10。Ifweseektoaccountfortheriseoftemporalideasonthebasisofthephenomenajustdiscussed,andoftheregularcombinationofsubjectivesensationalandaffectiveelementswithobjectiveimpressions,asitisthereapparent;wemuststartwiththefactthatasensationthoughtofbyitself,cannomorehavetemporalthatitcouldhavespacialattributes。Positionintimecanbepossibleonlywhensinglepsychicalelementsenterintocertaincharacteristicrelationswithothersuchelements。Thisconditionoftheunionofanumberofpsychicalelementsholdsfortemporalideasjustasmuchasforthoseofspace,butthekindofunionischaracteristic,andessentiallydifferentfromthatinspace-ideas。
Themembersofatemporalseriesabcdef,canallbeimmediatelypresentedasasinglewhole,whentheserieshasreachedjustaswellasiftheywereaseriesofpointsinspace。Inthelattercase,however,theywould,onac-[p。154]countoforiginalocularreflexes,bearrangedinrelationtothepointoffixation,andthisfixation-pointcould,atdifferenttimes,beanyoneoftheimpressionsatof。Intime-ideas,ontheotherhand,itisalwaystheimpressionofthepresentmomentinrelationtowhichalltherestarearrangedintime。Whenanewimpressionbecomes,inasimilarmanner,thepresentimpression,eventhoughitssensationalcontentsaxeexactlythesameasthatoftheearlier,still,itwillbeapprehendedassubjectivelydifferent,forthoughtheaffectivestateaccompanyingasensationmay,indeed,berelatedtothefeelingsofanothermoment,thetwocanneverbeidentical。Suppose,forexample,thatfollowingtheseriesabcdef,thereisasecondseriesofimpressions,a\'b\'c\'d\'
e\'f\'inwhicha\'=a,b\'=b,c\'=c,etc。,sofarastheirsensatiolialelementsareconcerned。Letusrepresenttheaccompanyingfeelingsbyabgdejanda\'b\'g\'d\'e\'j\'Thenaanda\',bandb\',gandg\',ect。,willbesimilarfeelings,becausethesensationsarethesame;buttheywillnotbeidentical,becauseeveryaffectiveelementdependsnot,onlyuponthesensationwithwhichitisimmediatelyconnectedbutalsouponthestateofthesubjectasbythetotalityofitsexperiences。Thestateofthesubjectisdifferentforeachofthemembersoftheseriesa\'b\'c\'d\'……,fromwhatitwasforthecorrespondingmemberoftheseriesabcdbecausewhentheimpressiona\'arrives,ahasbeenpresent,andsoa\'canbereferredbacktoa,whilenosuchthingwaspossibleinthecaseofa。Analogousdifferencesintheaffectivestatesshowthemselvesincompositeserieswhenrepeated。
Thesestatesareneveridentical,howevermuchthesubjectiveconditionsofthemomentarilypresentfeelingsmayagree,foreveryoneofthemhasitscharacteristicrelationtothetotalityofpsychicalprocesses。Ifweassume,forexample,asuccessionofanumberofsimilarseries[p。
155]abcd,a\'b\'c\'d\',a“b“c“d“,etc。,inwhichaequalsa\'anda“,bequalsb\'andb“,etc。,sofarastheirsensationalcontentsareconcerned,still,a“differsfroma\'initsaffectiveconditions,fora\'canbereferredbackonlytoa,whilea“canbereferredbacktobotha\'anda。Besidesthis,itistruethatotherdifferencesbetweenimpressionslikeinthemselvesalways,trisefromsomechanceaccompanyingsensationswhichinfluencetheaffectivestate。
11。Sinceeveryelementofatemporalideaisarrangedinrelationtotheimpressionimmediatelypresent,asaboveremarked,itfollowsthatthispresentimpressionwillhaveoneoftheattributesofthefixation-pointinspacialcompounds。Itwillbemoreclearlyanddistinctlyperceivedthanotherelementsofthesameidea。Butthereisagreatdifferenceinthefactthatthismostdistinctperceptionisnotconnected,asinthecaseofspacialideas,withthephysiologicalorganizationofthesense-organ,butisdueentirelytothegeneralattributesoftheideatingsubject,asexpressedintheaffectiveprocesses。Themomentaryfeelingaccompanyingtheimmediatelypresentimpressioniswhathelpstoitsclearestapprehension。Wemay,accordingly,callthepartofatemporalideawhichformstheimmediateimpressionthefixation-pointoftheideaoringeneral,sinceitdoesnotdependonexternalstructure,asdoesthefixation-pointofspacialideas,wemaycallitfigurativelytheinnerfixation-point。Theinnerfixation-pointis,then,thatpartofatemporalideawhichcorrespondstothemostclearlyideatedandtheimmediatelypresentimpression。
Theimpressionsthatlieoutsidethispointoffixation,thatis,impressionsthathaveprecededthepresent,aredirectlyperceived。Theyarearrangedinaregulargradationofdiminishingdegreesofclearness,fromthefixation-point。
Aunitarytemporalideaispossibleonlysolongasthedegreeofclear-
[p。156]nessforeachofitselementshassomepositivevalue。Whentheclearnessofanyelementsinkstozero,theideadividesintoitscomponents。
12。Theinnerfixation-pointofthetemporalsensesdiffersessentiallyfromtheouterfixation-pointofthespacialsenses,inthatitscharacterisprimarilydetermined,notbysensational,butbyaffectiveelements。Sincetheseaffectiveelementsarecontinuallychanging,inconsequenceofthevaryingconditionsofpsychicallife,theinnerfixation-pointisalsoalwayschanging。Thischangeoftheinnerfixation-pointiscalledthecontinuousflowoftime。Bycontinuousflowwemeantoexpressthefactthatnomomentoftimeislikeanyother,andthatnosuchmomentcanreturn(cf。sup。p。143,2a)。Thisfactisconnectedwiththeone-dimensionalcharacteroftime,whichisduetothisverycircumstance,thattheinnerfixation-pointoftemporalideasiscontinuallymovingforward,sothatasinglepointcanneverrecur。Thearrangementoftimeinonedimension,withreferencealwaystoachangingpointoffixation,inwhichthesubjectrepresentsitself,iswhatgivesrisetotheresultthattheelementsoftime-Ideashaveafixedrelation,notonlywithrespecttooneanother,butalsowithrespecttotheideatingsubject(p。143,2)。
