Previously when I’d encountered the distinction between synthetic and analytic thought (as philosophers used them), I didn’t quite get it. Yesterday I started reading Kant’s Prolegomena and have a new appreciation for the idea. I used to imagine that “doing the analytic method” meant looking at definitions.
I didn’t imagine the idea actually being applied to concepts in one’s head. I imagined the process being applied to a word. And it seemed clear to me that you’re never going to gain much insight or wisdom from investigation a words definition and going to a dictionary.
But the process of looking at some existing concept you have in your mind, that you already use and think with, and peeling it apart to see what you’re actually doing, that’s totally useful!
Previously when I’d encountered the distinction between synthetic and analytic thought (as philosophers used them), I didn’t quite get it. Yesterday I started reading Kant’s Prolegomena and have a new appreciation for the idea. I used to imagine that “doing the analytic method” meant looking at definitions.
I didn’t imagine the idea actually being applied to concepts in one’s head. I imagined the process being applied to a word. And it seemed clear to me that you’re never going to gain much insight or wisdom from investigation a words definition and going to a dictionary.
But the process of looking at some existing concept you have in your mind, that you already use and think with, and peeling it apart to see what you’re actually doing, that’s totally useful!