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[Illustration: William Walker Atkinson]
YOUR MIND AND HOW TO USE IT
A Manual of Practical Psychology
by
WILLIAM WALKER ATKINSON
It is not enough merely to have a sound mind--one
must also learn how to use it, if he would
become mentally efficient.
Published by
the Elizabeth Towne Co.,
Holyoke, Mass.
L.N. Fowler & Co., London.
Copyright, 1911.
Elizabeth Towne.
Copyrighted in the United States and England.
Contents.
CHAPTER PAGE
I. WHAT IS THE MIND 5
II. THE MECHANISM OF MENTAL STATES 11
III. THE GREAT NERVE CENTERS 17
IV. CONSCIOUSNESS 24
V. ATTENTION 29
VI. PERCEPTION 36
VII. MEMORY 45
VIII. MEMORY (continued) 54
IX. IMAGINATION 62
X. THE FEELINGS 72
XI. THE EMOTIONS 79
XII. THE INSTINCTIVE EMOTIONS 88
XIII. THE PASSIONS 96
XIV. THE SOCIAL EMOTIONS 104
XV. THE RELIGIOUS EMOTIONS 111
XVI. THE ÆSTHETIC EMOTIONS 117
XVII. THE INTELLECTUAL EMOTIONS 125
XVIII. THE ROLE OF THE EMOTIONS 131
XIX. THE EMOTIONS AND HAPPINESS 136
XX. THE INTELLECT 143
XXI. CONCEPTION 151
XXII. CLASSES OF CONCEPTS 158
XXIII. JUDGMENTS 164
XXIV. PRIMARY LAWS OF THOUGHT 171
XXV. REASONING 176
XXVI. INDUCTIVE REASONING 181
XXVII. DEDUCTIVE REASONING 186
XXVIII. FALLACIOUS REASONING 193
XXIX. THE WILL 201
XXX. WILL-TRAINING 213
XXXI. WILL-TONIC 219
CHAPTER I.
What is the Mind?
Psychology is generally considered to be the science of mind, although
more properly it is the science of mental states--thoughts, feelings,
and acts of volition. It was formerly the custom of writers on the
subject of psychology to begin by an attempt to define and describe the
nature of mind, before proceeding to a consideration of the subject of
the various mental spates and activities. But more recent authorities
have rebelled against this demand, and have claimed that it is no more
reasonable to hold that psychology should be held to an explanation of
the ultimate nature of mind than it is that physical science be held to
an explanation of the ultimate nature of matter. The attempt to explain
the ultimate nature of either is futile--no actual necessity exists for
explanation in either case. Physics may explain the phenomena of matter,
and psychology the phenomena of mind, without regard to the ultimate
nature of the substance of either.
The science of physics has progressed steadily during the past century,
notwithstanding the fact that the theories regarding the ultimate
nature of matter have been revolutionized during that period. The facts
of the phenomena of matter remain, notwithstanding the change of theory
regarding the nature of matter itself. Science demands and holds fast to
facts, regarding theories as but working hypotheses at the best. Some
one has said that "theories are but the bubbles with which the grown-up
children of science amuse themselves." Science holds several
well-supported, though opposing, theories regarding the nature of
electricity, but the _facts_ of the phenomena of electricity, and the
application thereof, are agreed upon by the disputing theorists. And so
it is with psychology; the facts regarding mental states are agreed
upon, and methods of developing mental powers are effectively employed,
without regard to whether mind is a product of the brain, or the brain
merely an organ of the mind. The fact that the brain and nervous system
are employed in the phenomena of thought is conceded by all, and that is
all that is necessary for a basis for the science of psychology.
