78 Chapter V. 



the form of syllogisms. The abstract concepts of red, 

 pretty, and the odor of meat, which had been gathered 

 from a chain of single apprehensions, would have oc- 

 curred in the formation of the various propositions. 

 These general concepts exist alike, if not explicitly, at 

 least implicitly, in the mind of man and in that of the 

 dog. But man can formulate them orally, and thus 

 they become real abstractions. Herein alone consists 

 the difference : it is a mere formal one. In man as well 

 as in the brute concepts or cognitions are formed by way 

 of induction, by summing up successive experiences, 

 eliminating every special and heterogeneous, and retain- 

 ing every common and homogeneous element. In this 

 way all general concepts are abstracted." 



This is indeed one of the most solid objections which 

 can be urged against our distinction of instinct and in- 

 telligence. It can be briefly summed up in the follow- 

 ing three points : 



1. In the process of human cognition complex 

 sense representations and mental abstractions convene 

 without definite boundary lines; consequently we are 

 not allowed to deny the power of mental abstraction to 

 animals, if we accredit them with the faculty of form- 

 ing complex sense representations. 



2. Even the processes of sensitive associations in 

 animals contain, at least implicite, syllogisms; now, 

 between such improper conclusions and the proper con- 

 clusions of human intelligence 1 there is no essential 



*) The former are generally classified as material, and the latter as 

 formal conclusions (material reasoning formal reasoning). But, as 

 Emery uses the term "formal" in a different sense, we shall avoid it, in 

 order to prevent misunderstandings. 



