PSYCHOLOGY

AN ELEMENTARY TEXT-BOOK
BY
HERMANN EBBINGHAUS
PROFESSOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF HALLE; AUTHOR OF
“ÜBER DAS GEDÄCHTNIS,” “GRUNDZÜGE DER PSYCHOLOGIE,” ETC.;
EDITOR OF THE “ZEITSCHRIFT FÜR PSYCHOLOGIE”
TRANSLATED AND EDITED BY
MAX MEYER
PROFESSOR OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
IN THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI
BOSTON, U.S.A.
D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS
1908 Copyright, 1908,
By D. C. Heath & Co.

TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE

The present book is a free translation of Ebbinghaus’s “Abriss der Psychologie” (Veit & Co., Leipzig, 1908). It is intended primarily to serve as a text-book for college students, but it should appeal also to the general reader. It will commend itself through its brevity and the excellent proportions of the material selected. The translator became interested in this book because of the fact that the author has succeeded in keeping entirely free of all fads, and has presented only that which is generally accepted by psychological science; on the other hand, he has given to the highest constructive processes of the human mind, religion, art, and morality, the attention which they deserve because of their tremendous importance for human life.

In some places the original text has been somewhat condensed, particularly in the description of the anatomy of the nervous system in section 2. Section 4 of the original has been omitted, since its contents seemed to be sufficiently emphasized in the other sections of the book. The numbers of the following sections differ, therefore, from those of the German text. The translator regards this as insignificant, since his intention is not to aid his brother-psychologists in making themselves acquainted with Ebbinghaus’s views,—for this end they are referred to the German original,—but to furnish an elementary text-book for the English-speaking student. Wherever there was any doubt as to the comprehensibility to the American student of any application or illustration of the laws discussed by the author, the translator has unhesitatingly sacrificed the interest of the professional psychologist to that of the beginner-student. In a few places he has made slight additions to the original; for instance, figures 7, 8, and 9 are his own property. But he has decided to abstain from enumerating all changes, since this would be of interest only to the professional psychologist. In no case are his additions opposed to the author’s views.

The questions added to each section are not exercises to be worked out by the student or puzzles to be solved by the general reader. They are intended to serve as an aid to the intelligent perusal of the book, by directing the reader’s attention to the essential contents of each section.

M. M.

CONTENTS

[INTRODUCTION]
PAGE
A Sketch of the History of Psychology[3]
[CHAPTER I
GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY]
§ [1]. Brain and Mind[27]
§ [2]. The Nervous System[30]
[1.] The Elements of the Nervous System[30]
[2.] The Architecture of the Nervous System[34]
[3.] The Anatomy of the Nervous System[38]
[4.] The Nervous System and Consciousness[41]
§ [3]. Explanation of the Functional Relation between Brain and Mind[43]
[1.] The Brain a Tool of the Mind[44]
[2.] The Brain an Objectified Conception of the Mind[47]
[CHAPTER II
THE SPECIAL FACTS OF CONSCIOUSNESS]
[A. The Elements of Mental Life]
§ [4]. Sensation[50]
[1.] The Newly Discovered Kinds of Sensation[50]
[2.] The Other Sensations[57]
[3.] Temporal and Spatial Attributes[65]
[4.] Sensation and Stimulus[69]
§ [5]. Imagination[78]
§ [6]. Feeling[81]
§ [7]. Willing[85]
[B. The Fundamental Laws of Mental Life]
§ [8]. Attention[87]
§ [9]. Memory[93]
§ [10]. Practice[99]
§ [11]. Fatigue[102]
[C. The Expressions of Mental Life]
§ [12]. Perception and Movement[105]
§ [13]. Thought and Movement[108]
[CHAPTER III
COMPLICATIONS OF MENTAL LIFE]
[A. The Intellect]
§ [14]. Perception[114]
[1.] Characteristics of Perception[114]
[2.] Illusions[120]
§ [15]. Ideation[123]
§ [16]. Language[128]
[1.] Word Imagery[128]
[2.] The Acquisition of Speech[130]
[3.] The Growth of Language[135]
[4.] The Significance of Language[139]
§ [17]. Judgment and Reason[142]
[1.] Coherent Thought[142]
[2.] The Self and the World[145]
[3.] Intelligence[148]
§ [18]. Belief[152]
[B. Affection and Conduct]
§ [19]. Complications of Feeling[162]
[1.] Feeling Dependent on Form and Content[162]
[2.] Feeling Dependent on Association of Ideas[164]
[3.] Irradiation of Feeling[167]
§ [20]. Emotions[168]
§ [21]. Complications of Willing[173]
§ [22]. Freedom of Conduct[176]
[CHAPTER IV
HIGHEST ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF CONSCIOUSNESS]
§ [23]. Evils of Knowledge[183]
§ [24]. Religion[189]
§ [25]. Art[196]
§ [26]. Morality[204]
[Conclusion][210]
[Index]: [A],[B],[C],[D],[E],[F],[G],[H],[I],[J],[K],[L],[M],[N],[O],[P],[Q],[R],[S],[T],[U],[V],[W],[Z][213]

ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE
[1. Multipolar Cell Body][30]
[2. Pyramidal Cell Body][31]
[3. Dendrites of a Nerve Cell of the Cerebellum][31]
[4. Various Types of Cell Bodies][32]
[5. Longitudinal Section of a Nerve Fiber with Stained Fibrils][32]
[6. Terminal Arborization of Optical Nerve Fibers][33]
[7. Diagram of Nervous Architecture: Reflex Arches connected by a Low Nerve Center][36]
[8. Diagram of Nervous Architecture: Lower Nerve Centers connected by a Higher Center][36]
[9. Diagram of Nervous Architecture: Higher Nerve Centers connected by a Still Higher Center][37]
[10.Frontal Section of the Right Cerebral Hemisphere][39]
[11. & 12. Sections of the Cerebral Cortex][40]
[13. Localization of Peripheral Functions in the Cerebral Cortex][41]
[14. Color Pyramid][59]
[15. “A Burnt Child fears the Fire”][111]
[16. Two Possibilities of Perception][120]
[17. Varieties of Perception][121]
[18. Visual and Kinesthetic Control of Voluntary Action: the Former Intact, the Latter Lost][175]

PSYCHOLOGY
AN ELEMENTARY TEXT-BOOK