Part II
The Third Level of Reading: Analytical Reading
Chapter 6: Pigeonholing a Book
The Importance of Classifying Books
Rule 1: You must know what kind of book you are reading, and you should know this as early in the process as possible, preferable before you begin to read.
Why is this important?
- “Mainly, because just as there is a difference in the art of teaching in different fields, so there is a reciprocal difference in the art of being taught.”
- There are books that vary in the kind of knowledge they have to communicate so they will instruct us differently, so we, as readers, must learn to read each kind in an appropriate manner.
Categories
- Fiction: not conveying knowledge
- Expository: conveys knowledge primarily, nonfiction.
o History
o Philosophy
o Science and Mathematics
What You Can Learn from the Title of a Book
Example: The Origin of Species vs. The Origin of the Species
“The reader who ignores all these things has only himself to blame if he is puzzled by the question, What kind of book is this?
Practical vs. Theoretical Books
“Knowing that and knowing how.”
Practical
- Has to do with what works in some way.
- Interest beyond knowledge for its own sake.
- Concerned with problems of human life that knowledge can help to solve.
- They communicate knowledge with an emphasis on its application.
- “you are, you should”
- Expositions of arts to be learned, manuals of practice, engineering or medicine or cooking, treatises classified as moral, economic, ethical, or political problems, oration.
- Questions about the end of anythings.
Theoretical
- Something to be seen or understood
- Questions about the validity of something.
- “Is”, not “should” or “ought”
- Tries to show something is true.
“Intelligent action depends on knowledge.”
How to classify them?
- Read passages in the book
- Read the beginning and end of the book and of its major parts.
Kinds of Theoretical Books
History
- Knowledge of particular events or things that not only existed in the past but also underwent a series of changes in the course of time.
- Chronotopic: Chronos topos (place)
Science
- Treats of matters than can happen at any time or place. The scientist seeks laws of generalization.
Philosophy
- Seeks general truths.
- One criterion to differentiate from science:
“If a theoretical book emphasizes things that lie outside the scope of your normal, routine, daily experience, it is a scientific work. If not, it is philosophical… a philosophical book appeals to no facts or observations that lie outside the experience of the ordinary man.”
Rule 1: You must know what kind of book you are reading, and you should know this as early in the process as possible, preferable before you begin to read.
Why is this important?
- “Mainly, because just as there is a difference in the art of teaching in different fields, so there is a reciprocal difference in the art of being taught.”
- There are books that vary in the kind of knowledge they have to communicate so they will instruct us differently, so we, as readers, must learn to read each kind in an appropriate manner.
Categories
- Fiction: not conveying knowledge
- Expository: conveys knowledge primarily, nonfiction.
o History
o Philosophy
o Science and Mathematics
What You Can Learn from the Title of a Book
Example: The Origin of Species vs. The Origin of the Species
“The reader who ignores all these things has only himself to blame if he is puzzled by the question, What kind of book is this?
Practical vs. Theoretical Books
“Knowing that and knowing how.”
Practical
- Has to do with what works in some way.
- Interest beyond knowledge for its own sake.
- Concerned with problems of human life that knowledge can help to solve.
- They communicate knowledge with an emphasis on its application.
- “you are, you should”
- Expositions of arts to be learned, manuals of practice, engineering or medicine or cooking, treatises classified as moral, economic, ethical, or political problems, oration.
- Questions about the end of anythings.
Theoretical
- Something to be seen or understood
- Questions about the validity of something.
- “Is”, not “should” or “ought”
- Tries to show something is true.
“Intelligent action depends on knowledge.”
How to classify them?
- Read passages in the book
- Read the beginning and end of the book and of its major parts.
Kinds of Theoretical Books
History
- Knowledge of particular events or things that not only existed in the past but also underwent a series of changes in the course of time.
- Chronotopic: Chronos topos (place)
Science
- Treats of matters than can happen at any time or place. The scientist seeks laws of generalization.
Philosophy
- Seeks general truths.
- One criterion to differentiate from science:
“If a theoretical book emphasizes things that lie outside the scope of your normal, routine, daily experience, it is a scientific work. If not, it is philosophical… a philosophical book appeals to no facts or observations that lie outside the experience of the ordinary man.”
Chapter 7: X-raying a Book
“Every book has a skeleton hidden between its covers. Your job as an analytical reader is to find it.”
The First Stage of Analytical Reading, or Rules for Finding What a Book Is About…
1. Classify the book according to kind and subject matter.
2. State what the whole book is about with the utmost brevity.
3. Enumerate its major parts in their order and relation, and outline these parts as you have outlined the whole.
4. Define the problem or problems the author is trying to solve.
The First Stage of Analytical Reading, or Rules for Finding What a Book Is About…
1. Classify the book according to kind and subject matter.
2. State what the whole book is about with the utmost brevity.
3. Enumerate its major parts in their order and relation, and outline these parts as you have outlined the whole.
4. Define the problem or problems the author is trying to solve.
Chapter 8: Coming to Terms with an Author
“Unless the reader comes to terms with the author, the communication of knowledge from one to the other does not take place. For a term is the basic element of communicable knowledge.”
