Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1871-03-02
The Uses Of Habit.

&
rurpr has been much declaiming on
.,,a rart of a certain school of phifOsO-
,hers against the propriety of allowing
he mind to run in groove; or, in other
lords to acquire any particular habit of
thnught. All habits, say these declaimers,
arc had. There are no good habits. No
nan should do anything from mere force
&c habit. The effect of habit Is to pre-
ysnt thought and to open the door for
error in reasoning 1t cramps the mind
u;,hin limits beyond which it cannot ex-
,ond and thus becomes an obstacle TO
healthy growth.
We regard these views as false In the
extreme, and propose to devote brief
space to the presentation Of the uses OF
habit meaning, of course, good habit.
We assert that all expertness is the re-
sult of persistent habit Perhaps thispro-
position can be best illustrated by exam
nles of manual experiences. One of the
most striking of these examples is the
skill acquired in musical execution. AT
first the beginner finds the process of pro-
ducing the various tones on an instrument
in their proper sequence and length, very
slow and painfully fatiguing But by dint
Of long and arduous practice, he comes to
point where the fingers move by mere
habit, without any sensible effort of his
will, Indeed, the habit of doing what he
has to do right. becomes strong, that to
attempt to do it wrong, would be almost
az nainful and tedious as his first attempt
to acquire the proper method.
So in the performance of all kinds OF
mechanical work, dexterity is only to be
ACQUIRED by habit formed by continuous
Tractice These facts seem so obvious in
,,,o,sp,,1afspv, that IL on.
rears strange they should be disputed when
applied to mental operaIlons' OF moral I'LL
pulses.
AS in manual operations certain Sc
nuence and order, strictly followed, will
enable the operator to perform each detail
with greater facility and accuracy, and so
shorten the time expended in reaching the
desired result, as well as make the result
more perfect, so proper method gives
rapidity and accuracy to thought. mind
trained to think methodically, is mind
which has acquired habits of thought
This methodcal thinking is absolutely
indispensable to success in many .profes-
sions, of which we may cite law as one
conspicuous example.
But perhaps in no field of study is 1t OF
greater importance than in invention, and
this brings us directly to the main Objec-
ton urged against habit in thought. name
", that it is foe to originality. We take
direct issue on this point, and assert that,
on the contrary, it is the very basis of orr
sinality, in so far as originality is useful or
desirable.
The originality that is desirable in liter
AZURE, in invention, in the arts, is employ
ment of elementary principles in new COM
binations. We may refer to music again
for an illustration of this point. The ele-
mentary combinations are represented by
the exercises upon which the pupil is re-
uuired to devote his practice. These exer-
cises comprise difficult combinations, ele-
ments of composition which, in them
selves, are dry and unpleasing but which,
combined in various ways, are formed in
the compositions Of the great masters.
The elements being acquired by practice,
the originality appears in the combination
of them into new and melodious arrange
ments.
So in invention new device always
consists of novel arrangement of ele-
ments previously known. An original
tinker, worthy of the name, is one who,
while he perhaps explores new fields, en-
poys in his research the facts of previous
experience and the methods he has found
valuable in former investigations, modified
to suit the particular exigencies of the case.
Let him throw aside ascertained facts and
methodical thought, and he at once de-
generates into Trainer of baseless theories,
which are original only because they are
like nothing else.-Scsent!fc american.