13。Ifwetrytogiveanaccountofthemeansfortheformationofthisreciprocallyinterdependentorderofthepartsofanidea,andoftheirdeterminationinregardtotheideatingsubject,itisobviousthatthesemeanscanbenothingbutcertainoftheelementsoftheideaitself,,which,consideredinthemselves,havenotemporalattributes,butgainsuchattributesthroughtheirunion。Wemaycalltheseelementstemporalsigns,aftertheanalogyoflocalsigns。
Thecharacteristicconditionsforthedevelopmentoftemporalideasindicatefromthefirstthatthesetemporalsignsare,[p。157]inthemain,affectiveelements。Inthecourseofanyrhythmicalserieseveryimpressionisimmediatelycharacterizedbytheconcomitantfeelingofexpectation,whilethesensationisofinfluenceonlyinsofarasitarousesthefeeling。
Thismaybeclearlyperceivedwhenarhythmicalseriesissuddenlyinterrupted。
Furthermore,theonlysensationsthatareneverabsentascomponentsofalltime-ideasarethesensationofmovement。Inthecaseoftactualideasthesesensationsofmovementbelongtotheimmediateelementsoftheideasthemselves,inauditoryandothercompoundsthatarebroughtintothetimeform,theyarealwayspresentassubjectiveaccompanyingphenomena。Wemay,accordingly,regardthefeelingsofexpectationasthequalitative,thesensationsofmovementastheintensive,temporalsignsofatemporalidea。Theideaitselfmustthenbelookeduponasafusionofthetwokindsoftemporalsignswitheachotherandwiththeobjectivesensationsarrangedinthetemporalform。Thus,thesensationsofmovement,asaseriesofintensivesensations,giveauniformmeasureforthearrangementoftheobjectivesensationsascharacterizedinqualitybytheconcomitantfeelings。
13a。Thesensationsofmovementplayasimilarpartintheformationofbothtime-ideasandspace-ideas。
Thislikesensationalsubstratumleadsverynaturallytoarecognitionofarelationbetweenthesetwoformsofperception,whichfindsitsexpressioninthegeometricalrepresentationoftimebyastraightline。Still,thereisanessentialdifferencebetweenthecomplexsystemoftemporalsignsandthesystemsoflocalsignsinthefactthattheformerisbasedprimarily,notonthequalitativeattributesofsensations,connectedwithcertainspecialexternalsense-organs,butonfeelingswhichmaycomeinexactlythesamewayfromthemostwidelydifferingkindsofsensation,sincetheyarenotdependentontheobjectivecontentofthesesensations,butontheirsubjectivesynthesis。Thesecharacteristics[p。158]oftime-ideasaccountfortheuniversalsignificancethatweattributetothem。ThiswaswhatwasimproperlyexpressedintheKantianprinciple,thattimeisa“formoftheinnersense“。Thisexpressionistobecriticisedonthegroundofitserroneouspresuppositionofaninnersense(p。8sq。)
Hereagainwehavethesameopposednatativist,andgenetictheoriesonthepsychologicaloriginoftime-ideas,aswehadinthecaseofspacial-ideas(p。114,12a)。Inthiscase,however,nativismhasneverdevelopedatheoryinanypropersense。Itusuallylimitsitselftothegeneralassumptionthattimeisa“connateformofperception“,withoutattemptingtogiveanyaccountoftheinfluenceoftheelementsandconditionsoftemporalideaswhichcanbeactuallydemonstrated。Thegenetictheoriesofolderpsychology,as,forexample,thatofHerbart,seektodeducetime-perceptionfromideationalelementsonly。Thisis,however,purespeculationandlosessightoftheconditionsgiveninactualexperience。
ClassicsintheHistoryofPsychology——Wundt(1897)Section12OutlinesofPsychologyWilhelmMaxWundt(1897)TranslatedbyCharlesHubbardJudd(1897)II。PSYCHICALCOMPOUNDS§;12。COMPOSITEFEELINGS。
1。Inthedevelopmentoftemporalideasitappearsclearlythatthediscriminationofsensationalandaffectivecomponentsinimmediateexperienceispurelyaproductofabstraction。Fortime-ideastheabstractionprovesimpossible,because,inthiscase,certainfeelingsplayanessentialpartintheriseoftheideas。Time-ideasmay,therefore,becalledideasonlywhenthefinalresultsoftheprocess,thearrangementofcertainsensationsinrelationtooneanotherandtothesubject,areconsidered;
whentheirrealcompositionislookedinto,theyarecomplexproductsofsensationsandfeelings。Theyarethustoacertainextenttransitionalformsbetweenideasandthosepsychicalcompoundsthataremadeupofaffectiveelements,andaredesignatedbythegeneralnameaffectiveprocesses。Theseaffectiveprocessesresembletime-ideasespeciallyintheimpossibilityofanabstractsepa-[p。159]rationoftheaffectivefromthesensationalelementsintheinvestigationoftheirrise。Thisisduetothefactthatinthedevelopmentofallkindsofaffectiveprocesses,sensationsandideasaredeterminingfactors,justasfeelingsareamongtheessentialfactorsoftemporalideas。
2。Intensiveaffectivecombinations,orcompositefeelings,mustbethefirstaffectiveprocessesdiscussed,becauseinthemthecharacteristicattributesofasinglecompoundaretheproductsofamomentarystate。Thedescriptionofthefeeling,therefore,requiresonlytheexactcomprehensionofthemomentarycondition,notacombinationofseveralprocessesoccurringintimeandproceedingfromoneanother。Inthisrespect,thecompositefeelingsstandinthesamerelationtoemotionsandvolitions,whichalwaysconsistofaffectiveprocessesextendingthroughperiodsoftime,asintensiveideasdotoextensive。Intensivepsychicalcompounds,inthebroadestsenseoftheterm,include,accordingly,intensiveideasandcompositefeelings。Extensivecompoundsincludeasspecialformsoftempora1arrangements,besidesthetemporalideas,alsoemotionsandvolitions。
3。Compositefeelings,then,areintensivestatesofunitarycharacterinwhichsinglesimpleaffectivecomponentsaretobeperceived。Wemaydistinguishineverysuchfeelingcomponentfeelingsandaresultantfeeling。Thelastcomponentfeelingsarealwayssimplesense-feelings。
