The Mind in the Making: The Relation of Intelligence to Social Reform

The essay contends that changing prevalent modes of thought would remove or mitigate many social problems and then analyzes the kinds of thinking that shape public life. It distinguishes rationalization from creative and critical thought, traces historical layers that condition the mind (animal, child, savage, and inherited civilized mentality), and surveys intellectual influences from classical philosophy through medieval traditions to the scientific revolution. It examines modern social pathologies such as acquisitive tendencies, the philosophy of safety, and repression, identifies intellectual obstacles to reform, and urges cultivation of critical and creative intelligence as the practical basis for social improvement.