PROLEGOMENA TO PSYCHOLOGY

§. 8.

How mental acuity is perfected.

Rational psychology increases our acuity in observing those things that are within the soul. By "acuity" (Latin: acumen), Wolff means the sharpness of mind required to notice subtle internal thoughts and feelings that usually pass by unnoticed. In Rational Psychology, the reason is given for those things which are in the soul, or which have the potential to be there (§. 4). For this reason, if we encounter a certain difficulty in providing that explanation, we investigate its source; thus, the mind is directed toward those things present within our soul—either when the opportunity for observation arises naturally or through a deliberate experiment. In this way, we become conscious of things that would otherwise escape our attention. Therefore, since we can now distinguish more things within the soul than before, our mental acuity is perfected through the study of Rational Psychology. Similarly, when other things that were not yet known to us through experience are deduced in Rational Psychology from what we already know about the soul, we again turn our attention to what is happening within it to confirm the truth by experiment; these things previously escaped our attention because we lacked a reason to focus on them (§. 70, Ontology). From this, it is clear how the acuity for observing what is in the soul is increased.

We are most effectively convinced of the truth of this proposition if we experience it within ourselves. Those who have been well-versed in Astronomy, or who have handled experimental philosophy In the 18th century, "experimental philosophy" referred to what we now call the natural sciences, based on observation and testing. according to our method, will apply what they have experienced in those specific fields to Psychology, having recognized the universality of the concept. The utility emphasized by this proposition is truly remarkable: for it is clear that we must credit Rational Psychology with the fact that we embrace what is known about the soul with a firmer conviction, and that we penetrate into an interior knowledge of the soul from which we would otherwise be excluded. How much this acuity helps in Matters of Morals original: "Moralibus." This refers to Ethics and the study of human behavior and character. will be made clear in its proper place.

§. 9.

Truths of Rational Psychology

Rational psychology discovers things about the soul that would be inaccessible to observation alone. For in Rational Psychology, the due reason is provided The text breaks off here; Wolff is beginning to explain that by understanding the "why" (the reason), we can predict or uncover hidden functions of the mind that we cannot "see" simply by looking inward..