Severalofthesemayunitetoformapartialresultantwhichentersintothewholeasacompoundcomponent。
Everycompositefeelingmay,accordingly,bedivided,1)intoatotalfeelingmadeupofallitscomponents,and2)intosinglepartialfeelingswhichgotomakeupthetotalfeeling。Thesepartialfeelingsareinturnofdifferentgradesaccordingastheyaresimplesense-feelings(partialfeelingsofthefirstorder)orfeelingswhicharethemselves[p。160]composite(partialfeelingsofthesecondorhigherorders)。Wherewehavepartialfeelingsofhigherorders,complicatedcombinationsorinterlacingsofthecomponentelementsmaytakeplace。Apartialfeelingoflowerordermay,atthesametime,enterintoseveralpartialfeelingsofhigherorder。Suchinterlacingsmayrenderthenatureofthetotalfeelingexceedinglycomplicated。Thewholemaysometimeschangeitscharacter,evenwhenitselementsremainthesame,accordingasoneortheotherofthepossiblecombinationsofpartialfeelingstakesplace。
3a。Thus,themusicalchordceghasacorrespondingtotalfeelingofharmonywhoselastelements,orpartialfeelingsofthefirstorder,arethefeelingscorrespondingtothesingleclangsc,e,andg。Betweenthesetwokindsoffeelingstand,aspartialfeelingsofthesecondorder,thethreefeelingsofharmonyfromthedoubleclangsce,egandcg。Thecharacterofthetotalfeelingmayhavefourdifferentshadesaccordingasoneofthesepartialfeelingsofthesecondorderpredominates,orallareequallystrong。Thecauseofthepredominanceofoneofthesecomplexpartialfeelingsmaybeeitherthegreaterintensityofitssensationalcomponents,ortheinfluenceofprecedingfeelings。If,forexample,cegfollowscegtheeffectofcbegwillbeintensified,whileifcegfollowsceathesamewillholdforcg。Similarly,anumberofcolorsmayhaveadifferenteffectaccordingasoneortheotherpartialcombinationpredominates。Inthelastcase,however,becauseoftheextensivearrangementoftheimpressions,thespacialproximityhasaninfluenceantagonistictothevariationinthemannerofcombinationand,furthermore,theinfluenceofthespacialformwithallitsaccompanyingconditionsisanessentiallycomplicatingfactor。
4。Thestructureofcompositefeelingsis,thus,ingeneralexceedinglycomplicated。Still,therearedifferentdegreesofdevelopmentevenhere。
Thecomplexfeelingsarisingfromimpressionsoftouch,smell,andtasteareessentiallysimpler[p。161]incharacterthanthoseconnectedwithauditoryandvisualideas。
Thetotalfeelingconnectedwithouterandinnertactualsensationsisdesignatedinparticularasthecommonfeeling,sinceitisregardedasthefeelinginwhichourtotalstateofsensiblecomfortordiscomfortexpressesitself。Fromthispointofview,thetwolowestchemicalsenses,thoseofsmellandtaste,mustalsoberegardedascontributorstothesensationalsubstratumofthecommonfeeling,forthepartialfeelingsthatarisefromthesetwosensesunitewiththosefromtouchtoforminseparableaffectivecomplexes。Insinglecases,tobesure,oneortheotherofthesefeelingsmayplaysuchanimportantpartthattheothersdisappearentirely。Still,inthemidstofallthischangeinitssensationalsubstratum,thecommonfeelingisalwaystheimmediateexpressionofoursensiblecomfortanddiscomfort,andis,therefore,ofallourcompositefeelingsmostcloselyrelatedtothesimplesense-feelings。Auditoryandvisualsensations,ontheotherhand,contributetothesensationalsubstratumofthecommonfeelingonlyinexceptionalcases,especiallywhentheintensityisunusuallygreat。
4a。Thecombinationofpartialfeelingstoacompositefeelingwasfirstnoticedinthecaseofthecommonfeeling。Thepsychologicallawsofthiscombinationwereindeedmisunderstood,and,asisusuallythecaseinphysiology,thefeelingwasnotdistinguishedfromitsunderlyingsensations。Commonfeelingwas,thus,sometimesdefinedasthe“consciousnessofoursensationalstate“,oragainasthe“totality,orunanalyzedchaosofsensations“whichcometousfromallpartsofourbody。Asamatteroffact,thecommonfeelingconsistsofanumberofpartialfeeling。Butitisnotthemeresumofthesefeelings;itisratheraresultanttotalfeelingofunitarycharacter。Atthesametimeitis,however,atotalfeelingofthesimplestpossiblecomposition,madeupofpartialfeelingsofthefirst[p。162]
order,thatis,ofsinglesense-feelingswhichgenerallydonotunitetoformpartialfeelingsofthesecondorofhigherorders。Intheresultantfeelingasinglepartialfeelingisusuallypredominant。Thisisregularlythecasewhenaverystronglocalsensationisaccompaniedbyafeelingofpain。Ontheotherhand,weakersensationsmaydeterminethepredominantaffectivetonethroughtheirrelativelygreaterimportance。Thisisespeciallyfrequentinthecaseofsensationsofsmellandtaste,andalsointhecaseofcertainsensationsconnectedwiththeregularfunctioningoftheorgans,suchastheinnertactualsensationsaccompanyingthemovementsofwalking。Oftentherelativelygreaterimportanceofasinglesensationissoslightthatthepredominatingfeelingcannotbediscoveredexceptbydirectingourattentiontoourownsubjectivestate。Insuchacasetheconcentrationoftheattentionuponitcangenerallymakeanypartialfeelingwhateverpredominant。
5。Thecommonfeelingisthesourceofthedistinctionbetweenpleasurableandunpleasurablefeelings。Thisdistinctionisthencarriedovertothesinglesimplefeelingsthatcomposeit,andsometimeseventoallfeelings。Pleasurableandunpleasurableareexpressionswelladaptedtotheindicationofthechiefextremesbetweenwhichthecommonfeeling,asatotalfeelingcorrespondingtothesensiblecomfortordiscomfortofthesubject,mayoscillate;thoughtobesure,thisfeelingmaynotinfrequentlylieforalongerorshorterperiodinanindifference-zone。
