"If I were to adopt pure mechanism as a philosophy, there would be no way I could choose to be a scholar"

The quote by Kenneth L. Pike suggests that adoption of a purely mechanistic or deterministic view of the world would leave no room for academic pursuits or flexibility of thought. The term 'pure system' describes a philosophical position that attributes all phenomena to mechanical, physical causes, declining any possibility of free will or firm. In this context, the author indicates that adopting such a worldview would preclude any significant scholarly inquiry or curiosity, as it would leave no space for exploration or discovery beyond predetermined laws of nature. Rather, the text highlights the importance of keeping an open-minded method to learning, which allows for imaginative and independent thinking.