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VOL. III.

SEPTEMBER, 1902.

NUMBER 1

A STUDY OF PSYCHOLOGIC FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION," BY DR. W. T. HARRIS.

X.

HOWARD SANDISON, INDIANA STATE NORMAL.

Chapter X is devoted to an investigation of the interaction of the first and second figures of the process of senseperception. It is a further investigation of the psychologic principle and its method. It is an attempt to show how in sense-perception the first figure reinforces the second.

In the previous chapter there was an explanation of the thought that senseperception is logical and has as its characteristic figure the second. This chapter is an advance upon the previous one because it shows more fully that the second figure, the characteristic one of senseperception, is in the act of sense-perception, reinforced by the first.

This is certainly important in the work of instruction. A great deal is said about training the children's senses, about giving them training in observation.. It would seem that a thorough mastery of the preceding chapter, and of the succeeding one, would enable the teacher to be far more helpful to a pupil in this respect.

In considering the chapter four things. will be examined: The nature of the three figures and their relation; the activity in sense-perception; the nature of logic as it is here conceived; the educational significance of the thought of the chapter.

1. In speaking of the nature of the three figures and their relation it would be well to indicate, first, that the thing of importance in each figure is the conclusion. When referring to discovery of unity one always means the discovery of the unity between the subject and the predicate of the conclusion. The conclusion may be indicated thus:

That of the first figure, "This grain is nutritious;"

That of the second figure, "This grain is wheat;"

That of the third, "Some wheat is bearded."

It is seen that the conclusion in the first figure identifies the individual with the universal. The conclusion in the second figure identifies the individual with the particular, i. e., with the class. The conclusion in the third figure identifies the class, i. e., the particular, with the universal.

It seems evident, therefore, that the conclusions in these three figures practically touch all phases of thought, because if the first one shows the unity between the individual and the universal, and the second the unity between the individual and the class, and the third the unity between the class and the universal, the circuit of thought is completed.

The syllogism under the first figure is in this form:

All wheat is nutritious.

This grain is wheat.

Therefore, this grain is nutritious.

The middle term is shown in the sub

ject of the major premise, and in the predicate of the minor premise. The unity between the individual and universal is discovered by the mind in this way:

It is apparent that the universal includes all the class, and that the class includes "this grain." Then whatever is true of all class is practically true of "this grain."

The syllogism in the second figure is:
This grain is nutritious.

Wheat is nutritious.

Therefore this grain is wheat.

It needs to be uttered only to show that it is not conclusive, but the process by which the mind unifies the individual with the class is this:

It discovers that the universal attribute includes all of the class wheat, as well as many other classes, and it discovers that this universal includes "this grain." Since it is inclusive of both, the mind without deep thought unifies them and therein lies the weakness in sense-perception, and also the reason that the second figure, which is the ordinary one of senseperception, should be supplemented by one which is more accurate.

The middle term in the second figure is found in the two predicates.

The syllogism in the third figure is in

this form:

This grain that I am examining is wheat.

This grain that I am examining is nutritious.

Therefore wheat, that is, some wheat, is nutritious.

Here the middle term is found in the subjects of the major and minor premises.

Again, by the use of the middle term it is seen that the circuit of thought is complete. In the third figure the middle term is both subjects. In the second figure the middle term is both predicates. In the first figure the middle term is the subject of the major premise and the predicate of the minor premise.

The ground of unity in the third figure. is that the mind discovers that wheatproducing activity has once revealed itself in the various other attributes that belong to wheat and the attribute "nutritious," and the inference is that whenever that energy acts it will reveal along with the other characteristics of wheat this attribute "nutritious."

But certainty would require the conclusion to be tested more fully than in a given example, ordinarily. Unless the mind is clear that the attribute seized upon is characteristic, belonging to this object only, the conclusion would not be valid from one case.

2. The logical movement in senseperception implies, in the first place, the

activity of the second figure. The second figure is the figure of identification and an act of sense-perception is always an identification. In sense-perception one says, this is white, or that is a desk, or that is a horse. The identification is immediate, apparently, and is the basis for distinctions that are to be made afterwards. The movement is in this form:

The observer perceives a certain attribute in an object, and on the ground of that attribute classes the object. In other words, the observer identifies the individual with the class. Let a definite example be given:

An observer standing upon the corner of the street saw, down in the street, a small bird. Noticing that it was ashy colored above he said: "That is a male English sparrow." That was an act of sense-perception. What was his logical process? If the observer afterwards analyzed it he found it to be as follows: Male English sparrows are ashy colored above. This bird seems to be ashy colored above, therefore it is a male English sparrow. That is the first movement in sense-perception.

In the present chapter there is shown an important addition, viz., the second movement in sense-perception. This is the employment of the first figure. In what way? As soon as the observer, in the case given above, employed the seeond figure he had classed the bird. What is the significance of that? He had placed this unknown object into a known class. This is important, for the reason that the mind tends to react the attributes of the known class, and the group of attributes thus reacted becomes the basis for inspection by means of the first figure. Then by means of the second figure the observer tests the object with reference to the suggested attribute. That test leads to the new employment of the first figure, and a further test by the second figure. Sense-perception is then the movement of the second figure made certain by the first; the test of the suggestion gained from the first figure, by the second, etc. For example, as soon as the observer in the given case had classed the bird in the group "male English spar

row," his mind reacted the attributes belonging to the class and said, "A male English sparrow has black and chestnut stripes upon the shoulders and back." That was the major premise of the first figure. He next thought, "This I have classed as a male English sparrow." That was the minor premise of the first figure. He then thought, this bird ought when examined to show black and chestnut stripes upon the shoulders and back. Through the second figure it was then examined with reference to this attribute and the black and chestnut stripes were found upon the shoulders and back. That was a verification and tended to render the act of sense-perception more accurate, according to the laws of probability.

