23. Custom, Method, and the Proper Way of Proceeding

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Dual Influence of Custom #

Custom influences thinking in two distinct ways:

1. What we think: Custom determines the content and conclusions we accept as true

   • Custom acts upon the mind from birth (perhaps even in the womb), gaining a temporal advantage over reason
   • Custom produces habit, which becomes “second nature,” making customary thoughts seem naturally true
   • Custom becomes a principle of thinking when people use customary ideas as starting points for reasoning

2. How we think: Custom determines the expected method or “way of proceeding” in inquiry

   • People expect knowledge to be presented in familiar forms (mathematical, by examples, by authority)
   • Unfamiliar methods seem “strange” and “harder to know” due to mere unfamiliarity
   • This applies even when the unfamiliar method is actually more appropriate to the subject

The Problem of Mismatched Method #

According to Aristotle, people often proceed according to custom rather than appropriateness:

• Some will not accept what is said unless it is expressed mathematically (influenced by the Pythagoreans in ancient times; Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz in modern philosophy)
• Others demand knowledge presented through sensible examples (a weaker disposition)
• Still others require knowledge presented through authority (the poet or established thinker)

These preferences are determined by custom and individual inclination, not by what the subject matter requires.

Precision Appropriate to the Matter #

Different subjects admit of different degrees of precision:

• Mathematical subjects admit of high precision and certitude
• Natural subjects (those with matter) admit of less precision than mathematics
• Practical subjects (ethics, politics, rhetoric) admit of even less precision
• One cannot demand mathematical precision in subjects involving matter, nor should one accept less precision than the matter admits

Demanding inappropriate precision can seem “stingy” (as in Shakespeare’s reference to “niggard truth”), yet sometimes precision is necessary. Conversely, false generosity about precision obscures truth.

The Principle: Method Must Fit Matter #

The central principle Aristotle establishes: The way of proceeding in any reasoned knowledge should not be determined by custom or individual inclination, but should fit the matter being studied.

One must first understand what the subject is before determining the appropriate method. Aristotle emphasizes that one cannot simultaneously learn both a subject and the proper method for that subject—one must first establish the method, then proceed.

Key Arguments #

Why Custom Prevails Over Argument #

1. Temporal priority: Custom acts on the mind from birth; reason develops years later
2. Habituation: What becomes customary seems naturally true, becoming like “second nature”
3. Foundational role: Custom becomes the principle from which reasoning proceeds, strengthening its force as people use it to judge other things

Aristotle’s Teaching on Methodology #

1. Logic precedes other sciences because it teaches the common way of proceeding in all reasoned knowledge
2. Each science has its own proper way of proceeding that must be learned at the beginning
3. The way of proceeding is distinguished from the knowledge itself—one can know something (content) without knowing how to know it (method)
4. Determining proper method requires understanding the subject first—“one should first consider what is nature, and in this way it will become clear what natural science is about”

The Analogy of Mechanical Arts #

Aristo compares the fitting of method to matter with the fitting of tools to materials:

• A carpenter uses hammer and saw for wood; a seamstress uses scissors and needle for cloth
• A glass blower uses entirely different tools than a blacksmith
• In a forge, metal is heated and bent; in a wood shop, wood is not heated before shaping
• The tools and techniques must match the matter, not the custom or preference of the craftsman
• Precision varies by material: blasting rock faces cannot achieve the precision of cutting with scissors

The Analogy of the Senses #

Different objects of knowledge require different sensory faculties:

• Mozart’s music is known through ears, not eyes (despite Mozart being a visual genius)
• Botticelli’s paintings are known through eyes, not ears
• Wine requires taste and smell primarily, not just color
• One should not use the sense to which one is most accustomed, but the sense appropriate to the object
• Even those with exceptional sensory abilities (like a famous wine taster) cannot use their trained sense for other domains
• The famous example: it would make no sense for Mozart to bring his ear to the paintings at the Uffizi Gallery

Important Definitions #

τρόπος (tropos) #

Greek word meaning “way” or “manner,” derived from the verb “to turn.” Suggests that different sciences require turning one’s mind in different directions. The “turn of mind” differs between a historian, a geometer, and a theologian.

modus #

Latin term for the way of proceeding. Determined by what is being measured or studied (from Augustine: modus is determined by mensura—measure). Emphasizes that method is proportionate to subject matter. Thomas Aquinas uses modus procedendi (way of proceeding) and modus scientiae (way of a science).

ἐπιστήμη (epistēmē) #

Greek word translated as “reasoned-out knowledge” or “reasoned-out understanding.” Distinct from the way one acquires it—one must learn the method (modus/tropos) of acquiring epistēmē before one can acquire the epistēmē itself.