Terms: a skilled use of words for the sake of communicating knowledge.
…Continuation Rules…
5. Find the important words and through them come to terms with the author.
(First, find locate the important words, take notice of the ones you don’t understand. Second, determine the meaning of these words, using the context of the words you do understand.)
“The likelihood of a meeting of minds through language depends on the willingness of both reader and writer to work together.”
Chapter 9: Determining an Author's Message
“A proposition in a book is also a declaration. It is an expression of the author’s judgment about something.”
“His propositions are nothing but expressions of personal opinion unless they are supported by reasons.”
“This is said because of that.”
Argument: set or series of statements of which some provide the grounds or reasons for what is to be concluded. It begins somewhere, goes somewhere, gets somewhere. It is a movement of thought.
Outlining and Interpretation meet at the level of Propositions and Arguments.
…Continuation Rules…
6. Mark the most important sentences in a book and discover the propositions they contain.
7. Locate or construct the basic arguments in the book by finding them in the connection of sentences.
Another formulation of Rule 7: Find if you can the paragraphs in a book that state its important arguments; but if the arguments are not thus expressed, your task is to construct them, by taking a sentence from this paragraph, and one from that, until you have gathered together the sequence of sentences that state the propositions that compose the argument.
8. Find out what the author’s solutions are.
“But the heart of his communication (the author’s) lies in the major affirmations and denials he is making, and the reasons he gives for so doing.”
“Any good argument can be put into a nutshell.”
The Second Stage of Analytical Reading, or Rules for Finding What a Book Says (Interpreting Its Contents)
What is being said in detail, and how?
5. Come to terms with the author by interpreting his key words.
6. Grasp the author’s leading propositions by dealing with his most important resources.
7. Know the author’s arguments, by finding them in, or constructing them out of, sequences of sentences.
8. Determine which of his problems the author has solved, and which he has not; and as the latter, decide which the author knew he had failed to solve.
“His propositions are nothing but expressions of personal opinion unless they are supported by reasons.”
“This is said because of that.”
Argument: set or series of statements of which some provide the grounds or reasons for what is to be concluded. It begins somewhere, goes somewhere, gets somewhere. It is a movement of thought.
Outlining and Interpretation meet at the level of Propositions and Arguments.
…Continuation Rules…
6. Mark the most important sentences in a book and discover the propositions they contain.
7. Locate or construct the basic arguments in the book by finding them in the connection of sentences.
Another formulation of Rule 7: Find if you can the paragraphs in a book that state its important arguments; but if the arguments are not thus expressed, your task is to construct them, by taking a sentence from this paragraph, and one from that, until you have gathered together the sequence of sentences that state the propositions that compose the argument.
8. Find out what the author’s solutions are.
“But the heart of his communication (the author’s) lies in the major affirmations and denials he is making, and the reasons he gives for so doing.”
“Any good argument can be put into a nutshell.”
The Second Stage of Analytical Reading, or Rules for Finding What a Book Says (Interpreting Its Contents)
What is being said in detail, and how?
5. Come to terms with the author by interpreting his key words.
6. Grasp the author’s leading propositions by dealing with his most important resources.
7. Know the author’s arguments, by finding them in, or constructing them out of, sequences of sentences.
8. Determine which of his problems the author has solved, and which he has not; and as the latter, decide which the author knew he had failed to solve.
Chapter 10: Criticizing a Book Fairly
“Reading a book is a kind of conversation.”
“Ordinary conversations between persons who confront each other are good only when they are carried on civilly.”
“The profit in good conversation is something learned.”
Bacon’s (I guess Francis Bacon) recommendation to the reader: “Read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; not to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider.”
…More Rules…
2. You must be able to say, with reasonable certainty, “I understand”, before you can say any one of the following things: “I agree”, or “I disagree”, or “I suspend judgment.”
3. When you disagree, do so reasonably, and not disputatiously or contentiously.
4. Respect the difference between knowledge and mere personal opinion, by giving reasons for any critical judgment you make.
“To agree without understanding is inane. To disagree without understanding is impudent.”
“Knowledge, if you please, consists in those opinions that can be defended, opinions for which there is evidence of one kind or another.”
“Ordinary conversations between persons who confront each other are good only when they are carried on civilly.”
“The profit in good conversation is something learned.”
Bacon’s (I guess Francis Bacon) recommendation to the reader: “Read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; not to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider.”
…More Rules…
2. You must be able to say, with reasonable certainty, “I understand”, before you can say any one of the following things: “I agree”, or “I disagree”, or “I suspend judgment.”
