How To Read A Book- A Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading - Mortimer J. Adler, Charles Van Doren [88]
Here, the index is serving the function of a table of contents, though not very well; for it gathers together, under one heading, references to discussions in the encyclopedia that may be widely separated in space but that are nevertheless about the same general subject. This reflects the fact that although an index is of course alphabetically arranged, its so-called analyticals-that is, the breakdowns under a main entry-are topically arranged. But the topics themselves must be in alphabetical order, which is not necessarily the best arrangement. Thus the index of a really good encyclopedia such as Britannica goes part of the way toward revealing the arrangement of knowledge that the work reflects. For this reason, any reader who fails to use the index has only himself to blame if the work does not serve his needs.
There are negative injunctions associated with the use of encyclopedias, just as there are for dictionaries. Encyclopedias, like dictionaries, are valuable adjuncts to the reading of good books-bad books do not ordinarily require their presence; but, Aids to Reading 185
as before, it is wise not to enslave yourself to an encyclopedia.
Again, as with dictionaries, encyclopedias are not to be used for the settling of arguments where these are based on differences of opinion. Nevertheless, they should be used to end disputes about matters of fact as quickly and permanently as possible. Facts should never be argued about in the first place.
An encyclopedia makes this vain effort unnecessary, because encyclopedias are full of facts. Ideally, they are filled with nothing else. Finally, although dictionaries usually agree in their accounts of words, encyclopedias often do not agree in their accounts of facts. Hence, if you are really interested in a subject and are depending on encyclopedic treatments of it, do not restrict yourself to just one encylopedia. Read more than one, and preferably ones written at different times.
We noted several points about words that the user should keep in mind when he consults a dictionary. In the case of encyclopedias, the analogous points are about facts, for an encyclopedia is about facts as a dictionary is about words.
1. FACTS ARE PROPOSITIONs. Statements of fact employ words in combination, such as "Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809," or "the atomic number of gold is 79."
Facts are not physical things, as words are, but they do require to be explained. For thorough knowledge, for understanding, you must also know what the significance of a fact is-how it affects the truth you are seeking. You do not know much if all you know is what the fact is.
2. FACTS ARE "TRUE" PROPOSITIONS. Facts are not opinions.
When someone says "it is a fact that," he means that it is generally agreed that such is the case. He never means, or never should mean, that he alone, or he together with a minority of observers, believes such and such to be the case. It is this characteristic of facts that gives the encyclopedia its tone and style. An encyclopedia that contains the unsupported opinions of its editors is dishonest; and although an encyclopedia may 186 HOW TO READ A BOOK
report opinions ( for example, in a phrase like "it is held by some that this is the case, by others that that is the case" ) , it must clearly label them. The requirement that an encyclopedia report the facts of the case and not opinions about it ( except as noted above ) also limits the work's coverage. It cannot properly deal with matters about which there is no consensuswith moral questions, for example. If it does deal with such questions, it can only properly report the disagreements among men about them.
3. F Acrs ARE REFLEcrmNs OF REALITY. Facts may be either ( a ) informational singulars or ( b ) relatively unquestioned generalizations, but in either case they