Inthesameway,theseexpressionsmaybeappliedtothesingleconstituentssofarastheygotomakeuponeofthetotalfeelings。Ontheotherhand,itisentirelyunjustifiabletoapplythesenamestoallotherfeelings,or,asissometimesdone,tomaketheirapplicabilityanecessaryfactorinthegeneraldefinitionoffeeling。Evenforthecommonfeeling,pleasurableandunpleasurablecanonlybeusedasgeneralclass-nameswhichincludeanumberofqualitativelydifferentfeelings。Thisvarietyamong[p。163]
feelingsofthesameclassresultsfromtheverygreatvariationsinthecompositionofthesingletotalfeelingsthatwehaveincludedunderthegeneralnamecommonfeeling(cf。p。82sq。)。
6。Thecompositecharactermentionedisthereasonwhytherearecommonfeelingswhichcannot,strictlyspeaking,becalledpleasurableorunpleasurable,becausetheycontainelementsbelongingtobothclasses,andundercircumstanceseithertheonekindortheothermaypredominate。Suchfeelingsmadeupofpartialfeelingsofoppositecharacterandderivingtheircharacteristicsfromthiscombination,maybecalledcontrast-feelings。Asimpleformofsuchamongthecommonfeelingsisthatoftickling。Itismadeupofaweakpleasurablefeelingaccompanyingaweakexternaltactualsensation,andoffeelingsconnectedwithmuscularsensationsarousedbythestrongrefleximpulsesfromthetactualstimuli。Theserefleximpulsesmayspreadmoreorless,andoftencauseinhibitionsofrespirationwhentheyreachthediaphragm,sothattheresultantfeelingmayvarygreatlyinsinglecasesinintensity,scope,andcomposition。
7。Thecompositefeelingsfromsightandhearingarecommonlycalledelementaryaestheticfeelings。Thisnameincludesallfeelingsthatareconnectedwithcompositeperceptionsandarethereforethemselvescomposite。
Asaspecialformoffeelingsbelongingtothisclassdefinedbythebroadermeaningoftheterm\'aisqhsiV,wehavethosewhicharetheelementsofaestheticeffectsinthenarrowersense。Thetermelementarydoesnotapplyinthiscasetothefeelingsthemselves,fortheyarebynomeanssimple,butitismerelyintendedtoexpresstherelativedistinctionbetweentheseandstillmorecompositehigheraestheticfeelings。
Theperceptive,orelementaryaesthetic,feelingsofsightandhearingmayserveasrepresentativesofallthecom-[p。164]positefeelingsthatariseinthecourseofintellectualprocesses,suchasthelogical,moral,andhigheraestheticalfeelings。Forthegeneralpsychologicalstructureofthesecomplexaffectiveformsisexactlythatofthesimplerperceptivefeelings,exceptthattheformerarealwaysconnectedwithfeelingsandemotionsthatarisefromthewholeinterconnectionofpsychicalprocesses。
Whiletheextremesbetweenwhichthecommonfeelingsmovearechieflytheaffectivequalitiesthatwecallpleasurableandunpleasurableinthesenseofpersonalcomfortanddiscomfort,theelementaryaestheticfeelingsbelongtothesameaffectivedirection,butinthemoreobjectivesenseofagreeableanddisagreeable,feelings。Thesetermsexpresstherelationoftheobjecttotheideatingsubjectratherthananypersonalstate。Itisstillmoreapparentherethaninthecagedofpleasurableandunpleasurablefeelings,thateachofthesetermsisnotthenameofasinglefeeling,butindicatesageneraldirection,towhichbelonganendlessvarietyoffeelingswithindividualpeculiaritiesforeachsingleidea。Insinglecases,too,butmorevariably,theotheraffectivedirections(p。83),thoseofthearousingandsubduing,ofthestrainingandrelaxingfeelings,mayshowthemselves。
8。Ifweneglectforthemomentthisgeneralclassificationmentioned,accordingtowhichthesingleformsarebroughtunderthechiefaffectivedirections,allperceptivefeelingsmaybedividedintothetwoclassesofintensiveandextensivefeelings,accordingtotherelationswhichexistbetweenthesensationalelementsanddeterminethequalityofthefeelings。Byintensivefeelingswemeanthosethatdependontherelationofthequalitativeattributesofthesensationalelementsoftheideas,byextensivefeelingsthosethatarisefromthespacialandtemporalarrangementoftheelements。Theexpressions“intensive“and“extensive“donotrefertothe[p。165]characterofthefeelingsthemselves,fortheyareinrealityalwaysintensive,buttotheconditionsfortheriseofthesefeelings。
Intensiveandextensivefeelingare,accordingly,notmerelythesubjectiveconcomitantsofthecorrespondingideas,but,sinceeveryideaconsistsusuallyofelementsthatarequalitativelydifferentandofsomeextensivearrangementoftheseimpressions,thesameideamaybeatoncethesubstratumofbothintensiveandextensivefeelings。Thus,avisualobjectmadeupofdifferentcoloredpartsarousesanintensivefeelingthroughthemutualrelationofthecolorsandanextensivefeelingthroughitsform。Asuccessionofclangsisconnectedwithanintensivefeelingwhichcorrespondstothequalitativerelationoftheclangs,andwithanextensivefeelingcomingfromtherhythmicalorarhythmicaltemporalsuccessionofthesame。Inthisway,bothintensiveandextensivefeelingsarealwaysconnectedwithvisualandauditoryideas,but,ofcourse,undercertainconditionsoneformmaypushtheotherintothebackground。Thus,whenwehearaclangforjustaninstant,the。onlyfeelingperceivedistheintensivefeeling。
Orwhen,ontheotherband,arhythmicalseriesofindifferentsoundsisheard,onlytheextensivefeelingisnoticeable。ForthepurposeofpsychologicalanalysisitisobviouslyofadvantagetoproduceConditionsunderwhichoneparticularaffectiveformispresentandotherssofaraspossibleexcluded。
9。Whenintensivefeelingsareobservedinthisway,itappearsthatthoseaccompanyingthecombinationofcolorsfollowtherulethatacombinationoftwocolorswhosequalitativedifferenceisamaximum,alsogivesamaximalagreeablefeeling。Still,everyparticularcolor-combinationhasitsspecificaffectivecharactermadeupofthepartialfeelingsfromthesinglecolors,andofthetotalfeelingarising[p。166]
