Jump to content
Objectivism Online Forum

What are your suggestions for reading ITOE?

Rate this topic


Recommended Posts

I am about to read the Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology for the first time. The purpose of this thread is to find out how I can most clearly, effectively, and efficiently integrate and understand what I read. I want to understand the concepts in a way that would allow me to teach them to others, and to more clearly identify what I am doing while I think.

I won't ask any specific questions on methods of study (until later), so I can hear the broadest range of answers possible.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am about to read the Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology for the first time. The purpose of this thread is to find out how I can most clearly, effectively, and efficiently integrate and understand what I read. I want to understand the concepts in a way that would allow me to teach them to others, and to more clearly identify what I am doing while I think.

I won't ask any specific questions on methods of study (until later), so I can hear the broadest range of answers possible.

Like most of us, you'll probably need to read it at least TWICE and SLOWLY to grasp it. There's really no way of taking it all in quickly and efficiently. Also, read the index that comes with the second edition.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am about to read the Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology for the first time. The purpose of this thread is to find out how I can most clearly, effectively, and efficiently integrate and understand what I read. I want to understand the concepts in a way that would allow me to teach them to others, and to more clearly identify what I am doing while I think.

Sounds like what you want first is a course on The Art of Thinking. Otherwise, I would suggest that you read through the book the first time seeking as much understanding as you can glean, and after you have taken in the whole, then go back and study each of the areas in more depth, trying to relate what you learn to what you already know (or think you know). ITOE is a book so rich in unique ideas that whenever I go back to review a section there is always something new I learn, or I make some connection that I had not made before.

As to your purpose of teaching the ideas to others ... the conventional wisdom is that you first have to learn the ideas on your own. While this is obviously true on a basic level, I have found that explaining ideas to others is an excellent way of solidifying your own understanding. There is nothing quite like writing out an essay or lecture that demands both organization and clarity in presenting your view. A wise man once said something like: if you want to see what your body looks like, look in a mirror; if you want to see what your mind looks like, look at what you write.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here are my suggestions:

1. As you would with any other study, take notes -- in the book and on a separate sheet of paper. (Edwin Locke, Study Methods and Motivations, has excellent suggestions in the first half -- on methods -- for learning from texts; see the Ayn Rand Bookstore listing.)

2. Keep in mind how Ayn Rand came to write ITOE. If I recall correctly, she wrote it in response to repeated requests that she write down her ideas on the problems she thought were most important in epistemology. Ayn Rand was a master writer. Part of what that means is adjusting one's style -- in some of its elements -- to fit the project and audience. ITOE is a very condensed, concise record of her thoughts. (The large appendix is an edited transcript of her conversations with philosophers and philosophy students, and so that appears in a very different style.)

3. Go slowly. Set a definite, but relaxed schedule. Perhaps one chapter per week, two weeks, or month, depending on your interests. That is for the first reading. Then as time passes go back to reading the sections that you need to reread when particular problems come up. Then someday, do another systematic rereading.

4. Ask questions here on ObjectivismOnline, after you have wrestled with them for awhile. Many others are probably in the same situation.

5. As elsewhere in the study of Objectivism, memorize key definitions. Memory is not a substitute for understanding, but an initial tool for learning. You will always need to quickly recall the meaning of key ideas from epistemology, no matter what field you go into. Knowing for example what a concept is will save you alot of trouble later on when you discusses issues with people who sling the term around with no understanding of its meaning.

6. Accept the fact that the spiral method of learning applies here as elsewhere. When I say spiral, I mean a corkscrew shape, which I think is what Dr. Peikoff has in mind when he says "spiral." Every time you re-examine a subject (a turn of the spiral) you also go deeper and deeper, that is, you uncover the roots and you make more and more integrations to other points.

In summary, proceed methodically and slowly, and stay active -- in your own mind of course, but also in learning from interacting with others -- as you are doing in this thread.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am about to read the Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology for the first time. The purpose of this thread is to find out how I can most clearly, effectively, and efficiently integrate and understand what I read. I want to understand the concepts in a way that would allow me to teach them to others, and to more clearly identify what I am doing while I think.

First of all, what you've described are different levels of understanding. Understanding the big picture -- the main ideas -- is the first level. Then comes understanding the details. Then there's the understanding of how the details relate to one another. Then there's the issue of teaching: what do you present? How? What's most important? What's the hierarchy of the ideas? What are the concretes involved? What's the historical context? How does ITOE integrate with the rest of Objectivism? How does her epistemology differ from, say, Aristotle's or Plato's? etc.

I wouldn't worry about teaching the material until well after you understand it. I agree with Stephen, though, that writing helps. After reading a section, if you feel like you don't quite get it, try summarizing what you just read. That should show you where the gaps in your understanding are. You can try summarizing it to yourself out loud or mentally, and that can work, but writing it out is harder and makes the gaps more explicit.

Take a look at Ed Locke's book on study methods. It'll help. You also might want to re-read the essay "Philosophic Detection" in PWNI.

Some general tips:

1 - When reading, underline something that isn't clear on first pass. (I also put a question mark in the margin.) That way you have material to focus on the second time around.

2 - Make notes. If questions occur to you, write them out, even if you can't answer them right now. Maybe the answer appears later in the book, maybe you can investigate later, maybe you can post a question on this forum.

3 - DO NOT do a line-by-line, detailed analysis. That's for modern rationalists who want to use microscopes on the bark of one particular tree -- and never see the forest. Get to know the layout of the forest first, then work your way down to a familiarity with the trees.

4 - For something new or that sounds odd, check it against reality.

Concretize what Ayn Rand said -- what she literally wrote, in the precise words she chose. Introspect your own thinking process for a comparison.

Does what she wrote make sense to you? Does it agree with your knowledge? If not, where's the essential difference between the two views, and which one is right? If the point is something about the history of philosophy (such as a brief critique of some philosopher), what did that philosopher have to say? Was Ayn Rand's critique correct? Are her concepts defined properly? How does the dictionary define them? Why did Ayn Rand use a different definition?

The model I have for learning is Gail Wynand. Recall the scene where he gerts his gang to rob the library -- and how the sequence of his learning just went in apparently random directions.

I don't consider learning a neat, orderly process. Some things are very clear to some students but stump others because of their respective contexts amd interests. Some new information stimulates a slew of questions and a desire to veer off course and tackle those vexing issues. Some things seem unimportant when first encountered, but you realize their importance later on when you encounter something else that depends on that earlier idea. Sometimes new integrations lead to new realizations and identifications about other, seemingly unrelated information.

Thus, I don't think there's some One True Method of learning or teaching, in terms of some concrete step-by-step process. Tips and principles, sure, but in general, you have to be like an explorer with a machete in the Amazon: you have to clear stuff out of the way to see what lies ahead. You have some idea of what lies ahead, but you're willing to play it by ear to a certain extent, to take an unexpected turn if needed.

Finally, as a general point: don't take it for granted that Ayn Rand was right. Maybe she wasn't. And until you check that for yourself, you won't know. The truth is what agrees with reality, not what agrees with Ayn Rand. Reading ITOE will tell you what she thought about several issues in epistemology, but it won't tell you if those views are right. That's a job for any serious, honest intellect with an interest in the topic.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...