48 Chapter IV. 



modern animal psychology. It is by no means the cor- 

 rect and critical opinion of Reimarus on the difference 

 between instinct and intelligence, and on the want of 

 reason in animals, that has "gained ground in the minds 

 of common people," nor has his opinion become "domi- 

 nating" in modern animal psychology; but the very 

 contrary has taken place. The very writers alluded to 

 by Wundt towards the end of the above passage, those 

 I say who arbitrarily humanized the animal 1 and ac- 

 credited it with intelligence and reason, are the true 

 originators of modern animal psychology, which Wundt 

 himself formerly professed, while he now condemns it 

 without mercy as the "psychology of the crowd." 



As Wundt has candidly acknowledged the error of 

 his former opinion on the relation of Reimarus to mod- 

 ern animal psychology, it may be hoped that those who 

 on his authority still declare Reimarus to have been 

 "its originator," will arrive at a truer conviction, and 

 will likewise acknowledge their mistake. 



Another prominent representative of modern animal 

 psychology, Maximilian Perty, 2 expresses himself as 

 follows on the work of Reimarus : 



"An as yet unsurpassed writer on the psychic life 

 of animals is the elder Reimarus, who has the merit of 

 having clearly understood the difference between in- 

 stinct and intelligence. He regards as impulse (Trieb) 

 'any natural efforts that tend to the performance of 



*) To these belonged at the time of Reimarus, besides Condillac 

 and Leroy, especially Erasmus Darwin, the grandfather of Charles 

 Darwin. See the I. Vol. of his "Zoonomia." Cf. also Kirby and Spence, 

 Introduct. to Entomology 2 (5th edition), 463 ff. 



2 ) "Ueber das Seelenleben der Thiere" (2, AufL), p. 8 ff, 



