478 WALTER S. HUNTER 



rarely introduces theoretical psychological comments and dis- 

 cussions into the text. It is a pleasure, however, here in the 

 account of color-vision, to meet the following statement: "Die 

 Vergleichende Psychologie vermag daher auf objectiven Wege 

 das Problem des Farbensinnes der Insekten nur bis zu der 

 Feststellung zu fordern, dass jedenfalls verschiedene Strahlen- 

 gattungen verschiedene objective Wirkungen hervorbringen, sie 

 kann dagegen auf die subjektiven Phanomene im tierischen 

 Bewusstsein wiederum nur aus der Analogie der objektiven 

 Vorgange im menschlichen und im tierischen Organismus schlies- 

 sen." (S. 473). Such analogies, the author further points out, 

 are hindered by our lack of information concerning retinal 

 processes in man. 



American readers will note with interest Kafka's Introduction 

 dealing with the aims and principles of comparative psychology. 1 

 It was written prior to the publication in this country of the 

 many recent "Behavior" papers. In the present book, the dis- 

 cussion covers 16 pages only out of a total of 549. The "specu- 

 lative tendency" thus plays no overshadowing role here. 



The fact that comparative psychology has manifested an 

 anthropomorphic tendency cannot be used as a final argument 

 against the possibility of its being thoroughly scientific. Biology, 

 physics and chemistry have passed through similar stages. Yet 

 reacting against anthropomorphism, natural science tends to 

 seek all explanation in physical and chemical terms or at most 

 in the teleological conditioning of reactions. Conscious pro- 

 cesses, since they cannot be "observed" are ruled out of the 

 subject matter. There is no doubt that the rapid progress made 

 by comparative physiology and biology within recent years has 

 been largely due to the insistence that objective processes be 

 stated in terms of objective factors. Appeals to psychic pro- 

 cesses have most often indicated only the faliure to analyze 

 properly a causal nexus. Yet that this physico-chemical state- 

 ment is not exhaustive is testified to by the consciousness that 

 each one has of mental concomitants of bodily activity as well 

 as by the appeal to introspection which physiology makes in 

 its studies of brain functions. The inaccessibilitv to immediate 



1 This chapter appeared, prior to the publication of the book, under the title 

 ''' Ueber Grundlagen und Ziele einer wissenschaftlichen Tierpsychologie," Arch, 

 f. d. ges. Psych., Bd. 29, 1913. 



