32 The Higher Usefulness of Science 



vey's germinal discovery. That the James-Lange 

 theory of emotion may be regarded as a lineal descend- 

 ant of Harvey's discovery, indeed was adumbrated by 

 Harvey himself, is seen in his refutation of the old no- 

 tion that the heart is the seat of the emotions. "Every 

 affection of the mind," he writes, "that is attended with 

 pleasure and pain, with hope and fear, is simply the 

 cause of an agitation which extends to the heart and 

 there induces change from natural constitution, im- 

 pairing nutrition, depressing the powers of life, and 

 so engendering disease." 



Compare this with the following by Professor C. 

 Lange, like Harvey a physician. "It is the vasomotor 

 system that we have to thank for the whole emotional 

 aspect of our mental life, for our joys and sorrows, our 

 hours of happiness and misery. If the objects that 

 affect our senses had not the power to throw this sys- 

 tem into action, we should travel through life indiffer- 

 ent and dispassionate." 



The conception of emotion held by modern psychol- 

 ogy undoubtedly differs in important respects from 

 that suggested by Harvey. But it is clear that they 

 have this in common: all our deepest sentiments and 

 passions, good and bad, are inseparably connected 

 with and dependent upon our general body constitu- 

 tion, especially upon our vasomotor mechanism. It 

 seems to be literally and not figuratively true that 

 when we love or hate, are joyous or sad, feel exalted 

 or depressed, kindly or hatefully disposed toward all 