asaresultant,ofthesame。Then,too,as,inthecaseofsimplecolor-feelings,theeffectiscomplicatedbychanceassociationsandthecomplexfeelingscomingfromthem(p。76)。Combinationsofmorethantwocolorshavenotbeenadequatelyinvestigated。
Thefeelingsconnectedwithcombinationofclangsareexceedinglynumerousandvarious。Theyconstitutetheaffectivesphereinwhichweseemostclearlytheformationofpartialfeelingsofdifferentordersdiscussedabove(p。160),togetherwiththeirinterlacingsvaryingunderspecialconditions。Theinvestigationofthesinglefeelingsthatthusariseisoneoftheproblemsofthepsychologicalaestheticsofmusic。
10。Extensivefeelingsmaybesubdividedintospacialandtemporal。
Ofthese,thefirst,orthefeelingsofform,belongmainlytovision,andthesecond,orthefeelingsofrhythm,tohearing,whilethebeginningofthedevelopmentof\'botharetobefoundintouch。
Theopticalfeelingofformsshowsitselffirstofallinthepreferenceofregulartoirregularformsandtheninthepreferenceamongdifferentregularformsofthosewhichhavecertainsimpleproportionsintheirvariousparts。Themostimportantoftheseproportionsarethoseofsymmetry,or1:1,and,ofthegoldensection,orx+1:x=x:1(thewholeistothegreaterpartasthegreaterpartistothesmaller)。Thefactthatsymmetryisgenerallypreferredforthehorizontaldimensionsoffiguresandthegoldensectionforthevertical,isprobablyduetoassociations,especiallywithorganicforms,suchasthatofthehumanbody。Thispreferenceforregularityandcertainsimpleproportionscanhavenootherinterpretationthanthatt~hemeasurementofeverysingledimensionisconnectedwithasensationofmovementandanaccompanyingsense-feelingwhichentersasapartialfeelingintothe,total[p。167]
opticalfeelingofform。Thetotalfeelingofregulararrangementthatarisesatthesightofthewholeform,isthusmodifiedbytherelationofthedifferentsensationsaswellasofthepartialfeelingstooneanother。
Assecondarycomponents,whichalsofusewiththetotalfeeling,wemayhiveheretooassociationsandtheirconcomitantfeelings。
Thefeelingofrhythmisentirelydependentontheconditionsdiscussedinconsideringtemporalideas。Thepartialfeelingsareherethefeelingsofstrainedandfulfilledexpectation,whichintheirregularalternationconstitutetherhythmicaltime-ideasthemselves。Thewayinwhichthesepartialfeelingsareunited,however,andespeciallythepredominanceofspecialonesinthetotalfeeling,is,evenmorethanthemomentarycharacterofanintensivefeeling,dependentontherelationinwhichthefeelingpresentatagiveninstantstandstotheprecedingfeelings。Thisisespeciallyapparentinthegreatinfluencethateveryalterationinrhythmexercizesontheaccompanyingfeeling。Forthisreasonaswellasbecauseoftheirgeneraldependenceonaparticulartemporalformofoccurrence,thefeelingsofrhythmarethedirecttransitionstoemotions。Tobesure,anemotionmaydevelopfromanycompositefeeling,butinnoothercaseistheconditionfortheriseofafeeling,ashere,atthe,sametimeanecessaryconditionfortheriseofacertaindegreeofemotion。
Theemotionis,however,usuallymoderatedinthiscase,throughtheregularsuccessionoffeelings(cf。§;13,1,7)。
11。Theimmensevarietyofcompositefeelingsandtheequallygreatvarietyoftheirconditions,renderanysuchcomprehensiveandatthesametimeunitarypsychologicaltheoryasthatwhichwaspossibleforspacialandtemporalideas,entirelyoutofthequestion。Still,thereareevenheresomecommonattributes,throughwhichcompositefeelings[p。168]
maybebroughtundercertaingeneralpsychologicalheads。Therearetwofactorswhichgotomakeupeveryfeeling:first,therelationofthecombinedpartialfeelingstooneanother,andsecond,theirsynthesistoaunitarytotalfeeling。Thefirstofthesefactorsismoreprominentinintensive,thesecondinextensivefeelings。Butinrealitytheyarealwaysunited,anddetermineeachotherreciprocally。Thus,afigurewhichisallthetimeagreeable,maybemoreandmorecomplexthemoretherelationsofitspartsaccordwithcertainrules,andthesameholdsforarhythm。Ontheotherhand,theuniontoasinglewholehelpstoemphasizetheseparateaffectivecomponents。Inalltheserespectscombinationoffeelingsshowtheclosestresemblancetointensiveideas。Theextensivearrangementofimpressionsonthecontrary,especiallythespacialarrangement,tends,muchmoretofavorarelativelyindependentcoexistenceofseveralideas。
12。Thecloseintensiveunionofallthecomponentsofafeeling,eveninthecaseofthosefeelingswhosecorrespondingideasarespacialortemporal,isconnectedwithaprinciplethatholdsforallaffectiveprocesses,includingthosewhichweshallhavetodiscusslater。Thisprinciplewewillcallthatoftheunityoftheaffectivestate。Itmaybeformulatedasfollows:Inagivenmomentonlyonetotalfeelingispossible,orinotherwords,allthepartialfeelings,presentatagivenmomentunite,ineverycase,toformasingletotalfeeling。Thisprincipleoftheunityofaffective。statesisobviouslyconnectedwiththegeneralrelationbetweenideaandfeeling。Forthe“idea“dealswithanimmediatecontentofexperienceandthepropertiesthatbelongtoit,withoutregardtothesubject;the“feeling“expressestherelationthatinvariablyexistsbetweenthiscontentandthesubject。ClassicsintheHistoryofPsychology——Wundt(1897)Section13OutlinesofPsychologyWilhelmMaxWundt(1897)TranslatedbyCharlesHubbardJudd(1897)II。PSYCHICALCOMPOUNDS§;13。EMOTIONS。
1。Feelings,likeallpsychicalphenomenalareneverpermanentstates。
Inthepsychologicalanalysisofacompositefeeling,therefore,wemustalwaysthinkofamomentaryaffectivestateasheldconstant。Thisiseasierthemoreslowlyandcontinuouslythepsychicalprocessesoccur,sothatthewordfeelinghascometobeusedmainlyforrelativelyslowprocessesandforthosewhichintheirregularformofoccurenceneverpassbeyondacertainmediumintensity,suchasthefeelingsofrhythm。
