Mental life is indeed practical through and through. It begins in practice and it ends in practice. Samuel Alexander More Quotes by Samuel Alexander More Quotes From Samuel Alexander Psychology is the science of the act of experiencing, and deals with the whole system of such acts as they make up mental life. Samuel Alexander dealspsychologywhole In the perception of a tree we can distinguish the act of experiencing, or perceiving, from the thing experienced, or perceived. Samuel Alexander perceptiontree An expectation is a future object, recognised as belonging to me. Samuel Alexander belongingobjectsexpectations Hence, in desiring, the more the enjoyment is delayed, the more fancy begins to weave about the object images of future fruition, and to clothe the desired object with properties calculated to inflame the impulse. Samuel Alexander impulsefruitionfancy But though cognition is not an element of mental action, nor even in any real sense of the word an aspect of it, the distinction of cognition and conation has if properly defined a definite value. Samuel Alexander cognitionelementsreal The perceptive act is a reaction of the mind upon the object of which it is the perception. Samuel Alexander reactionsperceptionmind Curiosity begins as an act of tearing to pieces or analysis. Samuel Alexander analysispiecescuriosity We cannot therefore say that mental acts contain a cognitive as well as a conative element. Samuel Alexander mental-healthwellselements The mental act of sensation which issues in reflex movement is so simple as to defy analysis. Samuel Alexander issuesanalysissimple An object is not first imagined or thought about and then expected or willed, but in being actively expected it is imagined as future and in being willed it is thought. Samuel Alexander objectsexpectedfirsts Both expectations and memories are more than mere images founded on previous experience. Samuel Alexander good-memoriesexpectationsmemories Desire then is the invasion of the whole self by the wish, which, as it invades, sets going more and more of the psychical processes; but at the same time, so long as it remains desire, does not succeed in getting possession of the self. Samuel Alexander selfwishlong Such being the nature of mental life, the business of psychology is primarily to describe in detail the various forms which attention or conation assumes upon the different levels of that life. Samuel Alexander psychologydetailsdifferent When we come to images or memories or thoughts, speculation, while always closely related to practice, is more explicit, and it is in fact not immediately obvious that such processes can be described in any sense as practical. Samuel Alexander practicememoriesfacts It is more difficult to designate this form of conation on its practical side by a satisfactory name. Samuel Alexander individualismnamessides You can mark in desire the rising of the tide, as the appetite more and more invades the personality, appealing, as it does, not merely to the sensory side of the self, but to its ideal components as well. Samuel Alexander personalityselfdesire It may be added, to prevent misunderstanding, that when I speak of contemplated objects in this last phrase as objects of contemplation, the act of contemplation itself is of course an enjoyment. Samuel Alexander phraseslastsmay The sensory acts are accordingly distinguished by their objects. Samuel Alexander sensorydistinguishedobjects The interval between a cold expectation and a warm desire may be filled by expectations of varying degrees of warmth or by desires of varying degrees of coldness. Samuel Alexander degreesexpectationsdesire ... when demand is being destroyed by expensive oil just as expensive oil is incentivising increased production - it should come as no surprise that at some point the markets would react. Samuel Alexander demandoilsurprise
