OF MICR O- OR GANISMS. 1 05 



IX. 



CONCLUSION. 



THE conclusions relative to psychological phenom- 

 ena arrived at in the foregoing treatise, are in contra- 

 diction with the opinions generally received upon the 

 psychology of the cell. Scientists have held, that cell- 

 ular psychology is represented wholly and solely by 

 the laws of irritability. In his Essai de Psychologic 

 Generate, a work in so many respects remarkable, M. 

 Richet has assumed the advocacy of this view; the 

 correctness of which we have no hesitation in disput- 

 ing. In the work just mentioned, the distinguished 

 professor has written the following: 



"There exist simple beings which appear to be 

 nothing more than a homogeneous assemblage of irri- 

 table cellules. Motory reaction, consequent upon 

 irritation from without, constitutes their life of rela- 

 tion. Irritability is their life complete, but this, in 

 effect, is psychic life; so that cellular irritability can 

 be considered the same as elementary psychic life." 



From an attentive perusal of this passage it will 

 be seen that M. Richet brings within the category of 

 irritability, not only unicellular organisms, but also 

 pluricellular organisms formed by the union of homo- 

 geneous cellules. 



M. Romanes, in his work upon Mental Evolution, 

 without coming to a conclusion so definite as M. 

 Richet, seems to us to have reduced the psychic ac- 

 tivity of proto-organisms to within very narrow limits. 

 We are impressed with the fact upon glancing over 

 his Diagram of Mental Evolution : he recognizes 

 nothing but excitability, for example, in the ovule and 

 spermatozoid of man. This is manifestly erroneous. 



