VII 



SOME CONSIDERATIONS ON THE PROBLEM OF 

 LEARNING 



' I A HE essential nature of the process of learning 

 *- constitutes a problem of such fundamental im- 

 portance for psychology, to say nothing of physi- 

 ology also, that any discussion which promises to 

 contribute anything, however little, toward its solu- 

 tion is abundantly justified. In the previous chapter 

 an interpretation of the process of learning was 

 briefly outlined, and it may be profitable to con- 

 sider here some other proposed solutions of the 

 same problem, as well as certain criticisms of the 

 view set forth in the preceding pages. The formu- 

 lation and criticism of different hypotheses regard- 

 ing the mechanism of learning is especially desir- 

 able, since the pathway ahead is none too clear, and 

 since we have to rely to a large extent upon the 

 method of trial and error in order to make prog- 

 ress. 



An ingenious explanation of the learning process 

 has been put forward by Thorndike, 1 who, like 

 Spencer and Bain, finds the explanation of the re- 

 inforcement and inhibition of reactions in the pe- 



1 "Animal Intelligence." The Macmillan Co., N. Y., 1911. 



139 



