The claims of psychology to a place in the circle of the sciences / sessional address of the President, Mr. Serjeant Cox.

  • Edward William Cox
Date:
[1878]
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The claims of psychology to a place in the circle of the sciences / sessional address of the President, Mr. Serjeant Cox. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    1 Then comes the great question of the Duality of the Mind. We have two brains—have we two Minds? Is each mental faculty enjoyed in duplicate—so that there may be paralysis of one half of the Mind, as of one half of the body, with all the curious problems that grow out of such a condition and the light which, if real, it must cast upon many mental phenomena otherwise inexplicable. Next comes the question upon which ancient and modern mental philosophers are at issue;—Does the whole Mind act in every mental operation, or only specific parts of the mental mechanism—that is to say,—are the proces^_ of reasoning, the emotion of anger, the sentiment of_Hope, products of the whole Mind, or has each its special mechanism in the brain ? A vast multitude of facts have been already gathered together, throwing light upon this question. But more are wanted, for the metaphysics, that have been for ages accepted by mankind as knowledge, stifling Science and staying progress, can be banished only by an overwhelming ari’ay of facts that must compel assent by all minds not closed against conviction by prepossession” and dominant idea.” If the conclusion be, that the Mechanism of the Mind is structured of parts, each part having a distinct and definite function, then comes the no less important, but more difii- cult, inquiry, what are those mental faculties ? These can be learned only by long and accurate observation of the minds of many men, as exhibited in their actions, and something will be gathered from se^-examination. Those faculties found—and they are undoubtedly many—do they admit of any and what classification ? Psychology must inquire if there be any and what specific differences between them. Are intellect and emotion identical ? Do the various faculties exhibit their simultaneous presence or absence in the same person ? Are not some possessed of great reasoning capacity and no passions ? Ai’e not others ■ found to be strong in passion and frail in intellect ? And if there be many mental faculties, an inquiry almost ■ l246]