ABSTRACT
Children given something they [do] not understand – a radio, a clock, or a toy – are almost certain to try to take it apart to see how it works. From an understanding of how the parts work they try to extract an understanding of the whole. This three-stage process – (1) taking apart the thing to be understood, (2) trying to understand the behavior of the parts taken separately, and (3) trying to assemble this understanding into an understanding of the whole – became the basic method of inquiry of the age initiated by the Renaissance. It is called analysis. No wonder that today we use analysis and inquiry synonymously. For example, we speak of ‘analyzing a problem’ and ‘trying to solve a problem’ interchangeably. Most of us would be hard pressed if asked to identify an alternative to the analytical method.
