CONCLUSION 241 



to be regarded as the result of a training-process, but as 

 an unintentional by-product of an unsuccessful attempt 

 at real education, which, though in no sense a training- 

 process, still produced results equivalent to those of such 

 a process. 



All higher psychic processes which find expression in 

 the horse's behavior, are those of the questioner. His 

 relationship to the horse is brought about almost wholly 

 by involuntary movements of the most minute kind. The 

 interrelation existing between ideas having a high de- 

 gree of affective coloring and the musculature of the 

 body, (which is brought to light in this process), is by 

 no means a novel fact for us. Nevertheless, it is possible 

 that this case may be of no small value, on account of the 

 great difficulties which are usually met in the attempt to 

 establish experimentally the more delicate details in this 

 field. 



And, returning to the considerations of the first chap- 

 ter, if we ask what contributions does this case make 

 toward a solution of the problem of animal consciousness, 

 we may state the following: The proof which was ex- 

 pected by so many, that animals possess the power of 

 thought, was not furnished by Hans. He has served to 

 weaken, rather than strengthen, the position of these en- 

 thusiasts. But we must generalize this negative conclu- 

 sion of ours with care, — for Hans cannot without fur- 

 ther qualification be regarded as normal. Hans is a do- 

 mesticated animal. It is possible (though the opposite is 

 usually assumed), that our animals have suffered in the 

 development of their mental life, as a result of the proc- 

 ess of domestication. To be sure, in some respects they 

 have become more specialized than their wild kin, (e. g., 

 our hunting dogs), and in their habits they have become 



