Topics Education

Question On the back of my teenage daughter's school textbook is a statement (by the publisher) "Do not over analyze". My daughter asked me what it meant but although I have come across this statement before I am not sure what it means - I think it means not to keep analyzing someone else's behaviour in order to find a motive but I'd like to be sure. In the case of philosophy aren't we meant to analyze thoroughly - so does one come to the point of over analyzing in this context?

Accepted:
September 4, 2008

Comments

I do not know what the subject matter of your daughter's textbook is, and do not know the context in which this statement occurs. But I can think of at least two ways in which it is possible to over analyze, even in the context of philosophical inquiry.

First, by trying to acquire a precise understanding of the many different relations between various aspects of a phenomenon, we may divert attention from more important considerations like the social context in which a given phenomenon flourishes. Fastidious analyses of skepticism about other minds, or the justification of war, for example, may encourage one to treat certain positions more seriously than one ought to, given the worrisome way in which they function in actual social contexts.

Second, the parts and the relations that characterize some phenomenon are so fuzzy and/or so complex that the very attempt at a complete analysis is bound to make things seem clearer or simpler than they really are. Beauty is something that can be over analyzed for this reason.

I think that Jennifer's answer is well-stated: with respect to intellectual inquiry, there are many topics and objectives which can best be pursued through methods other than analysis, and for those cases where analysis is appropriate there is great benefit in understanding how to apply those methods thoughtfully and not with an obsessive or unrelenting "heavy hand" that can lead to what might be called an obnoxious intellectual bulldozing that leaves inquirers blink to important nuances.

I don't know whether this general answer about intellectual inquiry speaks to your daughter's situation, however -- at least the high school textbooks that I remember never raised intellectual issues like those! So, the textbook you mention may have something different in mind. For example, the textbook author may recognize that the subject of the text is scary for students and may intend a slogan like "do not over analyze" to encourage students not to become so focused on those fears that they fail to engage with the subject matter. For many students confronting challenging subjects, I suspect, it is best to get to avoid angst-filled reflections about how hard the work will be and instead get to work straightaway. So, perhaps the textbook publisher had in mind that sort of destructive "over-analysis" by individual students and wasn't reflecting on the sort of intellectual work that the students will perform as they work through the text.