Ja.niary 11, ISil."..] 



SCIENCE. 



43 



thing yon can renieniijcr and how old were 

 you? The distinction between motor and 

 sensoiy types and other psychological ([ues- 

 tious were discussed in connection with the 

 answers, and tlie method of securing mental 

 statistics by asking ((uestions was criti- 

 cized. In conclusion, an instrument was 

 shown for presenting objects alternately to 

 each eye, and charts and photographs illus- 

 trating illusions of size, Listing's Law 

 and the Horopter. These studies will be 

 published in the forthcoming number of the 

 American Journal of P^i/chology. 



Professor Ormond. Professor Baldwin and 

 others took part in the discussion that fol- 

 lowed the reading of the paper. The dis- 

 cussion of the diH'erent papers was of nearly 

 as great interest as the papers themselves, 

 but to report it would carry us too far into 

 details. 



The second paper was on The Psychic De- 

 velopment of Young AnimaU and its Physical 

 Correlation, by Professor T. Wesley Mills, 

 of McGill University. The speaker em- 

 phasized the importance of comparative and 

 genetic psychology — that is the study of 

 the mental life of the lower animals and of 

 children. He had observed the dog, cat, 

 rabbit, guinea-pig and birds. They were 

 watched from their birth, and notes were 

 made several times during the day. The 

 method was emphasized rather than the 

 results, which Avill be published later. 



Following Professor Mills" paper was one 

 0)1 the Distribution of Exceptional Ability, by 

 Professor Cattell. The speaker explained 

 how he had selected the 1.000 most eminent 

 men by an objective method, and how this 

 enabled him to measure and express num- 

 erically their mental traits. Curves were 

 shown giving the time and racial distribu- 

 tion of great men. These demonstrate the 

 rise and fall of leading tendencies in the 

 past, and enable us, to a certain extent, to 

 predict tlie course of civilization in the 

 future. 



Dr. A. Macdonald,of the IJureau of Edu- 

 cation, presented a report on fien.ntivenei''i 

 to Pain. He exhibited the in.strument used 

 and describeil his method for measur- 

 ing sensitiveness to pain. Women ai-e more 

 sensitive than men in the ratio of 7 : 5. 

 ^len taken from the street are not half so 

 sensitive to pain as professional men. 

 Americans are more sensitive than Phiglish- 

 men or Germans. The right-hand side of 

 the body is less sensitive than the left-hand 

 side. Some instruments for anthropometric 

 tests were also exhibited and described. 



At the close of the morning session 

 Brother Chrysostom. of Manhattan College, 

 read a paper on Freedom of the Will. This 

 time-honored problem was discussed from 

 the point of view of St. Thomas Ariuinas, 

 with due recognition of recent writers. 

 The Catholic Church certainly deserves 

 honor for finding or putting modern science 

 in the works of the great Schoolman. 



The afternoon session was opened by the 

 longest and most carefully prepared paper 

 of the meeting. Consciousness of Identity and 

 So- Called Double Consciousncs, by Professor 

 Ladd. of Yale University. Professor Ladd 

 began by defining identity in material 

 things and in minds. Changes heighten 

 rather than diminish the consciousness of 

 identity. A metaphysical ego is not needed 

 — minds vary in their unity and reality. 

 Doul)le consciousness and hypnotic states 

 should be treated in their relations to nor- 

 mal mental life, as it is not likely that the 

 principle of continuity is violated in this 

 case. Psychical automatism should be care- 

 fully studied — a man is not onlj^ that of 

 which he is conscious. We can consider 

 our automaton as well as our ego ; one or 

 the other may be predominant : they may 

 be in conilict or act in cooperation. The 

 automaton is evident in our daily life — in 

 games, in dreams, in dramatic composition 

 and acting, in prophecy. Ethically con- 

 sidered, a man is usually two or three, 