Examples & Illustrations #

The Latin Mass Example #

• Catholics accustomed to Latin Mass thought Latin was essential to the Mass itself
• When the vernacular replaced Latin, their customary expectation was violated
• Yet the Mass had been said in Greek and Aramaic before Latin
• Demonstrates how custom makes the contingent seem necessary
• A woman had defended Latin against her Protestant neighbors, only to have “the whole ground cut out from under her” when the change occurred

The Children and Latin #

• Berquist’s children asked: “What was the greatest accomplishment of the Romans?” Answer: “They spoke Latin”
• Latin seems a “natural way of speaking” to those accustomed to it, though it is entirely artificial
• His French teacher said: “Don’t fight it, just accept it. That’s the way they say it” when explaining idioms

Precision in Measurement #

• When blasting the heads of presidents at Mount Rushmore, one cannot achieve the precision possible on paper
• When sawing wood, you necessarily lose part of the board; you cannot cut with the precision of scissors on cloth
• The matter itself does not admit the same precision

The Dinner and Precision #

• When dining at someone’s house, we praise the meal rather than offer precise criticism (“I’ve had better,” “this herb is wrong,” etc.)
• Demanding precision sometimes seems “stingy” or ungracious, like the professor who wanted to pay only for his meal at a restaurant, not contributing to the group
• Yet precision is sometimes necessary and good

Disney’s Fantasia #

• Some criticized Fantasia for making music visual
• People unaccustomed to careful ear-listening to classical music distract themselves with visual images
• This is the “wrong way” to introduce classical music—it should be received through the ears
• Visual accompaniment can create pleasure from the wrong source (like seeking the pleasure of candy in visual stimuli rather than taste)

Different Sensory Domains Cannot Substitute #

• A wine taster’s trained sense of taste and smell does not help when hearing Mozart’s concerts
• A color-sensitive artist’s exceptional visual perception does not aid in appreciating wine
• A person deaf to music cannot substitute their strong sense of sight
• Even those accustomed to using one sense excellently must use the appropriate sense for the appropriate object

Notable Quotes #

“Custom acts upon your mind from the time you’re born. And some say when you’re still in the womb.”

“Custom produces a habit or disposition. And habit, as you know, is sometimes called a second nature. So what you’re accustomed to think seems naturally what? True.”

“When one does begin to use his reason, he takes as a starting point something customary. And therefore, you make the customary kind of a principle of your thinking.”

“There’s a great danger, right, for the mind in custom, right? If you’re accustomed to think something that is false, or you’re accustomed to thinking in a certain way that it’s not appropriate to think about this subject or matter, huh? Then it’s going to be very harmful to the good of the mind.”

“The way of proceeding in any reasoned knowledge should not be determined by custom, right? Or by individual inclination, but it should fit the matter.”

“You must know what the matter is, right? Of a reasoned out knowledge, you must know what it’s about, right? Before you can figure out what way of proceeding should set matter.”

“One cannot simultaneously learn a subject and learn the proper method for that subject.”

“Mathematical precision should not be demanded everywhere, but in those things not having matter.”

“The turn of mind of a historian and a geometer is not the same, right?”

Questions Addressed #

Why is custom more powerful than argument in shaping what we think? #

• Custom begins early and gains a temporal advantage over reason
• Habit makes what is customary seem naturally true, like second nature
• Custom becomes foundational—a principle from which other thinking proceeds

How does custom influence not just what we think but how we think? #

• Custom creates expectations about the proper method or presentation of knowledge
• We expect things to be said “in the way we are accustomed to”
• Whatever is outside this familiar form seems strange and harder to understand
• This applies to mathematical versus empirical approaches, authority-based versus reasoned approaches, etc.

How should one determine the proper method of inquiry? #

• By understanding the subject matter (the matter) first
• By recognizing what precision is appropriate to that subject
• By learning logic as the common methodology before other sciences
• By studying how each individual science properly proceeds
• Method must fit the matter, just as tools must fit materials and senses must fit sensory objects

Why can one not learn both a subject and its proper method simultaneously? #

• Learning requires a starting point—the method provides that starting point
• To determine if you’ve found what you’re seeking, you must already know what the method is
• One must establish the “way of proceeding” before proceeding

What happens when method does not fit matter? #

• The pursuit of knowledge becomes confused and ineffective
• One may mistake unfamiliarity for falsehood
• One may demand inappropriate precision or accept insufficient precision
• The knower may use the wrong tools—like seeking the pleasure of wine in color instead of taste