Where,ontheotherhand,aseriesoffeelingssucceedingoneanotherintimeunitetoaninterconnectedprocesswhichisdistinguishedfromprecedingandfollowingprocessesasanindividualwhole,andhasingeneralamoreintenseeffectonthesubjectthanasinglefeeling,wecalltheunitarysuccessionoffeelingsanemotion。
Thisverynameindicatesthatitisnotanyspecificsubjectivecontentsofexperiencewhichdistinguishemotionfromfeeling,butrathertheeffectwhichcomesfromaspecialcombinationofparticularaffectivecontents。
Inthiswayitcomesthatthereisnosharplineofdemarcationbetweenfeelingandemotion。Everyfeelingofgreaterintensitypassesintoanemotion,andtheseparationbetweenthetwodependsonamoreorlessarbitraryabstraction。Inthecaseoffeelingsthathaveacertainparticularformofoccurence[sic],thatisfeelingsofrhythm,suchanabstractionisstrictlyspeakingimpossible。Thefeelingofrhythmisdistinguishedatmostbythesmallintensityofitsmovingeffectonthesubject,whichiswhatgives“emotion“itsname。Still,eventhisdistinctionisbynomeansfixed,andwhenthefeelingsproducedbyrhythmicalimpressionsbecomesomewhatmoreintense,asisusuallythecase,especiallywhentherhythm[p。170]isconnectedwithsensationalcontentsthatarousethefeelingsgreatly,theybecomeinfactemotions。Feelingsofrhythmareforthisreasonimportantaidsbothinmusicandpoetryforportrayingemotionsandarousingthemintheauditor。
Thenamesofdifferentemotions,likethoseoffeelings,donotindicatesingleprocesses,butclassesinwhichalargenumberofsingleaffectiveprocessesaregroupedonthegroundofcertaincommoncharacteristics。
Emotionssuchasthoseofjoy,hope,anxiety,care,andanger,areaccompaniedinanyconcretecasebypeculiarideationalcontents,whiletheiraffectiveelementsalsoandeventhewayinwhichtheyoccurmayvarygreatlyfromtimetotime。Themorecompositea,psychicalprocessesis,themorevariablewillbeitssingleconcretemanifestations;aparticularemotion,therefore,willbelessapttorecurinexactlythesameformthanwillaparticularfeeling。Everygeneralnameforemotionsindicates,accordingly,certaintypicalformsinwhichrelatedaffectiveprocessesoccur。
Noteveryinterconnectedseriesofaffectiveprocessesisanemotionorcanbeclassedassuchunderoneofthetypicalformsdiscriminatedbylanguage。Anemotionisaunitarywholewhichisdistinguishedfromacompositefeelingonlythroughthetwocharacteristicsthatithasadefinitetemporalcourseandthatitexercisesamoreintensepresentandsubsequenteffectontheinterconnectionofpsychicalprocesses。Thefirstcharacteristicarisesfromthefactthatanemotionisaprocessofahigherorderascomparedwithasinglefeeling,foritalwaysincludesasuccessionofseveralfeelings。Thesecondiscloselyconnectedwiththisfirstcharacteristic;
itdependsontheintensificationoftheeffectproducedbyasummationofthefeelings。
Asaresultofthesecharacteristicsemotionshaveinthe[p。171]midstofalltheirvariationsinformaregularityinthemanneroftheiroccurence。
Theyalwaysbeginwithamoreorlessintenseinceptivefeelingwhichisimmediatelycharacteristicinitsqualityanddirectionforthenatureoftheemotion,andisdueeithertoanideaproducedbyanexternalimpression(outeremotionalstimulation)ortoapsychicalprocessarisingfromassociativeorapperceptiveconditions(innerstimulation)。Afterthisinceptivefeelingcomesanideationalprocessaccompaniedbythecorrespondingfeelings。
Thisprocessshowscharacteristicdifferencesinthecasesofparticularemotionsbothinthequalityofthefeelingsandintherapidityoftheprocess。Finally,theemotioncloseswithaterminalfeelingwhichcontinuesevenaftertheemotionhasgivenplacetoaquietaffectivestate,andinwhichtheemotiongraduallyfadesaway,unlessitpassesdirectlyintotheinceptivefeelingofanewemotion。Thislastcaseoccursespeciallyinfeelingsoftheintermittenttype(cf。inf。13)。
4。Theintensificationoftheeffectwhichmaybeobservedinthecourseofanemotion,relatesnotmerelytothepsychicalcontentsofthefeelingsthatcomposeit,buttothephysicalconcomitantsaswell。Forsinglefeelingstheseaccompanyingphenomenaarelimitedtoveryslightchangesintheinnervationoftheheartandrespiratoryorgans,whichcanbedemonstratedonlybyusingexactgraphicmethods(p。86sq)。Withemotionsthecaseisessentiallydifferent。Asaresultofthesummationandalternationofsuccessiveaffectivestimulithereisherenotonlyanintensificationoftheeffectonheart,blood-vessels,andrespiration,buttheexternalmusclesarealwaysaffectedinanunmistakablemanner。Movementsoftheoralmusclesappearatfirst(mimeticmovements),thenmovementsofthearmsandofthewholebody(pantomimeticmovements)。Inthecaseof[p。172]strongeremotionstheremaybestillmoreextensivedisturbancesofinnervation,suchastrembling,convulsivecontractionsofthediaphragmandofthefacialmuscles,andparalyticrelaxationofthemuscles。
Becauseoftheirsymptomaticalsignificancefortheemotions,allthesemovementsarecalledexpressivemovements。Asaruletheyareentirelyinvoluntary,eitherreflexesfollowingemotionalexcitations,orimpulsiveactspromptedbytheaffectivecomponentsoftheemotion。Theymaybemodified,however,inthemostvariouswaysthroughvoluntaryintensificationorinhibitionofthemovementsoreventhroughintentionalproductionofthesame,sothatthewholeseries,ofexternalreactionswhichweshallhavetodiscussundervolitionalacts,maytakepartintheseexpressivemovements(§;14)。Thesedifferentformsofmovementmaybeentirelyalikeinexternalcharacterandmaypassintoeachotherwithoutsharplimitationsontheirpsychicalside,sothatfortheoutsideobservertheyareasaruleindistinguishable。