3. When you disagree, do so reasonably, and not disputatiously or contentiously.
4. Respect the difference between knowledge and mere personal opinion, by giving reasons for any critical judgment you make.
“To agree without understanding is inane. To disagree without understanding is impudent.”
“Knowledge, if you please, consists in those opinions that can be defended, opinions for which there is evidence of one kind or another.”
Chapter 11: Agreeing or Disagreeing with an Author
“Not simply by following an author’s arguments, but only by meeting them as well, can the reader ultimately reach significant agreement or disagreement with his author.”
3 Conditions that must be satisfied if controversy is to be well conducted
1. Acknowledge the emotions you bring to a dispute, or those that arise in the course of it.
2. Make your own assumptions explicit.
3. An attempt at impartiality is a good antidote for the blindness that is almost inevitable in partisanship.
4 Points when conversing with the author: “I understand but I disagree”
1. “You are uninformed.”
2. “You are misinformed.”
3. “You are illogical – your reasoning is not cogent.”
4. Your analysis is incomplete.”
SUMMARY OF THE THIRD STAGE OF ANALYTICAL READING
I. The First Stage of AR: Rules for Finding What the Book is About
1. Classify the book according to kind and subject matter.
2. State what the whole book is about with the utmost brevity.
3. Enumerate its major parts in their order and relation, and outline these parts as you have outlined the whole.
4. Define the problem or problems the author is trying to solve.
II. The Second Stage of AR: Rules for Interpreting a Book’s Contents
5. Come to terms with the author by interpreting his key words.
6. Grasp the author’s leading propositions by dealing with his most important resources.
7. Know the author’s arguments, by finding them in, or constructing them out of, sequences of sentences.
8. Determine which of his problems the author has solved, and which he has not; and as the latter, decide which the author knew he had failed to solve.
III. The Third Stage of AR: Rules for Criticizing a Book as a Communication of Knowledge
A. General Maxims of Intellectual Etiquette
9. You must be able to say, with reasonable certainty, “I understand”, before you can say any one of the following things: “I agree”, or “I disagree”, or “I suspend judgment.”
10. When you disagree, do so reasonably, and not disputatiously or contentiously.
11. Respect the difference between knowledge and mere personal opinion, by giving reasons for any critical judgment you make.
B. Special Criteria for Points of Criticism
12. Show wherein the author is uninformed.
13. Show wherein the author is misinformed.
14. Show wherein the author is illogical.
15. Show wherein the author’s analysis or account is incomplete.
3 Conditions that must be satisfied if controversy is to be well conducted
1. Acknowledge the emotions you bring to a dispute, or those that arise in the course of it.
2. Make your own assumptions explicit.
3. An attempt at impartiality is a good antidote for the blindness that is almost inevitable in partisanship.
4 Points when conversing with the author: “I understand but I disagree”
1. “You are uninformed.”
2. “You are misinformed.”
3. “You are illogical – your reasoning is not cogent.”
4. Your analysis is incomplete.”
SUMMARY OF THE THIRD STAGE OF ANALYTICAL READING
I. The First Stage of AR: Rules for Finding What the Book is About
1. Classify the book according to kind and subject matter.
2. State what the whole book is about with the utmost brevity.
3. Enumerate its major parts in their order and relation, and outline these parts as you have outlined the whole.
4. Define the problem or problems the author is trying to solve.
II. The Second Stage of AR: Rules for Interpreting a Book’s Contents
5. Come to terms with the author by interpreting his key words.
6. Grasp the author’s leading propositions by dealing with his most important resources.
7. Know the author’s arguments, by finding them in, or constructing them out of, sequences of sentences.
8. Determine which of his problems the author has solved, and which he has not; and as the latter, decide which the author knew he had failed to solve.
III. The Third Stage of AR: Rules for Criticizing a Book as a Communication of Knowledge
A. General Maxims of Intellectual Etiquette
9. You must be able to say, with reasonable certainty, “I understand”, before you can say any one of the following things: “I agree”, or “I disagree”, or “I suspend judgment.”
10. When you disagree, do so reasonably, and not disputatiously or contentiously.
11. Respect the difference between knowledge and mere personal opinion, by giving reasons for any critical judgment you make.
B. Special Criteria for Points of Criticism
12. Show wherein the author is uninformed.
13. Show wherein the author is misinformed.
14. Show wherein the author is illogical.
15. Show wherein the author’s analysis or account is incomplete.
Chapter 12: Aids to Reading
“On the whole, it is best to do all that you can by yourself before seeking outside help; for if you act consistently on this principle, you will find that you need less and less outside help.
“Intrinsic Reading”: reading a book in itself, quite apart from all other books.
“Extrinsic Reading”: reading a book in the light of other books.
“Intrinsic Reading”: reading a book in itself, quite apart from all other books.
“Extrinsic Reading”: reading a book in the light of other books.