ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE. 



explanation and the best models for imitation fail. \ti .uicu, 

 in such cases, a pupil, if somehow enticed to do the thing, even 

 without comprehension of what it means, even without any real 

 knowledge of what he is doing, will finally get hold of it. So, 

 also, in very many kinds of knowledge, the pupil who does any- 

 thing from imitation, or who does anything from being put 

 through it, fails to get a real and permanent mastery of the thing. 

 I am sure that with a certain type of mind the only wav to teach 

 fractions in algebra, for example, is to get the pupil to do, do, 

 do. I am inclined to think that in many individuals certain 

 things cannot be learned save by actual performance. And I 

 think it is often a fair question when explanation, imitation and 

 actual performance are all possible methods, which is the best. 

 We are here alongside the foundations of mental life, and this 

 hitherto unsuspected law of animal mind may prevail in human 

 mind to an extent hitherto unknown. The best way with chil- 

 dren may often be in the pompous words of an animal trainer, 

 ' to arrange everything in connection with the trick so that the 

 animal wall be compelled by the laws of his ow-n nature to per- 

 form it.' 



This does not at all imply that I think, as a present school 

 of scientists seem to, that because a certain thing has been in 

 phylogeny we ought to repeat it in ontogeny. Heaven knows 

 that Dame Nature herself in ontogeny abbreviates and skips and 

 distorts the order of the appearance of organs and functions, and 

 for the- best of reasons. We ought to make an effort, as she 

 does, to omit the useless and antiquated and get to the best and 

 most useful as soon as possible ; we ought to change what /.< to 

 what ouo-Jit to he, as far as we can. And I would not advocate 

 this animal-like method of learning in place of the later ones 

 unless it does the same work better. I simply suggest that in 

 many cases where at present its use is never dreamed of, it may 

 be a good method. As the fundamental form of intellection 

 every student of theoretical pedagogy ought to take it nUo 

 account. 



There is one more contribution, this time to anthropology. 

 If the method of trial and error, with accidental success, be the 

 method of acquiring associations among the animals, the slow 



