456 THE MIND OF PRIMITIVE MAN. 



tion. It has been observed by iiuiny travelers that the senses of 

 primitive man arc remarkably well trained; that he is an excellent 

 observer. The adeptness of the experienced hunter, who finds the 

 tracks of his game where the eye of an Europ(^an would not see the 

 faintest indication, is an instance of this kind. While the power of 

 perception of primitive man is excellent, it would seem that his power 

 of logical interpretation of perceptions is deficient. 1 think it can be 

 shown that the reason for this fact is not founded on any fundamental 

 peculiarity of the mind of primitive man, but lies, rather, in the char- 

 acter of the ideas with which the new perception associates itself. In 

 our own connuunity a mass of observations and of thoughts is trans- 

 mitted to the child. These thoughts are the residt of careful observa- 

 tion and speculation of our present and of past generations; ])utthey 

 are transmitted to most individuals as traditional matter, much the same 

 as folklore. The child associates new perceptions with this whole 

 mass of traditional material, and interprets his observations by its 

 means. 1 believe it is a mistake to assume that the interpretation made 

 by each civilized individual is a complete logical process. We associate 

 a phenomenon with a numl)er of known facts, the interpretations of 

 which are assumed as known, and we are satisfied with the reduction of 

 a new fact to these previously known facts. For instance, if the 

 average individual hears of the explosion of a previoush' unknown 

 chemical, he is satisfied to reason that certain materials are known to 

 have the property of exploding under proper conditions, and that con- 

 sequently the unknown substance has the same qualit3^ On the whole, 

 I do not think that we should try to argue still further, and really try 

 to give a full explanation of the causes of the explosion. 



The difJerence in the mode of thought of primitive man and of civ- 

 ilized man seems to consist largely in the difference of character of the 

 traditional material with which the new^ perception associates itself. 

 The instruction given to the child of primitive man is not based on 

 centuries of experimentation, but consists of the crude experience of 

 generations. When a new experience enters the mind of primitive 

 man, the same process which we ol)serve among civilized men brings 

 about an entirely different series of associations, and therefore results 

 in a different type of explanation. A sudden explosion will associate 

 itself in his mind, perhaps, with tales which he has heard in regard to 

 the mythical history of the world, and consequently will be accom- 

 panied l)y superstitious fear. When we recognize that, neither among 

 civilized men nor among primitive men, the average individual carries 

 to completion the attempt at casual explanation of phenomena, but 

 carries it onh^ so far as to amalgamate it with other previously known 

 facts, we recognize that the result of the whole process depends 

 entirely upon the character of the traditional material. Herein lies the 

 immense importance of folklore in determining the mode of thought. 

 Herein lies particularly the enormous influence of current philosophic 



