LESSON 25
Dear Comrade:
In logic, we have two ways of reasoning, from the general to the particular and from the particular to the general. In other words, we may take a certain number of facts and reason to a conclusion; or we may go the other way about and start with our conclusion and reason back to the facts which produce the conclusion. Scientists use the former method. They gather together all the facts which they possibly can and from these facts they reach their conclusions.
This was what Karl Marx did for the social problems of his day. He analyzed these problems. He gathered together all of the facts which he could obtain concerning conditions of his day and from these facts he reached certain conclusions. He foretold the rise of capitalism and outlined present day conditions so perfectly that had he lived long ago among superstitious people, they would probably have called him a prophet.
This mastery of analysis, of marshaling our facts and from them reaching conclusions, is a wonderful power to possess, and this is exactly what we are doing in our English work. We are analyzing our sentences, finding the elements of which they are composed, and then building the sentence; and since neither the thought nor the sentence can be really studied except in connection with each other, this analysis of sentences gives us an understanding of the thought. The effort to analyze a difficult sentence leads to a fuller appreciation of the meaning of the sentence. This, in turn, cultivates accuracy in our own thought and in its expression.
So do not slight the analysis of the sentence or this work in sentence building. You will find it will help you to a quicker understanding of that which you are reading and it will also give you a logical habit of mind. You will be able to think more accurately and express yourself more clearly. After a little practice in analysis you will find that in your reading you will be able to grasp the author's meaning quickly. You will see at a glance, without thinking about it consciously, the subject and the predicate and the modifiers in the sentence. Then you will not confuse the meaning. You will not have to go back and reread the passage to find out just what the author was talking about; and when you come to write and speak yourself, you will have formed the habit of logical expression. In this way you will be able to put your thought in such a manner that your listener can make no mistake as to just what you mean.
Now, no habit comes without practice. You cannot do a thing unconsciously until you have done it consciously a great many times. So practice this analysis of sentences over and over. It really is an interesting game in itself, and the results which it will bring to you are tremendously worth while.
Nothing is too much trouble which will give us the power to think for ourselves and to put that thought into words.
Yours for Freedom,
THE PEOPLE'S COLLEGE.