On the Different Forms of Acquiring Knowledge. 163 



higher animals. The result was constantly the same. The 

 training of animals only furnishes a proof of the intelli- 

 gence of man, and not of the animal. The point of 

 contact is found in the powers of cognition and appetite 

 on the part of the animal, and the activity of these pow- 

 ers is principally induced by hunger and the fear of cor- 

 poral chastisement. The first and second forms of 

 learning have shown us that the animal is able to ac- 

 quire knowledge independently by the instinctive prac- 

 tice of its innate reflex mechanisms and by sense experi- 

 ences which cause new combinations of representations. 

 Nor must we forget to add the instinct of imitation 

 which constitutes the fourth form of learning. This 

 threefold basis is taken into account by the trainer. He 

 forces the animal to practice certain reflex motions. 

 Thus he teaches a horse to acquire the different equine 

 movements. He forces the animal to imitate certain 

 arbitrary motions which he shows it how to do, and to 

 assume certain attitudes of the body which are other- 

 wise unnatural to it. Thus a dog learns to stand on its 

 hind legs and to fetch and carry different objects. 

 Finally, he mechanically impresses upon the animal's 

 sensile memory certain new combinations of representa- 

 tions by regularly repeating the same sensile impres- 

 sions. Thus Lubbock's poodle Van finally learnt to 

 "read," by being trained to fetch the card with the word 

 "food," when it was hungry. There is not tne faintest 

 notion of animal intelligence in this whole process. The 

 sole agents are the powers of sensile cognition and 

 appetite and the sensile memory of the animal, and the 

 intelligence of man. 



6. The sixth form is that of learning by intelligent 



