account