Disputes regarding the ultimate nature of mind are now generally passed
over to the philosophers and metaphysicians, while psychology devotes
its entire attention to studying the laws of mental activities, and to
discovering methods of mental development. Even philosophy is beginning
to tire of the eternal "why" and is devoting its attention to the "how"
phase of things. The pragmatic spirit has invaded the field of
philosophy, expressing itself in the words of Prof. William James, who
said: "Pragmatism is the attitude of looking away from first things,
principles, categories, supposed necessities; and of looking forward
toward last things, _fruits_, _consequences_, _facts_." Modern
psychology is essentially pragmatic in its treatment of the subject of
the mind. Leaving to metaphysics the old arguments and disputes
regarding the ultimate nature of mind, it bends all its energies upon
discovering the laws of mental activities and states, and developing
methods whereby the mind may be trained to perform better and more work,
to conserve its energies, to concentrate its forces. To modern
psychology the mind is _something to be used_, not merely something
about which to speculate and theorize. While the metaphysicians deplore
this tendency, the practical people of the world rejoice.
MIND DEFINED.
Mind is defined as "the faculty or power whereby thinking creatures,
feel, think, and will." This definition is inadequate and circular in
nature, but this is unavoidable, for mind can be defined only in its
own terms and only by reference to its own processes. Mind, except in
reference to its own activities, cannot be defined or conceived. It is
known to itself only through its activities. Mind without mental states
is a mere abstraction--a word without a corresponding mental image or
concept. Sir William Hamilton expressed the matter as clearly as
possible, when he said: "What we mean by mind is simply _that which_
perceives, thinks, feels, wills, and desires." Without the perceiving,
thinking, feeling, willing, and desiring, it is impossible to form a
clear conception or mental image of mind; deprived of its phenomena it
becomes the merest abstraction.
"THINK ABOUT THAT WHICH THINKS."
Perhaps the simplest method of conveying the idea of the existence and
nature of the mind is that attributed to a celebrated German teacher of
psychology who was wont to begin his course by bidding his students
think of something, his desk, for example. Then he would say, "Now think
of _that which thinks about the desk_." Then, after a pause, he would
add, "This thing which thinks about the desk, and about which you are
now thinking, is the subject matter of our study of psychology." The
professor could not have said more had he lectured for a month.
Professor Gordy has well said on this point: "The mind must either be
_that which_ thinks, feels, and wills, or it must be the thoughts,
feelings, and acts of will of which we are conscious--mental facts, in
one word. But what can we know about _that which_ thinks, feels, and
wills, and what can we find out about it? Where is it? You will probably
say, in the brain. But, if you are speaking literally, if you say that
it is in the brain, as a pencil is in the pocket, then you must mean
that it takes up room, that it occupies space, and that would make it
very much like a material thing. In truth, the more carefully you
consider it, the more plainly you will see what thinking men have known
for a long time--that we do not know and cannot learn anything about the
thing which thinks, and feels, and wills. It is beyond the range of
human knowledge. The books which define psychology as the science of
mind have not a word to say about that which thinks, and feels, and
wills. They are entirely taken up with these thoughts and feelings and
acts of the will,--mental facts, in a word,--trying to tell us what they
are, and to arrange them in classes, and tell us the circumstances or
conditions under which they exist. It seems to me that it would be
better to define psychology as _the science of the experiences,
phenomena, or facts of the mind, soul, or self--of mental facts, in a
word_."
In view of the facts of the case, and following the example of the best
of the modern authorities, in this book we shall leave the consideration
of the question of the ultimate nature of mind to the metaphysicians,
and shall confine ourselves to the _mental facts_, the laws governing
them, and the best methods of governing and using them in "the business
of life."
The classification and method of development to be followed in this book
is as follows:--
I. The mechanism of mental states, _i.e._, the brain, nervous system,
sense organs, etc.
II. The fact of Consciousness and its planes.
III. Mental processes or faculties, _i.e._, (1) Sensation and
Perception; (2) Representation, or Imagination and Memory; (3) Feeling
or Emotion; (4) Intellect, or Reason and Understanding; (5) Will or
Volition.
Mental states depend upon the physical mechanism for manifestation,
whatever may be the ultimate nature of mind. Mental states, whatever
their special character, will be found to fit into one of the above five
general classes of mental activities.