ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON PSYCHOLOGY 20I 



it is upon the psychology of this work th?it most of its lines con- 

 verge. ' ' 



Again, in the following quotation the emphasis laid upon science 

 by the editors of that work is brought out : " It is one of the safest 

 sayings of philosophy at the close of the outgoing century that 

 whatever we may become to end with, we must be naturalists to 

 begin with — men furnished with the breastplate of natural knowl- 

 edge. We must know the methods as well as the results of science. 

 We must know the limitations of experiment, the theory of proba- 

 bility, the scientific modes of weighing evidence and of treating 

 cases, lyack of these things is the weakness of many a contempo- 

 rary writer on philosophy. Such a one criticises a science which 

 he does not understand, and fails to see the significance of the in- 

 roads science is making into the territor\^ which has so long seemed 

 to be exempt. Note the application of biological principles, in 

 however modified form, to psychological facts, the treatment of 

 moral phenomena by statistical methods ; and the.se things are but 

 examples. These topics are becoming of special importance to the 

 psj-chologist, the moralist, and the student of life." 



Tv/o general utilities are therefore pointed out by your committee 

 as most important, namely : Fbsi, the ericouragement of definite 

 scieyitific research in psychology ; and, seco7id, ike vnificafion, in what 

 the French call solidarity, of the different departments of psychology. 



In the opinion of your Committee, both of these objects can be 

 best subserved by the establishment at Washington of a depaHment of 

 psychology in immediate co7inectio7i zvith any otiier scientifit establish- 

 ments which the Carnegie Institution may found. The provision for 

 this science will then rank with that of certain other fundamental 

 sciences in the appropriations of the Institution. 



In such an establishment psychology should properlj- have two 

 units from the entire number of units of appropriation in the scheme 

 of the sciences ; that is, if ten divisions of science be recognized as 

 ' having claim upon the income of the Institution, it is the deliberately 

 formed judgment of your Committee that ps3'chology should be as- 

 signed two-tenths of the entire income. This, however, does not 

 mean that researches which are only of psychological value would 

 be so largely entered upon, for one- third or one-half of the work 

 undertaken would be in joint control of psychology with some other 

 science or sciences. This will appear from a concise statement of 

 the principal problems of the several departments already mentioned. 



