29 



psychically, however, Darwin's language leads one to conclude 

 that the animals have the mental qualities which man possesses, 

 rather than to think that man has no mental characteristics 

 but those of the animals. This difference in standpoint is 

 manifest in such quotations as: "The lower animals, like man, 

 manifestly feel pleasure and pain, happiness and misery." 1 

 "The fact that lower animals are excited by the same emotions 

 as ourselves is so well established that it will not be necessary 

 to weary the reader by many details." 2 In the pages following, 

 one by one, the mental qualities of man are taken up, and the 

 lower animals shown to participate more or less in their 

 possession. 3 



The reason for this change in the point of view seems to be 

 the restriction in the field of scientific observation when dealing 

 genetically with psychological, as compared with physiological, 

 phenomena. While in the case of the latter the facts may 

 easily be observed, in the former we can at best but observe 

 physical and physiological facts when studying other beings 

 than ourselves. If we then wish to infer what may be the 

 subjective aspect of these facts, we can only infer on the basis 

 of our own experience. Darwin seems to realize this, for in 

 speaking of Abstraction, Self -consciousness, etc., with refer- 

 ence to animals, he says: "It would be very difficult for any 

 one with even much more knowledge than I possess, to de- 

 termine how far animals exhibit any traces of these high 

 mental powers. This difficulty arises from the impossibility 

 of judging what passes through the mind of an animal." 4 



In chapter three Darwin enters into a discussion of the 

 moral sense. He introduces the subject as follows: "I fully 

 subscribe to the judgment of those writers who maintain that 

 of all the differences between man and the lower animals, the 

 moral sense, or conscience, is by far the most important." 5 

 "This great question has been discussed by many writers of 

 consummate ability; and my sole excuse for touching on it, is 

 the impossibility of here passing it over; and because, as far 

 as I know, no one has approached it exclusively from the side 

 of natural history." 6 This is a clear enunciation of Darwin's 

 position, yet I think we shall find that he is not so consistent 

 in handling his material in the moral sphere as in the intel- 



KXC. p. 39. 

 2 Ibid. 



3/"v *~* f*Vi O 



4 "The Descent of Man ", 2nd English ed. 1874. Ch. 3. 

 6 "The Descent of Man", 1871. Vol. I, p. 70. 

 6 O.C. p. 71. 



