Animal Life and Intelligence

Animal Life and Intelligence

There are many books in our language which deal with Animal Intelligence in an anecdotal and conventionally popular manner. There are a few, notably those by Mr. Romanes and Mr. Mivart, which bring adequate knowledge and training to bear on a subject of unusual difficulty. In the following pages I have endeavoured to contribute something (imperfect, as I know full well, but the result of several years' study and thought) to our deeper knowledge of those mental processes which we may fairly infer from the activities of dumb animals. The consideration of Animal Intelligence, from the scientific and philosophical standpoint, has been my primary aim. But so inextricably intertwined is the subject of Intelligence with the subject of Life, the subject of organic evolution with the subject of mental evolution, so closely are questions of Heredity and Natural Selection interwoven with questions of Habit and Instinct, that I have devoted the first part of this volume to a consideration of Organic Evolution. The great importance and value of Professor Weismann's recent contributions to biological science, and their direct bearing on questions of Instinct, rendered such treatment of my subject, not only advisable, but necessary. Moreover, it seemed to me, and to those whom I consulted in the matter, that a general work on Animal Life and Intelligence, if adequately knit into a connected whole, and based on sound principles of science [vi] and of philosophy, would not be unwelcomed by biological students, and by that large and increasing class of readers who, though not professed students, follow with eager interest the development of the doctrine of Evolution. Incidentally, but only incidentally, matters concerning man, as compared with the dumb animals, have been introduced. It is contended that in man alone, and in no dumb animal, is the rational faculty, as defined in these pages, developed; and it is contended that among human-folk that process of natural selection, which is so potent a factor in the lower reaches of organic life, sinks into comparative insignificance. Man is a creature of ideas and ideals. For him the moral factor becomes one of the very highest importance. He conceives an ideal self which he strives to realize; he conceives an ideal humanity towards which he would raise his fellow-man. He becomes a conscious participator in the evolution of man, in the progress of humanity. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 49818
Author: Morgan, C. Lloyd (Conwy Lloyd)
Release Date: Aug 29, 2015
Format: eBook
Language: English