Page images
PDF
EPUB

AN ACCOUNT OF

THE PRINCIPAL MENTAL PHENOMENA,

WITH NUMEROUS EXAMPLES

An Exposition in Popular Form, Designed for the Use of
Students and of Readers in General

BY

ALFRED COOK, PH.D.

(University of Halle, Prussia)

Formerly Fellow by Courtesy of Johns Hopkins University
as well as Docent in Clark University

[blocks in formation]
[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors]
[blocks in formation]

PREFACE

BILLIONS of human beings must have lived and died on this earth, yet in a sense the mind of every one of them was what the mind of any of us is. Knowledge of this sameness of mind is psychology.

Every human mind has sensations through the nerves, perceives things, dreams, remembers matters or forgets them, imagines impossible existences, conceives general notions, exercises judgment, reasons, systematizes, makes inventions, puts forth volitions, is subject to desires, affections, and emotions, has some purpose for living, and is connected with the past of the universe.

The question arises, in what way can this great theme best be set forth? the answer to which is that, for all purposes, no such way exists. There can be no final presentation of the subject of psychology, just as there can be no final translation of Homer. One presentation will be useful for one purpose, another for another. No account of the mind has been without its merits.

The design of the present attempt is to treat of the mind by means of examples, to show the great importance of the several aspects of mind from bodies of fact, it being hoped in this way to secure both clearness and point.

A great advantage of proceeding by examples is that the student is always able to follow up a case with examples which he may himself discover. The way is

« PreviousContinue »