302 president's address. 



clearly and philosophically. Its point of view is indeed identical 

 with that propounded two years previously by Mr. Murphy, and 

 summarised as follows in the preface to his work on ' ' Habit 

 and Intelligence:" — "I agree with Darwin in the belief that 

 all species have been derived by descent with modification, pro- 

 bably from one, certainly from a few, original germs : and I 

 further agree with him in attaching great importance to ' Na- 

 tural Selection among spontaneous variations,' as part of the 

 agency by which the modifications have been effected. But I 

 altogether differ from him, in that I believe the wondrous facts 

 of organic adaptation cannot have been produced by Natural 

 Selection, or by any unintelligent agency whatever. * * * 

 As on the subject of organizing intelligence I have come to a 

 conclusion which is fundamentally opposed to that of Darwin, 

 so on that of mental growth and intelligence I have come to a 

 conclusion which is fundamentally opposed to that of the domi- 

 nant psychological school in this country : I mean that school 

 which was founded, as I believe, by Hartley, and to which Mill, 

 Bain, and Herbert Spencer belong. The characteristic point of 

 their theory is that they endeavour to account for the whole 

 mental nature by the simple principle of the association of ideas, 

 or, as I call it, of mental habit. I maintain, on the contrary, 

 that in all mental intelligence, as in organizing intelligence, 

 there is an element not derived from habit, and not resolvable 

 into any unintelligent force whatever."* 



Works like those of Messrs. Murphy and Mivart are likely to 

 be very beneficial in a direction quite apart from that we have 

 hitherto considered. They show that it is possible to hold the 

 idea of Creation by Law without being either atheist or infidel ; 

 that in fact belief as to the limits of natural law need have 

 nothing whatever to do with personal religion ; and we cannot 

 but hail with pleasure any work which assists in banishing the 

 suspicion and anxiety with which many devout and well mean- 

 ing persons view the discussion of these topics. 



We sometimes hear it ascribed to those who hold the views 

 expressed by the terms Continuity and Evolution, that they 



* Preface " Habit and Intelligence," p. vii. 



