'914.] BEHAVIORIST VIEWS IT." 11 



chiefly, of the larynx. In the same way he finds the behaviorist 

 parallel of affective process in tumescence and shrinkage of the 

 organs of sex. These views are put forward as matters of hypoth- 

 esis and of personal conviction, though they are also put forward 

 with some confidence. Time and trial will prove their value. 



Meanwhile, it would seem that Watson has in both cases, in the 

 case of image as in that of affective process, overshot the logic of his 

 position. The negative argument as regards imagery can never be 

 proved in formal logic, to say nothing of the fact that it conflicts with 

 a very large body of positive observation."^ Logical confusion is shown 

 plainly enough in the following remark : " I may have to grant a few 

 sporadic cases of imagery to him who will not be otherwise convinced, 

 but I insist that the images of such an one are sporadic, and as un- 

 necessary to his well-being and zvcll-thinking as a few hairs more or 

 less on his head." If there are any images at all, then there are (on 

 Watson's own showing) centrally initiated processes, and behaviorism 

 is bound to take account of them; and his personal assurance that 

 they are unnecessary to thought is offset at once by the assurance of 

 Watt and others that thought does in fact go on in imaginal terms. -^ 

 Science is concerned with empirical facts ; and for the individual 

 man of science to "insist" that certain facts of observation may be 

 cancelled without loss to the science to whose subject-matter they 

 belong is to incur, at the very least, the charge of a certain rashness 

 of behavior. 



Another logical objection seems to me to lie against Watson's 

 procedure in this second article. All science works upon assump- 

 tions, psychology no less than the other sciences. Miinsterberg, for 

 instance, is wholly within his logical rights when he assumes that all 

 conscious contents, without exception, may be transformed into sen- 

 sations :"" given his premises, they must be so transformed. Be- 



-^ I quote a recent statement: "From an actual count of factors present 

 in the recall of ten of our problems, we estimate that our investigation em- 

 braces approximately 200,000 images. ... Of all our introspective data, about 

 ninety per cent, are visual images" (E. O. Finkenbinder, Amer. Journ. of 

 Psych., XXV., 1914, 81). 



29 H. J. Watt, " Experimentelle Beitrage zu einer Theorie des Denkens," 

 Arch. f. d. gcs. Psych., IV., 1905, 312; cf. my "Thought-processes," 1909, 

 Lect. I. 



"^ H. Miinsterberg, " Grundziige der Psychologie," I., 1900, 331. 



