Book Review: The Anatomy of Judgement

This book was originally published in 1960, and is based on 10 years of research conducted during the 1950s. However, it remains as relevant today as it must have been revolutionary 30 years ago. The book's thesis is based on the findings from a teaching project in which Abercrombie, a trained biologist, sets out to teach medical students "to make sound judgements about scientific matters" [p. 17].

The book is divided into two parts. The first part gives an introduction to the field of perception in particular, and generally argues that we never just "passively receive information from the outside world" [p. 26], but that we always "interpret and judge" while receiving information. Thus, Abercrombie argues that our judgements are inevitably influenced by personal and cultural "assumptions" and "schemata". She concluded, therefore, that we need to be aware of the factors influencing our judgement first, before we can assess their validity.

Abercrombie argues that it is the traditional teaching method's emphasis on results, rather than on processes of observing or thinking, that is responsible for the "unscientific" attitude of many students, who often "blindly and automatically accept the first that comes" [p. 17] when observing and interpreting material. She sees formal education as purely concerned with "reality-adjusted" thinking, in which the teacher passes on the schemata that other people have found useful. Thus, s/he is not usually concerned "with how the new information ... comes into relationship with the old schemata" [p. 61]. Applying principles from psychoanalysis and developmental psychology, Abercrombie recognizes "... [the] extent [to which] emotional reactions [can] block learning" [p. 75]. Thus, she advocates the importance of uncovering and exploring these deeply held constructs (which may date back to the perceptual stage of development) for effective learning. Unusual, if not to say radical 40 years ago, she chooses group discussions [as adapted from Foulkes' "free floating discussion"] for facilitating the students' exploration of themselves and their assumptions.

Even 30 years after its first publication Abercrombie's work remains inspirational, accessible throughout. Abercrombie manages to convey what must have been a very exciting project. She creatively combines insights from psychoanalysis, developmental psychology, group psychotherapy, and phenomenology, and shows that one does not have to be a psychotherapist of philosopher to apply them effectively in a teaching situation.

Abercrombie's work implicitly questions the empiricist theory of knowledge that has been underlying the classical notion of science since the Enlightenment. She thus exposes the myth of "objective" thinking by showing the relationship between emotions and thinking. Her conclusions remain relevant, not only in a scientific context, but in any educational setting that is concerned with facilitating greater mental flexibility, and thus a discriminating attitude.

Anna David