Ch. 13 How to Read Practical Books
What do the authors say about the rules of expository reading and the need for flexibility and adaptability? (p. 187)
General rules may be too remote from the intricacies of an actual situation, and this applies to reading expository books as well. A person can’t read a book ‘in general’ but rather books are usually are of a particular sort (for example, history or philosophy or math) and so following the general reading rules will require some flexibility and adaptability in order to follow them.
What are the basic divisions of expository books? (p. 188)
Expository books can be divided into the practical and the theoretical. Practical books are those books that are concerned with problems of action, and theoretical books are those concerned with something to be known. Theoretical books can be further divided into history, science and math, and philosophy.
What is the most important thing the authors mention regarding practical books? (p. 189-190)
Practical books can never solve the practical problems with which they are concerned. This is in contrast to theoretical books which can solve their own problems. But a practical problem can only be solved by action itself. Practical books, however, can state general rules that apply to particular situations. Practical books may contain rules and principles that underlie the rules, but the reader must then apply these rules to make them applicable in practice.
What are the two main groups of practical books? (p. 190-191)
Some books are primarily presentation of rules – cookbooks are an example of this kind of practical book. Other practical books are primarily concerned with the principles that generate rules – books on economics, politics or morals would be examples of this kind of practical book.
The authors point out that books of the first type are immediately recognizable, but books that deal with principles may at first look like a theoretical book – which makes sense because they deal with the theory of a particular practice.
How can a reader distinguish between a practical book that deals with principles that may look theoretical, and a purely theoretical book? Why is it important to make this distinction? (p. 191-192)
Books dealing with principles underlying rules will include propositions and arguments that look identical to those found in a purely theoretical book. However, because the practical book is concerned with problems to be solved, problems of action, a person reading a book about practical principles needs to “read between the lines” a bit to see the rules that may not be clearly expressed but can be derived from the principles being discussed, and may need to figure out out the rules should be applied in practice.
If a practical book of this sort is not read as practical, it has been read poorly, and this impacts how a reader can properly judge the book. Agreeing or disagreeing with a book relates to the truth of what the author is expressing, but practical truth is different that theoretical truth. Disagreeing with practical truth has everything to do with the ends or goals. We may not agree with or have practical interest in something that is theoretically sound if the ends are something we disapprove of or do not care about.
What is the role of persuasion in practical books? (p. 193-194)
Every practical book has a mixture of oratory or propaganda within – and this is part of the nature of practical books. The author of a practical book has need of the reader accepting the goal for which they are proposing means, so being an orator or propagandist must be a part of their role.
Persuasion must appeal to both the mind and emotions of a reader, in order to direct the reader’s will to accept the ends the book’s author is proposing. Readers should realize that practical books will seek to persuade, and should be prepared to weigh the appeals made by the author.
How do the four questions we should ask of books change when reading practical books? (p. 195-196)
The author discusses the rules of reading, summed up on page 161-163.
Question 1 asks What is the book about? – This question does not really change. But for practical books finding out the author’s objectives becomes more important. Rule 4 (see page 161-162 for a summary of the questions and Rules of Analytical reading) asks the reader to determine what problem or problems the author has tried to solve in their book, but for a practical book this rule can be better understood as what the author expects the reader to do
Question 2 asks What is being said in detail, and how? This question deals with discovering the books meaning by discovering the authors’ terms, propositions, and arguments. Here, as boel, there isn’t much change for practical books. However, Rule 8 of this second question becomes especially important for practical books. This rule tasks the reader with determining which problems the author has solved and which they have not, and if the author actually knew they had not solved those particular problems. Adapting this Rule for practical books becomes ‘how does the author propose the reader do what they want you to do.’
Question 3 asks Is it true? For a practical book, this question does look a bit different. with the main consideration being whether the author’s objectives and the means they propose to meet this objects actually accords with the reader’s conception of what is right to seek out and what the best way to seek the objective.
Question 4 asks What of it? This question changes the most of the four questions readers ask of books. In a theoretical book, if the reader’s view of the subject matter is altered, then there should be some adjustment to their general view of things, though this does not necessarily imply action being taken on the part of the reader. However, when asked of a practical book, if the reader has been convinced or persuaded by the author, then this does imply some action is required on the reader’s part. So if a reader claims to agree with the authors’ end and accepts the authors’ means, but fails to act as a result, it is likely the reader did not actually agree with the ends or accept the means as given by the author.
** Note – assume much of the content following each discussion question is a paraphrase and comes from the book How to Read a Book.
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