Page:Mind (New Series) Volume 6.djvu/76

60 ALICE JULIA HAMLIN : 1895, entitled "Some Definitions of Instinct". In the opening paragraph of the article Professor Morgan does barely allude to the fact that the psychologist's standpoint is not the same as that of the biologist ; but he does not define the difference, and he makes no use of the distinction in his extended notice of the contradictions rife in writings upon instinct. And though he quotes freely from the most important psychological writings on the subject, his article does not satisfactorily represent the views of some of the writers cited, and does not attempt any investigation or reconciliation of their differences. This is probably because Professor Morgan's aim was the suggestion of definitions of instinct that would be acceptable to both psychologists and biologists. It seems to me to be equally worth the while to attempt a fuller presentation of the treatment of instinct by psychologists ; to see the reasons for their variance, and to reconcile their differences where this is possible. We may finally glean from their discussions a consistent and satis- factory psychology of instinct. We shall refer to the psy- chologists quoted by Professor Morgan, and also to some of the natural scientists (Darwin, Romanes, and Morgan him- self). In addition, we include in our study Bain, Carpenter, Lehmann, von Hartmann and Volkmann. The confusion in psychological writings on instinct is largely due to the looseness in the terminology of the science in general, and of this topic in particular. Instinct may be synonymous with, exclusive of, or included under, the term impulse. It may include or exclude what is habitual. It is used as equivalent to innate, or again it is restricted to certain kinds of connate activities ; and so on. The utter- ances of each psychologist have to be interpreted in terms of his complete system. To make any fair comparison of opinions, then, we must occasionally interrupt our series of quotations to call to mind the real significance of the terms in any given quotation. The important differences of opinion with regard to instinct cluster about five principal questions. Is instinct a conscious process? What is the relation of external and organic (internal) stimulus to instinct? What is the rela- tion of instinct to intelligence ? To feeling and emotion ? To impulse? Under each topic references will be given to the conflicting theories now in the field. Where the differences cannot be reconciled, I shall venture to emphasise whatever seems to me to contribute to a full and consistent psychology of instinct. 1. Instinct vs. Reflex Action : Is Instinct a conscioiis