THE SCIENTIFIC IMAGINATION 265 



rose." It is characteristic of the language of science 

 to substitute the abstract or general expression for 

 the concrete and picturesque. 



When, therefore, we are told that the imagination 

 has been at the bottom of all great scientific discov- 

 eries, that the discovery of law is the peculiar function 

 of the creative imagination, and that all great scien- 

 tists have, in a certain sense, been great artists, we 

 are confronted with a paradox. In what department 

 of thought is imagination more strictly subordinated 

 than in science ? Genetic psychology attempts to trace 

 the development of mind as a means of adjustment. 

 It examines the instincts that serve so wonderfully 

 the survival of various species of insects. It studies 

 the more easily modified instinct of birds, and notes 

 their ability to make intelligent choice on the basis 

 of experience. Does the bird's ability to recognize 

 imply the possession of memory, or imagery? In- 

 creased intelligence assures perpetuation of other 

 species in novel and unforeseen conditions. The more 

 tenacious the memory, the richer the supply of images, 

 the greater the powers of adaptation and survival. 

 We know something concerning the motor memory 

 of rodents and horses, and its biological value. The 

 child inherits less definitely organized instincts, but 

 greater plasticity, than the lower animals. Its mental 

 life is a chaos of images. It is the work of education 

 to discipline as well as to nourish the senses, to teach 

 form as well as color, to impart the clarifying sense 

 of number, weight, and measurement, to help distin- 

 guish between the dream and the reality, to teach 

 language, the treasure-house of our traditional wis- 

 dom, and logic, so closely related to the right use of 



