6— THE PSYCHOLOGY 



arouse nu^ntal activity by tlie use of objects. And liere asfain tlie child can dis- 

 cover its tViiiits of analysis by niakinij a diag^rani to represent the generalizatiion. 



A gfood example of the use of a diagram is seen in representing the inflore- 

 scence of plants. No two modes of flovviM'ing are exactly alike, yet, neglecting 

 all other differences, we find that the}' agree in the order of imlblding either from 

 the centre outwards or from the outside to the centie. A diagram may be 

 readily constructed to siiow this one agreement. The agreement can be shown 

 most clearly by making dia wings of the flowering of different plants and then com- 

 paring these drawings. Thus the diagram is seen to be a more ideal representat- 

 ion than the drawing and is the necessary transition to the still more ideal 

 method of representation by pure symbols, which, as yet, are loo ideal for the 

 child to make extensive independent use of, as he may later. The greater con- 

 creteness of the diagram makes it possible for the child, at this period, to discover 

 his own errors of analysis by comparing the diagram with the drawings fiom 

 which it was constructed. 



Language. 



We are accustomed to think of oral and written language as tlie distinctive 

 acquirement which distinguishes man from the beast. But, except gesture, all 

 the other modes of expression are equally distinctive of man. There is no doubt 

 that animals possess a rudimentary gesture language, and also a language of 

 touch, of smell and sound, hut these are not ideal modes of expression, and no 

 attempts are made by animals lo represent their ideas by means of any kind 

 of symbolic language. 



No more ideal method of communicating thought indirectly can be conceiv- 

 ed of. Some claim, however, to communicate thought directlv, but when 

 analyzed, all so-called thought-transference resolves itself into a more concrete 

 mode of expression than the use of symbols. Mind readers usuallj' have an ex- 

 treme susceptibilil}' to pressure, to gesture, or to sounds, which are inarticulate 

 to the ordinary ear. 



Ideal language is more than the association of a particular sound with a 

 presented object or action. It expresses the mental relationship which results 

 from presentations, stimulating the mind, and as such is purely ideal. It can 

 scarcely be said that the sign bears any resemblance to the relationship which it 

 expresses. It might have been something else, though, doubtless, each symbol 

 has been evolved in an orderly and scieiitfic manner. This evolution is still 

 going on and in time we shall possess a still more ideal mode of expression. 

 Indeed we have it now in shorthand, whicli will become, eventually, the written 

 speech of educated people. 



Singing and Calisthenics. 



It has always been recognized that music has a powerful influence over the 

 individual emotions and character. But we usuallj' lose sight of the fact that the 

 rhythmical nature of singing and calisthenics is the bond which unites individuals 

 in these activities. They are peculiarly social activities ; in modem times, usually 