5。Accordingtotheirsymptomaticalcharacter,expressivemovementsmaybedividedintothreeclasses。1)Purelyintensivesymptoms;
thesearealwaysexpressivemovementsformoreintenseemotions,andconsistofstrongermovementsforemotionsofmiddleintensity,andofsuddeninhibitionandparalysisofmovementforviolentemotions。2)Qualitativeexpressionoffeelings;thesearemimeticmovements,themostimportantofwhicharethereactionsoftheoralmuscles,resemblingthereflexesfollowingsweet,sour,andbitterimpressionsoftaste;thereactionforsweetcorrespondstopleasurableemotions,thoseforsourandbittertounpleasurable,whiletheothermodificationsoffeeling,suchasexcitementanddepression,strainandrelief,areexpressedbyatensionofthemuscles。3)Expressionofideas;thesearegenerallypantomimeticmovementsthateitherpointtothe[p。173]objectoftheemotion(indicativegestures)orelsedescribetheobjectsaswellastheprocessesconnectedwiththembytheformofthemovement(depictinggestures)。Obviouslythesethreeclassesofexpressivemovementscorrespondexactlytothepsychicalelementsofemotionsandtheirfundamentalattributes:thefirsttotheirintensity,thesecondtothequalityofthefeelings,andthethirdtotheirideationalcontent。
Aconcreteexpressivemovementmayuniteallthreeformsinitself。Thethirdclass,thatofexpressionsofideas,isofspecialpsychologicalsignificancebecauseofitsgeneticrelationstospeech(cf。§;
21,3)。
6。Thechangesinpulseandrespirationthataccompanyemotionsareofthreekinds。1)Theymayconsistoftheimmediateeffectsofthefeelingsthatmakeuptheemotions,as,forexample,alengtheningofthepulse-curveandrespiration-curvewhenthefeelingsarepleasurable,andashorteningofthesameforunpleasurablefeelings(cf。sup。p。87)。
Thisholdsonlyforrelativelyquietemotionswherethesinglefeelingshavesufficienttimetodevelop。Whenthisisnotthecase,otherphenomenaappearwhichdependnotmerelyonthequalityofthefeelings,butalso,andthatmainly,ontheintensityoftheinnervationsduetotheirsummation。
2)Suchsummationsmayconsistofintensifiedinnervation,whicharisesfromanincreaseintheexcitationresultingfromasummationwhenthesuccessionoffeelingsisnottoorapid。Thisincreaseshowsitselfinretardedandstrengthenedpulse-beats,sincetheintenseexcitationeffectsmosttheinhibitorynervesoftheheart。Besidesthesethereisusuallyanincreasedinnervationofthemimeticandpantometicmuscles。
Thesearecalledsthenicemotions。3)Ifthefeelingsareveryviolentorlastanunusuallylongtimeinasingledirection,theemotionbringsaboutamoreorlessextendedparalysisoftheinnervationoftheheartand[p。174]ofthetensionoftheoutermuscles。Undercertaincircumstancesdisturbancesintheinnervationofspecialgroupsofmusclesappear,especiallythoseofthediaphragmandthesympatheticfacialmuscles。Thefirstsymptomoftheparalysisoftheregulativecardiacnervesisamarkedaccelerationofthepulseandacorrespondingaccelerationoftherespiration,accompaniedbyaweakeningofthesame,andarelaxationofthetensionoftheexternalmusclestoadegreeequaltothatinparalysis。Thesearetheasthenicemotions。Thereisstillanotherdistinction,whichisnotimportantenough,however,toleadtotheformationofanindependentclassofphysicaleffectsofemotions,sincewehavetodohereonlywithmodificationsofthephenomenacharacteristicofsthenicandasthenicemotions。Itisthedistinctionbetweenrapidandsluggishemotions,baseduponthegreaterorlessrapiditywithwhichtheincreaseorinhibitionoftheinnervation[sic]appears。
6a。Olderpsychology,followingthemethodofSpinoza\'sfamousdoctrineofemotions,generallyofferedallkindsoflogicalreflectionsaboutemotions,foratheoryofemotionsorevenfordescriptionofthem。Inrecenttimes,ontheotherhand,theexpressivemovementsandtheotherconcomitantsofemotioninthechangesofinnervationinpulse,respiratoryorgans,andblood-vessels,haveattractedthemostattention。Still,thesephenomena,whichareindeedvaluablewhenrightlyinterpreted,areoftenusedinaverywrongwayasameansfortheinvestigationofthepsychologicalnatureofaffectiveprocesses。Thishasinturnledtoaclassificationofemotionsbasedentirelyontheirphysicalcharacteristics,andthestrangetheoryhasgainedadherencethatemotionsarenothingbuttheresultsofexpressivemovements。Theemotionofsorrow,forexample,isregardedasmadeupentirelyofthesensationsthatcomefromthemimeticofweeping。Inasomewhatmoremoderatewaytheattempthasbeenmadetousetheexpressivemovementscharacteristicswhosepresencemaybe[p。175]regardedasamarktodistinguishemotionsfromfeelings。Thisis,however,unjustifiablesincesimilarphysicalexpressivephenomenaappearevenforthefeelings,andtheminorcircumstancethatthesesymptomsareinonecaseexternallymoreorlessclearlyvisible,evidentlycannotbedecisive。Theessentialdifferencebetweenemotionandfeelingispsychological。Theemotionismadeupofaseriesoffeelingsunitedintoaunitarywhole。Expressivemovementsaretheresults,onthephysicalside,oftheincreasewhichtheprecedingpartsofsuchaserieshaveonthosesucceeding。Itfollowsdirectlythatthedecidingcharacteristicsfortheclassificationofemotionsmustbepsychological(cf。inf。9)。
7。Thoughimportantconstituentsofemotions,thephysicalconcomitantsstandinnoconstantrelationtothepsychicalqualityofthesame。
