An exposition of the fallacies of the materialistic theory of physiological psychology / by J.M. Winn.

  • Winn, James M. (James Michell), 1808-1900.
Date:
1894
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An exposition of the fallacies of the materialistic theory of physiological psychology / by J.M. Winn. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    Scatological 3N])tf)olog|). n cerebral functions. The chief dogma of the new school is that mind and all its faculties—perception, memory, will, reason and imagination, as well as all the moral emotions—are the result of bodily functions, as if they were merely secretions like those of the liver or kidneys. They have various unintelligible modes of describing the phenomena of the mind. Its operations are spoken of by some as the product of the caudate cells of the brain ; by others as a disturbance of the equilibrium of nervous power; as expressions of material changes in the brain ; as cerebral vibration ; as emanations from the brain, &c.* * It seems strange that any one can believe, or expect others to believe, that assertions like these, unverified by careful scien- tific induction, can be substituted for what is commonly understood by the term mind. Mind is a fact; its existence is proved by our own consciousness; and its operations are indelibly inscribed in the literature and art of ages. It would be as absurd to doubt it as to doubt the existence of a God, although we cannot I * The English language itself is getting corrupted by the new scientific nomenclature that has been adopted in the vain endeavour to make their theories intelligible. They will soon have to publish a glossary of the terms which are fast accumulating. For instance, they call poetic emotion—-the thrill of a ganglion ; thought—cerebration ; life—molecular force ; creation— evolution, &c., &c. The common practice of using the terms brain and mind synonymously has led to great confusion of ideas.