(© RKP, 1958)The primary intelligence does not know how to discuss. It only knows how to argue. And argument as far as it is concerned is a contest which it must 'win' at all costs. Instead of seeking to extract the maximum of meaning from the statements of others the primary intelligence seeks to refute everything it hears.
This inadequate utilisation of the mind is even more clearly defined when the subject matter is personal. Whereas a controlled mind will receive personal criticism with interest, even with eagerness, seeking to benefit by any truth it may be able to recognise in the criticism - since it is inevitably difficult for human beings to regard themselves dispassionately, so that the criticism of others can be of great value - the primary intelligence will fight back at once, using any argument, however inadequate, that comes to hand, and without any reasoning other than self-defence, self-justification, or offence (tu quoque).
Thus it becomes virtually impossible for the primary intelligence to learn anything from discussion, particularly concerning itself. Strange as it may seem this condition can be observed even in people who, otherwise, have quite a high standard of culture.
One would have thought that the first object of education should be to remove this obstacle to mental development. But education seems to be more concerned with effects than with causes, much as primitive medicine is more concerned with symptoms than with their origins.
