In this talk, James (1899/1962) discusses the two functions of the stream of consciousness: the practical, which leads to action and behavior needed in order to function in the world, and the theoretical, which leads to knowledge and understanding of absolute truths. He argues that for teachers, the practical or biological aspect is the more important, and that instructors should aim to teach behavior rather than knowledge.
This was a challenging chapter for me, since this is a complicated topic. With my Classics and Philosophy background, I want to object to his statement that the knowledge-based aspect of the mind is “useless unless it prompted to useful conduct, and inexplicable apart from that consideration” (James, 1899/1962, p. 12). I have always loved deliberating over tough (usually unanswerable) questions and becoming deeply involved with thought experiments, even if I was not going to use that knowledge in a direct way. I definitely agree with James’ (1899/1962) statement that the “inessential ‘unpractical’ activities are themselves far more connected with our behavior and our adaptation to the environment than at first sight might appear,” (p.13), and I think that learning and practicing these kinds of thinking are crucial in order to attain any level of critical thinking. However, I do remember hearing many of my classmates complain that learning more abstract theories seemed useless and did not apply to their practical, day-to-day lives or their goals for their future careers, and I can understand their concern. This leads me to the conclusion that abstract thought is not “inessential,” as James refers to it, but rather, just needs to be taught in a different manner. Teachers should definitely strive to succeed in “training the pupil to behavior,” but that does not mean they should neglect any critical or higher-level thinking. The question is how does an instructor teach a seemingly “unpractical” subject to a group of students who only want the most practical and applicable information?
You raise a great question. Keep in mind that for James, behavior included mental and emotional habits as well as physical. My guess is that critical or higher-level thinking was certainly among those behavioral habits that James would say make a person educated (and therefore more likely to make the right decision in those fleeting moments of free will). Great post.
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