clarity with regard to any issue he is considering; or he may come to accept as "normal" some level of unclarity or
confusion. He may adopt the policy of always seeking to understand issues in terms of principles; or he may
attempt to deal with problems in terms of the concretes of a given situation, with no effort to isolate the essential
from the nonessential or to relate his observations to wider abstractions. His thinking may be flexible, in the sense
of being open to new facts, new considerations, new evidence; or it may be rigid, inhibited, dogmatic. He may learn
to differentiate clearly between his thinking and his emotions; or he may tend to treat his emotions as tools of
cognition. He may consistently exercise his own first-hand judgment in any matter he chooses to consider; or he
may acquire the habit of relying on the judgments of others. He may learn to identify his emotions and desires
conceptually; or he may automatize a policy of repression in any case of conflict, uncertainty, or self-doubt.
The mental habits a person acquires, and the standing orders he establishes, constitute his characteristic psycho -
epistemology, his self-programmed method of mental functioning. These habits and standing orders play a crucial
role in directing the mind's subconscious, automatic operations—in determining the integrations that will or will
not be made, the material that will or will not flow into conscious awareness, the implications a mind will or will
not grasp, the ease, speed, and productiveness of a given thinking process, etc.
It is clear from the foregoing that a person's characteristic psycho-epistemology may or may not be appropriate to
the task of properly apprehending reality; or may be appropriate to a greater or lesser degree. This brings us to the
relationship of psycho-epistemology to the issue of mental health and illness.
The Meaning of Mental Health
A man's psycho-epistemological processes may be directed (or predominantly directed) by the goal of awareness,
of cognition, i.e., they may be reality-oriented in their operation. Or his psycho-epistemology may be ruled (or
predominantly ruled) by goals that entail reality-avoidance operations, i.e., goals that entail the subversion of his
cognitive apparatus.