ioo DAN BEARD'S ANIMAL BOOK 



ATTRIBUTE NOTHING TO INSTINCT, 



this vague word has too long blocked the threshold 

 of the study of animated nature. 



It must be taken for granted that everything 

 in the natural world can be explained in a practical 

 or natural manner and we must remember that 

 such words as "instinct" are invented, not for the 

 purpose of enlightenment, but 



TO CONCEAL IGNORANCE. 



When we do not know what a thing is we give 

 it a name and thereafter speak familiarly of it, 

 calling it by name (the name we gave it) and de- 

 ceive ourselves into thinking that it is all explained. 



While man's intellectual powers are acknowl- 

 edged to far exceed those of the brutes, the most 

 casual observer cannot help noticing that the 

 brutes possess a mind peculiarly their own, prob- 

 ably differing in its possible development, rather 

 than in its nature, from that of the man. 



We can neither imagine nor conceive a thing 

 which does not correspond in some manner with 

 our own personal experience, because the imagina- 

 tion feeds upon and is composed only of the 

 things of which we are conscious through our 

 senses. 



Hence, it follows that to understand the action 

 of the lower animals, it is necessary for us to be 

 able to place ourselves mentally in their position 

 and think how we would act with the beast's limita- 

 tions and.surroundings. 



