XI BOOKS ON THINKING

The reader who desires to study further on the sub-ject of thinking will find a wide field before him—but he will have to search in cos-mo-pol-i-tan quarters. While much has been written on thinking, it has been in an incidental manner, and has found its way into books written mainly to il-lum-i-nate other subjects. Among the few books or essays devoted¹ exclusively or mainly to thinking may be mentioned:—John Locke, The Conduct of the Under-stand-ing; Isaac Watts², The Improvement of the Mind; Arnold Bennett, Mental Efficiency; T. Sharper Knowlson, The Art of Thinking; Arthur Schopenhauer, On Thinking for Oneself, in his Essays. The last is especially recommended. It is only about a dozen pages long, and is the most stimulating³ essay written on the subject. This, together with John Locke’s Conduct (which, by the way, is also fairly short) may be con-si-dered the two “classics” in the meager⁴ literature on thinking.

There is an extensive literature on the psychology⁵ of reasoning, on the “positive” science of thinking. The best single work on this subject is John Dewey’s How We Think. William James’ chapter on Reasoning in his Principles of Psychology might also be consulted with profit. S. S. Colvin’s, The Learning Process con-tains some in-teresting chap-ters bearing on thought.

On method, the amount of literature is even more imposing⁶ than that on the psychology of reasoning. Probably the most thorough book is Stanley Jevon’s The Principles of Science, though this, consisting of two volumes, will require quite some ambition to attack. A good recent short work is J. A. Thomson, Introduction to Science. Herbert Spencer’s short essay, An Element in Method, in his Various Fragments might also be mentioned. Of those works treating method mainly from a corrective standpoint, I have already mentioned Jevon’s Elementary Lessons in Logic⁷. The authoritative⁸ and most comprehensive book on logic is still John Stuart Mill’s great tome. Of course this list of books on method, as well as that on the psychology of reasoning, cannot pretend to be more than merely suggestive. If the reader desires an extensive bibliography⁹ in either of these subjects he will probably find it in one of the books mentioned.

On doubt and belief, William Clifford, The Ethics¹⁰ of Belief, and William James, The Will to Believe, might be read. The viewpoints of the two essays are in almost direct contradiction.

On reading, Alexander Bain’s The Art of Study, in his Practical Essays, will be found useful. Bacon’s essay On Studies, which is not more than a couple pages long, contains more con-cen-trated wisdom on the subject than is to be found anywhere.

On subjects most worth thinking about, the reader cannot do better than read Herbert Spencer’s essay What Knowledge is of Most Worth? in his Education. As to books most worth reading, consult the lists of John Morley, Sir John Lubbock, and Frederic Harrison; Sonnenschein’s Best Books (in two volumes); Baldwin’s The Book Lover; Dr. Eliot’s Five Foot Shelf and Frank Parson’s The World’s Best Books, previously¹¹ referred to.

On the art of living—the art of planning time so as to have room for thinking, as well as valuable hints as to how that thinking is to be carried out—consult Arnold Bennett, How to Live on Twenty-four Hours a Day, and E. H. Griggs, The Use of the Margin¹² (both very, very small books).

Finally, there is much useful material, as well as incalculable inspiration, to be obtained from the in-tel-lec-tual and literary biographies of great thinkers. Especially is this true of auto-bio-graphy. Among others may be mentioned the auto-bio-graph-ies of John Stuart Mill and Herbert Spencer, and an auto-bio-graph-i-cal frag-ment by Charles Darwin.

The End

1 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

2 watts   

（电力计量单位）瓦，瓦特( watt的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• My lamp uses 60 watts; my toaster uses 600 watts. 我的灯用60瓦，我的烤面包器用600瓦。
• My lamp uses 40 watts. 我的灯40瓦。

3 stimulating   

adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的

参考例句：

• shower gel containing plant extracts that have a stimulating effect on the skin 含有对皮肤有益的植物精华的沐浴凝胶
• This is a drug for stimulating nerves. 这是一种兴奋剂。

4 meager   

adj.缺乏的，不足的，瘦的

参考例句：

• He could not support his family on his meager salary.他靠微薄的工资无法养家。
• The two men and the woman grouped about the fire and began their meager meal.两个男人同一个女人围着火，开始吃起少得可怜的午饭。

5 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

6 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

7 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

8 authoritative   

adj.有权威的，可相信的；命令式的；官方的

参考例句：

• David speaks in an authoritative tone.大卫以命令的口吻说话。
• Her smile was warm but authoritative.她的笑容很和蔼，同时又透着威严。

9 bibliography   

n.参考书目；(有关某一专题的)书目

参考例句：

• There is a useful bibliography at the end of each chapter.在每一章后附有一份有用的参考书目。
• The production of this bibliography is totally automated.这个目录的编制过程全是自动化的。

10 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

11 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

12 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。