This was the form unconsciously emploved: Black and chestnut marks upon the shoulders and back always give a certain appearance. This now being examined gives that same appearance. Therefore this has black and chestnut stripes upon the shoulders and back.

The result not being certain, the observer emploved the first figure, thus: "The male English sparrow always has upon the wings a white and chestnut bar surrounded by a faint black line. This, however, I have said to be a male English sparrow, therefore this ought to have a wing which has a white and chestnut bar with a faint black line around it." That gives me a new attribute with reference to which to examine the bird in order to see the accuracy of the classification. Attention is then centered upon the wing and the mind syllogizes thus: "The white and chestnut marks upon the wing would give a certain appearance. This gives that same appearance, and therefore here are white and chestnut marks upon the wing." This is the use of the second figure.

The observer then syllogizes in the first figure, seeking greater certainty: "The male English sparrow always has black upon the middle of the throat. This is a male English sparrow, therefore it has, or ought to have, black upon the middle of the throat. This gives me a new attribute to examine, and the observer ex

amines it under the second figure, saying: "Black upon the middle of the throat and breast would have a given appearance. This as I now examine it seems to have that given appearance, therefore it has black upon the middle of the throat and breast." That is a further verification. Every verification made renders the uncertain results of the first verification more certain. The first figure by its contribution renders the identification step by step more probable. There is this subtle backward and forward movement in the act of sense-perception. The mind. first employs the second figure, and then by means of the first suggests an attribute through which to test the result of the second. Through the second the object is then examined with reference to the attribute suggested in the first, etc. It is seen, then, that the second figure gives a certain conclusion, which instantly becomes the middle term for the first figure, and then the first figure suggests to the mind a new attribute which instantly becomes the center for examination according to the second, and the examination of this new attribute by the second figure gives another middle term which is employed in the first figure, and the result of that activity of the first figure gives a new attribute to be examined according to the second.

It is to be noted then that to the thinker possessing accurate concepts, the first figure is extremely fertile in its suggestions. That is admirably put by the author when speaking about the village. He is near a village. According to the first figure this thought occurs: "I am near a village; a village usually has a church as a prominent object, and that suggests that this object which is before. me may be a church steeple." Through the act of the second figure this is asserted to be a church steeple.

But the suggestions of the first figure are far deeper. That is, the idea of space suggests an outline, and instantly the mind through the second figure examines the object for its outline. Under the idea of time motion is suggested and examination is made as to whether it indicates that. Under the idea of cause relations

to other objects are examined. Therefore, while the second figure used in the affirmative is unreliable, yet every step made by the second figure through the suggestions of the first renders the identification more reliable. The thought concerning the logical procedure in senseperception is that there is first the employment of the second figure, giving an unreliable result.

The result gained in this second figure is then used as a middle term for the first figure, which brings to consciousness a certain attribute. That attribute then becomes the center of examination, according to the second figure. Thus by a shuttle-like movement the mind slowly generates truth. The explanation of this underlying logical movement of sense-perception presented in the chapter makes the process of training sense-perception far more definite.

3. The nature of logic as here conceived.

But

Dr. Harris very properly says that "formal logic has fallen into a great deal of contempt in later times, and justly so if we look upon it as a mere outside movement by which certain formal conclusions are reached, whether the conclusion is a thoughtful one or not. when the term logic is used to mean the spiritual movement involved in cognition, whether revealed to consciousness or not, then it becomes important." Generally logic is thought to refer only to the conscious processes of reasoning, but in these chapters its scope has extended and it is viewed as including not only the logical movements in conscious reasoning, but also the hidden logical procedure in all lower processes-a logical procedure that can be discovered only by one who has given some close training to his power of introspection.

Hegel gave this added meaning to logic. Why did he do it? Because he saw that the fundamental thing concerned in thinking is not a class, but the generative activity that produced the class. That gave a clear basis to three movementsthe movement by which the mind unifies the individual with the general; the movement by which it unifies the individual with the particular, and that by

which it unifies the particular with the general. For example, notice again the third figure. Why does one think the conclusion in the following figure?

(1) This object is wheat.

(2)

This object is nutritious. (3) Some wheat is nutritious.

Because the object in which he finds the ordinary wheat attributes is the same object in which he finds the attribute "nutritious," and his thought is this: "The generative activity that produces wheat, produces along with the ordinary attributes of wheat this one attribute 'nutritious.'

Then this thought will arise: It is the nature of the generative activity when revealing itself in the ordinary wheat attributes to reveal itself in this attribute "nutritious."

To repeat: The mind discovers in a given instance that an invisible creative force reveals itself in grain having parallel veined leaves, an easily removable husk, a grooved center, and a nutritious. quality. The inference is then made that it is the nature of the invisible activity. Hegel, because he traced logic back to the generative energy discovered a new thought concerning the three figures, viz., that the major premise of the first figure is made certain by the thought reached in the third figure; that the major premise of the second figure is verified by the thought gained in the first; and that the major premise of the third is reached by the thought gained in the second. Under this view logical activity is a selfactivity, a total.

4. The pedagogical implications.

a. The teacher is to exercise care when teaching the child the idea of mountain, of the English sparrow, or of wheat, that all the essential attributes are distinct. These are then to be distinguished from the non-essential attributes. The child then enters upon a new act of sense-perception with a knowledge of the essential attribute of the concept to be employed. All this belongs to his consciousness.

If he examines any new object and says "This is a male English sparrow," basing his conclusion on a non-essential attribute, as is ordinarily the case in sense

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