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The student of psychology Post Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2008 22:21:16 +0000 So it is with geometry. We study it because we derive pleasure from contact with a great and ancient body of learn- ing that has occupied the attention of master minds during the thousands of years in which it has been perfected, and we are uplifted by it. The student of psychology is instantly struck by the fact that Professor Smiths argument at this point is by no means fundamental. Autor of the post: Undefined There are as many different Post Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2008 22:10:52 +0000 He does not go to the bottom of the matter when he says that we derive pleasure from this sort of study. Pleasure itself is an experience which needs some explanation. There are as many different kinds of pleasure as there are different types of mental attitudes. Autor of the post: Undefined Therefore, when our author states Post Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2008 21:57:02 +0000 If geom- etry gives pleasure, this result must be due to the fact that in some fashion or other geometry sets up forms of behavior and forms of mental activity that are in keeping with the demands of the individuals nature. No form of experience is pleasurable unless it is in some fundamental way in keep- ing with the demands of the individual. Therefore, when our author states that we derive pleasure from geometry, he gives a descriptive account of the situation and not an explanation of it. Autor of the post: Undefined Thus we might hold Post Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2008 21:38:37 +0000 To offer pleasure as the prime reason for the study of geometry is to take only one step in the direction of a real explanation. Suppose, for example, that we try two or three of the different hypotheses that might be suggested as back of Professor Smiths statement. Thus we might hold with certain metaphysicians that geometry gives pleasure be- cause in this sphere the mind is operating in a world of its own creation. Autor of the post: Undefined On the other hand Post Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2008 21:19:20 +0000 Geometry is nothing but a creation of ones own consciousness, and consequently geometry is more fully and satisfactorily understood than any other system of ex- perience. Geometry therefore gives the mind an opportu- nity to work over with pleasure its own creations. On the other hand, we may turn to an entirely different interpretation of the situation. Autor of the post: Undefined Thus, for example Post Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2008 21:04:39 +0000 We may say that geometry is a more concrete subject than most of the others offered in the course of study. The student can see his sensory experiences unite in a well-organized and connected system. Thus, for example, when one tries to find out the sum of the angles of a triangle, he is not at liberty to modify the real, objective facts in any particular, and the more he experi- ments with these facts, the more stubbornly concrete they become, while at the same time the more thoroughly reli- able they are to his thinking. Autor of the post: Undefined Both of these statements would Post Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2008 20:51:52 +0000 After he has experimented with five triangles he can go on to fifty or five hundred, and he will always find that the result is the same with re- gard to the sum of the angles. Experience of this type is very concrete and objective ; and the high degree of satis- faction which the student derives from this contact with a series of experiences which are uniform is the satisfaction which comes from a definite understanding of the real world. Both of these statements would comport with Professor Smiths statement regarding pleasure, and yet they are fun- damentally opposed in their teachings regarding the nature of geometry. Autor of the post: Undefined The problem of how Post Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2008 20:33:34 +0000 The problem of why geometry gives pleasure is therefore a deeper problem than the mere assertion of the fact. Furthermore, there are many known cases where the study of geometry does not give pleasure to the student. The problem of how to produce a readjustment in such cases is a very urgent human problem. Autor of the post: Undefined The reader who Post Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2008 20:16:11 +0000 We shall certainly need to inquire, in such negative cases, what is the psy- chological character of pleasure, and what the possibility of so readjusting the situation as to produce pleasure through the study of geometry. Suppose we tell students that they will ultimately derive pleasure from tasks which at the outset do not afford pleasure, we shall be deep in the psy- chology of pleasure, and we shall be greatly concerned to discover the formula by which geometry can be used as an instrument for giving the ultimate pleasure promised. The reader who has had the courage to follow the dis- cussions of the last few pages will be convinced that it is relatively easy to raise psychological questions. Autor of the post: Undefined Answering some of these questions Post Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2008 19:57:27 +0000 The answers to some of these questions are not always easy to find. Our present purpose has, however, been served if the method of raising questions has been demonstrated. Answering some of these questions will be the work of later chapters. 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