348 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLI. No. 1053 



FSEPABEDNESS FOB PEACE 

 An intelligent and interesting presenta- 

 tion within a brief compass of the subject 

 assigned to me, "Modern Methods of 

 Studying the Mind," would require liter- 

 ary skill of such high order that with the 

 chairman's permission we shall undertake 

 the less ambitious task of considering a 

 few generalizations, not technical descrip- 

 tions of methods of studying the mind, of 

 the same character as those which John 

 Stuart Mill onee described as "the com- 

 mon wisdom of common life"; and then 

 try to determine whether the practical 

 application of some of this knowledge 

 would not to a certain degree remedy our 

 present national unpreparedness for peace 

 with honor. 



By way of prologue let me remind you 

 that although at least 100,000 years sepa- 

 rate us from our Neanderthal ancestor, we 

 have only just begun to take an intelligent 

 interest in the mechanism of the human 

 mind. Philosophers of antiquity as well as 

 of the present have recorded their impres- 

 sions of an idealized humanity, but the 

 youngest of all the sciences is the study of 

 the activities of living individuals ; and the 

 recent birth of this interest partially ex- 

 plains the pessimism expressed by those 

 who have been rudely awakened by current 

 events to an appreciation of the relatively 

 slight progress made by civilization. 



This year marks an important chapter 

 in history. To-day the world pays a tax in 

 blood on human ignorance. Protests are 

 made and Heaven is implored to avert the 

 logical consequences for our failure to obey 

 the command "know thyself." Little did 

 we appreciate how ignorant we are in re- 

 gard to the foundations of character, and 

 the factors that condition it. As our in- 

 telligence increases we shall gradually be- 

 come quite as much ashamed of our igno- 

 rance of human nature as we are now 



shocked by the horrors of war. How do we 

 intend to face the present crisis? Indulge 

 in maudlin sentimentality, become more 

 bitterly denunciatory, shut our eyes to the 

 magnitude of the task and pray, or rise 

 and acquit ourselves like men? 



The problems of peace are more difficult 

 to solve than are those of war. Intelligent 

 belligerency represents a lower plane of 

 mental activity than intelligent neutrality. 

 A declaration of war is an indication of the 

 present inadequacy of human intelligence 

 to solve great problems. Shall we succeed 

 or fail in our declared neutrality? In 

 what direction shall we turn for assistance ? 

 The tax upon the brain power of the nation 

 in preparing for peace will be greater than 

 in preparing for war. 



Is it rational to suppose that the correct 

 answers to the great questions which now 

 force themselves upon our attention will be 

 given by diplomatist, statesman, social re- 

 former, historian or any person who at- 

 tempts to predict coming events merely by 

 analyzing impressionistic records of human 

 conduct? Should we not turn to those who 

 are attempting to secure a comprehensive 

 knowledge of the human brain, and its 

 mechanism as expressed in character and 

 conduct? "Declarations of war" and 

 "treaties of peace" are the products of 

 cerebral functions. As long as physicians 

 attacked the problems of physiology from 

 the historical point of view little progress 

 was made in explaining the functions of in- 

 dividual organs; and equally futile have 

 been the efforts of those who, ignoring the 

 study of living individuals, go back to his- 

 torical sources for their information and 

 offer "these records of the dead" as inter- 

 pretations of the synthesized activities of 

 all the organs of the human body objec- 

 tively represented in behavior or conduct. 

 Is there any reason why we should be 

 spared the ignominy of reaping that which 



