G Wallas, Stages of Control frm The Art of Thought (1926)-1

The Art of Thought by Graham Wallas

Page 1

  • Title: The Art of Thought

  • Author: Graham Wallas

  • Publisher: Solis Press

Page 2

  • Other Titles of Interest from Solis Press:

    • Matter and Memory by Henri Bergson

    • Creative Evolution by Henri Bergson

    • The Crowd by Gustave Le Bon

    • The Artist and Psycho-analysis by Roger Fry

  • Publication Details:

    • First published in 1926

    • Rev. 2015

    • All rights reserved

  • ISBN: 978-1-910146-05-7

  • Publisher Contact:

    • Solis Press, PO Box 482, Tunbridge Wells TN2 9QT, Kent, England

    • Web: www.solispress.com

    • Twitter: @SolisPress

Page 3

  • Contents:

    • Preface

    • Synopsis of Chapters

    • Chapter I: Psychology and Thought (Page 1)

    • Chapter II: Consciousness and Will (Page 17)

    • Chapter III: Thought Before Art (Page 24)

    • Chapter IV: Stages of Control (Page 37)

    • Chapter V: Thought and Emotion (Page 56)

    • Chapter VI: Thought and Habit (Page 72)

    • Chapter VII: Effort and Energy (Page 83)

    • Chapter VIII: Types of Thought (Page 96)

    • Chapter IX: Dissociation of Consciousness (Page 116)

    • Chapter X: The Thinker at School (Page 131)

    • Chapter XI: Public Education (Page 149)

    • Chapter XII: Teaching and Doing (Page 163)

    • Index (Page 183)

Page 4: Chapter IV - Stages of Control

  • Concept Discussed:

    • Examination of stages in thought-process where conscious effort can be applied.

  • Challenges:

    • Difficulty in distinguishing psychological events due to their intermingled nature.

  • Example of Achievement of Thought:

    • Creation of a new generalization, invention, or artistic expression.

    • Helmholtz describes how new ideas surface unexpectedly during relaxation, not during focused work.

Page 5-6

  • Mental Processes:

    • Thought incubation may occur unconsciously while consciously working on another task.

    • Stages of thought: Preparation, Incubation, Illumination, and Verification.

  • Preparation Stage:

    • Intellectual education enabling improved thought processes.

    • An educated person can direct attention and recall facts efficiently.

    • Regulated thought vs wild wandering thoughts.

Page 7-9

  • Regulated Thought:

    • Description of deliberate thought processes, contrasting with spontaneous thought.

  • Preparation Techniques:

    • Formulate definitive questions to guide the thought process.

    • Practice methodical examination of phenomena across various sciences.

  • Incubation Stage:

    • Importance of allowing time without active conscious thought for insights to arise.

    • Reference to personal anecdotes of thinkers benefiting from periods of idle relaxation; theory of idea emergence during such states.

Page 10-12

  • Intellectual Work and Industry:

    • A balance between diligent preparation and necessary relaxation for creativity.

    • Discusses historical figures and their experiences relating to the incubation phase.

Page 13-15

  • Illumination Stage:

    • Often spontaneous and unexpected, not directly controllable by will but influenced by earlier conscious efforts.

    • Emergence of insights often represents the culmination of unconscious processes.

  • Intimation:

    • The precursor to illumination, where the mind registers a possible solution or idea before it fully surfaces.

  • Multiple thinkers recognize similar experiences where awareness builds before realization occurs, often associated with joy.