ANIMAL CONSCIOUSNESS 29 



according to the judgment of science, physical work." 

 Of the same character are the explanations of two others, 

 one of whom declares that Hans was acting " under the 

 magnetic influence of man ", while the other declared that 

 " hypnotic suggestion is involved ", and, ignoring attested 

 facts, tells us that, " The horse can execute the com- 

 mands of another only when the master, with whom it is 

 ' en rapport ', wills that it shall obey." We may close 

 the catalogue of explanations with one more, which, in 

 spite of its vagueness, found many defenders, viz: sug- 

 gestion. Without defining this conception more specifi- 

 cally and without the slightest notion of the peculiar diffi- 

 culties which it involves (L. Loewenfeld in his " Hand- 

 buch des Hypnotismus " [Wiesbaden, 1901, pp. 35ff.] 

 cites twenty different definitions of the term given by as 

 many authors) a critic writes: "The astounding phenom- 

 enon of an animal apparently possessing human reason 

 is to be attributed solely to suggestion ". Having re- 

 ferred to a dog trained for the vaudeville-stage, the gen- 

 tleman concludes that, " our intelligent horse, as well as 

 the dog, is simply of fine nervous organization and hence 

 highly susceptible to suggestions ". 



What was to be done, with this mass of conflicting ex- 

 planations? Everyone considered his own opinion the 

 only correct one, without, however, being able to con- 

 vince anyone else. The need here was not simple affirma- 

 tion, but proof. 



