NATURE OF REASONING

NATURE OF REASONING.--It is hard to define reasoning so as to describe
the precise process which occurs; for it is so intermingled with
perception, conception, and judgment, that one can hardly separate them
even for purposes of analysis, much less to separate them functionally.
We may, however, define reasoning provisionally as _thinking by means of
a series of judgments with the purpose of arriving at some definite end
or conclusion_. What does this mean? Professor Angell has stated the
matter so clearly that I will quote his illustration of the case:

Bathing and swimming supply, in their numerous forms, examples of both

healthful activity and relaxation
Bathing and swimming supply, in their numerous forms, examples of both
healthful activity and relaxation. A cold spray or shower, alternated
with hot, affords excellent gymnastics for the skin. A very hot bath,
lasting only a minute, or even a hot foot-bath, is restful in cases of
general fatigue. The most restful of all is a neutral, that is, tepid,
bath of about the body-heat (beginning at 97 or 98 degrees and not
allowed to drop more than 5 degrees and continued as long as
convenient).

The natural instinct to defecate, like many other natural instincts, is

usually deadened by failure to exercise it
The natural instinct to defecate, like many other natural instincts, is
usually deadened by failure to exercise it. Civilized life makes it
inconvenient to follow this instinct as promptly as, for instance, a
horse does. The impulse to go to stool, if neglected even five minutes,
may disappear. There are few health measures more simple and effective
than restoring the normal sensitiveness of this important impulse. It
may require a few weeks of special care, during which cold water enemas
at night, following evacuation by paraffin oil injection, may be needed.
It would be an excellent rule to visit the closet immediately after the
noon and evening meals, as faithfully as most people do after the
morning meal, until the reflex is trained to act at those, the most
natural, times for its action.