A kind disposition and a well-stocked naming vocabulary as tools for making conceptual connections

Main idea: A kind disposition opens the mind to see beyond internal assumptions, and a well-stocked naming of vocabulary strengthens the capacity to grasp components of ideas and make connections.


Kindness and conceptual connections. The same way kindness opens up paths of communication between persons, so does a disposition of kindness open the mind to the conceptual connections already present and the created order. One with a negative disposition will have a closed mind, unable to see beyond assumptions about how things are. Conversely, one with a kind disposition looks to see what things and ideas actually are in themselves, setting aside their own assumptions and willing to be made aware of the perspectives of others.

Naming and conceptual connections. Naming things and ideas and the relations among them creates conceptual handles. These handles allow one to think deeply and carefully about things and ideas, both in themselves and in the context of reality. This analysis, in turn, fuels integrative synthesis.

So, approaching conceptual engagement with a kind disposition and adequate philosophical tools, the thinker is more likely to discern, understand, and describe conceptual connections.

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(C) Laura Springer

Musings of a peripatetic wannabe-sage by Laura Springer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License..