732 PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION J. 



8— THE PRESENT POSITION OF PROBLEMS OF PSYCHOLOGY. 



By BERNARD MUSCIO, B.A. 



(Abstract.) 



The ]ipper opened with reference to the logical development which 

 had taken place in the subject matter of science. Inorganic nature 

 had been treated first ; then organic ; lastly, mind. But even 

 when mental life had thus won recognition by logical development, 

 psychology was very hampered. The obstacles were mainly three : 

 — (1) A prior and engrossing interest in inorganic nature ; (2) 

 interference in the construction of free hypotheses by a theological 

 tradition, especially in regard to free will which could not allow, e.g., 

 psycho-physical causality ; (3) the use of an unscientific nomen- 

 clature, which was connected with the unique nature of the subject 

 matter, and the fact that psvchological treatises were frequently 

 written for popular approbation. 



But psychology now stood in an exactly similar position to 

 that of the other positive sciences. Its aim is the analysis of 

 psychical phenomena into atomistic elements and the statement of 

 their laws of active relationship. 



Psychology had received a large amount of amorphous treat- 

 ment ; but among the mass of psychological talk and literature, 

 certain problems were becoming distinct. These were mainly of 

 three types ; — (1) The influence of physiology had given rise to a 

 two-sided hypothesis : {a) that every psychical modification had a 

 distinct physiological correlate ; {b) that every physiological 

 modification had a distinct psychical correlate. Hence arose the 

 problems of physiological-psychology. (2) Biology and the evolu- 

 tion theory had led to the attribution to man of a crowd of instincts, 

 such being defined as psycho -physical tendencies. This had im- 

 portant consequences for certain theories of conduct and education. 

 To follow instinct, then, turned out to be the acceptance of the 

 standards of a long and indefinite line of ancestry rather than the 

 ideals of reason. (3) Sociological influence had given rise to the 

 problem of the dependence of the individual's mental life on society. 

 In this the most important factor was suggestion, and hence this 

 was one of the chief problems of social psychology. 



Psychology then, at the present time, stands thus : — (1) It 

 has, by logical development, come to receive scientific attention ; 

 (2) it has freed itself for the construction of any hypothesis whatso- 

 ever ; (3) it is beginning to acquire an exact nomenclature. These 

 represent so much vehicular accommodation. 



As to its future, this has been largely determined by the in- 

 fluence of {a) physiology, {b) biology, and (c) sociology. 



