Examination of Some Objections. 59 



criticism: 1 "It is, furthermore, asserted (by Was- 

 inann) that cultural development is a condition of 

 intelligence. Now, the rate of cultural development 

 in man is rapidly progressive in the higher races, whilst 

 it is enormously slow in the lower. Higher animals 

 can be tamed and are docile. This fact indicates a 

 germ of capability of cultural development. Higher 

 mammals most decidedly profit by past experiences, 

 and even utilize them to some extent in teaching their 

 young. The gulf between this stage and the lowest 

 germs of cultural development in man is not so very 

 wide. Yet, in order to throw more light on this ques- 

 tion, one should not, as Wasmann did, compare ants 

 immediately with man, but carefully follow up the 

 scale of animal life and proportion one's demands on 

 the capacities of the animal soul to the development 

 of its brain. Besides, an intimate dealing with animals 

 soon leads to the recognition of definite individual char- 

 acters amongst them, 2 such as those which Delboeuf 

 observed among his tame lizards and described so 

 eloquently. He pointed them out to me, so that I am 

 convinced of the fact. Embryos, so to say, of talent, 

 geniuses, heroes of will-power as of the contrary are 

 found among individuals of one and the same species. 

 Who is not acquainted with aristocratic and proletarian 

 dogs and horses? Of course, here as elsewhere, one 



1 ) "Gehirn und Seele," p. 28. 



2 ) "I was often able to observe indications of individual differ- 

 ences of character even among ants of the same colony; some were 

 more irritable, others more active, others more thievish; there were 

 more cowardly and more bold, more vivacious and more phlegmatic 

 individuals. I have likewise noted changes m behavior which were due 

 to past experience and repeated observations." 



