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Ants and Some Other Insects, an Inquiry into the Psychic Powers of the Animals
This volume is from 1904.
An Inquiry into
The Psychic Powers of these Animals
With an Appendix on
The Peculiarities of Their Olfactory Sense
Excerpt from book:
When discussing the ant-mind, we must consider that these
small animals, on the one hand, differ very widely from our-
selves in organisation, but on the other hand, have come, through so-called convergence, to possess in the form of a social commonwealth a peculiar relationship to us. My subject, however, requires the discussion of so many complicated questions that I am compelled to assume acquaintance with the work of others, especially the elements of psychology, and in addition the works of P. Huber, Wasmann, von Buttel-Reepen, Darwin, Romanes, Lubbock, my Fourmis de la Sutsse, and many others. Since the functions ot the
sense-organs constitute the basis of comparative psychology, I must also refer to a series of articles entitled "Sensations des Insectes" which I have recently published (1900-1901) in the Rivista de Biologia Generate, edited by Dr. P. Celesia. In these papers I have defined my position with respect to various authors, especially Plateau and Bethe.
Very recently Bethe, Uexkull, and others have denied the ex-
istence of psychic powers in invertebrate animals. They explain the latter as reflex-machines, and take their stand on the ground of the so-called psycho-physical parallelism for the purpose of demonstrating our inability to recognise mental qualities in these animals. They believe, however, that they can prove the mechanical regularity of behavior, but assume unknown forces whenever they are left in the lurch in their explanations. They regard the mind as first making its appearance in the vertebrates, whereas the old Cartesians regarded all animals, in contradistinction to man, as mindless (unconscious) machines.
An Inquiry into
The Psychic Powers of these Animals
With an Appendix on
The Peculiarities of Their Olfactory Sense
Excerpt from book:
When discussing the ant-mind, we must consider that these
small animals, on the one hand, differ very widely from our-
selves in organisation, but on the other hand, have come, through so-called convergence, to possess in the form of a social commonwealth a peculiar relationship to us. My subject, however, requires the discussion of so many complicated questions that I am compelled to assume acquaintance with the work of others, especially the elements of psychology, and in addition the works of P. Huber, Wasmann, von Buttel-Reepen, Darwin, Romanes, Lubbock, my Fourmis de la Sutsse, and many others. Since the functions ot the
sense-organs constitute the basis of comparative psychology, I must also refer to a series of articles entitled "Sensations des Insectes" which I have recently published (1900-1901) in the Rivista de Biologia Generate, edited by Dr. P. Celesia. In these papers I have defined my position with respect to various authors, especially Plateau and Bethe.
Very recently Bethe, Uexkull, and others have denied the ex-
istence of psychic powers in invertebrate animals. They explain the latter as reflex-machines, and take their stand on the ground of the so-called psycho-physical parallelism for the purpose of demonstrating our inability to recognise mental qualities in these animals. They believe, however, that they can prove the mechanical regularity of behavior, but assume unknown forces whenever they are left in the lurch in their explanations. They regard the mind as first making its appearance in the vertebrates, whereas the old Cartesians regarded all animals, in contradistinction to man, as mindless (unconscious) machines.
66 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 26, 2007
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About the author
Auguste Forel
186 books4 followersAuguste-Henri Forel (September 1, 1848 – July 27, 1931) was a Swiss myrmecologist, neuroanatomist and psychiatrist, notable for his investigations into the structure of the human brain and that of ants. For example, he is considered a co-founder of the neuron theory.[1] Forel is also known for his early contributions to sexology and psychology.[2]
From 1978 until 2000 Forel’s image appeared on the 1000 Swiss franc banknote.
From 1978 until 2000 Forel’s image appeared on the 1000 Swiss franc banknote.
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