Thisholdsespeciallyfortheeffectsonpulseandrespiration,butalsoforthepantomimeticexpressivemovementsofstrongeremotions。Itmaysometimeshappenthatemotionswithverydifferent,evenoppositekindsofaffectivecontents,maybelongtothesameclasssofarastheaccompanyingphysicalphenomenaareconcerned。Thus,forexample,joyandangermaybeinlikemannersthenicemotions。Joyaccompaniedbysurprisemay,onthecontrary,presenttheappearance,onitsphysicalside,ofanasthenicemotion。Thegeneralphenomenaofinnervationwhichgiverisetothedistinctionbetweensthenicandasthenic,andrapidandsluggishemotions,donotshowthecharacterofaffectivecontentsoftheseemotions,butonlytheformalattributesoftheintensityandrapidityofthefeelings。Thisisclearlyprovedbythefactthatdifferencesininvoluntaryinnervationanalogoustothosewhich,accompanythedifferentemotions,maybeproducedbyameresuccessionofindifferentimpressions,as,forexample,bythestrokesofametronome。Itisobservedinsuchacasethatespeciallytherespirationtendstoadaptitselfto[p。176]thefasterorslowerrateofthestrokes,becomingmorerapidwhentherapidityofthemetronomeincreases。Asarule,too,certainphasesofrespirationcoincidewithparticularstrokes。Tobesure,thehearingofsuchanindifferentrhythmisnotunattendedbyemotion。Whentheratechanges,weobserveatfirstaquiet,thenasthenic,andfinallywhentherapidityisgreatestanasthenicemotion。Stilltheemotionsinthiscasehavetoacertainextentamereformalcharacter;theyexhibitagreatindefinitenessintheircontents。Thisindefinitenessdisappearsonlywhenwethinkintothemconcreteemotionsoflikeformalattributes。Thisisveryeasy,andistheconditionofthegreatutilityofrhythmicalimpressionsfordescribingandproducingemotions。Allthatisnecessarytoarouseanemotioninallitsfulnessisamerehintofqualitativeaffectivecontent,suchasitispossibletogiveinmusicthroughtheclangsofamusicalcomposition。
7a。Itfollowsfromthisrelationofthephysicaleffectstothepsychicalcontentofemotions,thattheformercanneverbeputintheplaceofthepsychologicalobservationoftheemotions。Theyaregeneralsymptoms,butofsuchequivocalcharacterthat,thoughtheyareofgreatvaluewhenconnectedwithintrospectioncontrolledbyexperimentalmethods,alonetheyhavenovaluewhatever。Theyareespeciallyusefulascheeksforexperimentalintrospection。Theprinciplethattheobservationofpsychicalprocesseswhichpresentthemselvesinthenaturalcourseoflifeisentirelyinadequate,holdsespeciallyfortheemotions。Inthefirstplace,emotionscometothepsychologistbychance,atmomentswhenheisnotinaconditiontosubjectthemtoscientificanalysis;andsecondly,inthecaseofstrongemotionswhosecausesarerealweareleastofallabletoobserveourselveswithexactness。Thiscanbedonemuchmoresuccessfullywhenwearouseinourselvesvoluntarilyaparticularemotionalstate。Insuchacase,however,itisnotpossibletoestimatehownearlythesubjectivelyarousedemotionagreesin[p。177]intensityandmodeofoccurence[sic]
withoneoflikecharacterduetoexternalcircumstances。Forthispurposethesimultaneousinvestigationofthephysicaleffects,especiallyofthosemostremovedfromtheinfluenceofthewillofthoseonthepulseandrespiration,furnishesacheckforintrospection。Forwhenthepsychologicalqualityofemotionsisalike,wemayinferfromtheirlikephysicaleffectsthattheirformalattributesalsoagree。
8。Bothinnaturalandinvoluntarilyarousedemotions,thephysicalconcomitantshave,besidestheirsymptomaticalsignificance,theimportantpsychologicalattributeofintensifyingtheemotion。Thisattributeisduetothefactthattheexcitationorinhibitionofcertainparticulargroupsofmusclesisaccompaniedbyinnertactualsensationswhichproducecertainsense-feelings。Thesefeelingsunitewiththeotheraffectivecontentsoftheemotionandincreaseitsintensity。Fromtheheart,respiratoryorgans,andblood-vesselswehavesuchfeelingsonlyforstrongemotions,wheretheymayindeedbeveryintense。Ontheotherhand,eveninmoderateemotionsthestateofgreaterorlesstensionofthemusclesexercisesaninfluenceontheaffectivestateandtherebyontheemotion。
9。Thegreatnumberoffactorsthatmustbetakenintoconsiderationfortheinvestigationofemotionsrendersapsychologicalanalysisofthesingleformsimpossible。Thisisallthemoresobecauseeachofthenumerousdistinguishingnamesmarksoffawholeclass,withinwhichthereisagreatvarietyofspecialforms,includinginturnanendlessnumberofsinglecasesofthemostvariousmodifications。Allwecandoistotakeageneralsurveyofthefundamentalformofemotions。Thegeneralprinciplesofdivisionhereemployedmust,ofcourse,bepsychological,thatis,suchasarederivedfromtheimmediateattributesoftheemotionsthemselves,fortheaccompanyingphysicalphenomenahave[p。178]
onlyasymptomaticalvalueandareeventhen,asnotedabove,equivocalincharacter。
Threesuchpsychologicalprinciplesofclassificationmaybemadethebasisforthediscriminationofemotions:1)accordingtothequalityofthefeelingsenteringintotheemotions,2)accordingtotheintensityofthesefeelings,3)accordingtotheformofoccurence,whichisconditionedbythecharacterandrateoftheaffectivechanges。
10。Onthebasisofqualitywemaydistinguishcertainfundamentalemotionalformscorrespondingtothechiefaffectivedirectionsdistinguishedbefore(p。83)。Thisgivesuspleasurableandunpleasurable,excitinganddepressing,strainingandrelaxingemotions。Itmustbenoted,however,thatbecauseoftheirmorecompositecharactertheemotions,arealways,evenmorethanthefeelings,mixedforms。Generally,onlyasingleaffectivedirectioncanbecalledtheprimarytendencyforaparticularemotion。Thereareaffectiveelementsbelongingtootherdirections,thatenterinassecondaryelements。Theirsecondarycharacterusuallyappearsinthefactthatunderdifferentconditionsvarioussub-formsoftheprimaryemotionmayarise。Thus,forexample,joyisprimarilyapleasurableemotion。Ordinarilyitisalsoexciting,sinceitintensifiesthefeelings,butwhenthefeelingsaretoostrong,itbecomesadepressingemotion。
Sorrowisanunpleasurableemotion,generallyofadepressingcharacter;
whentheintensityofthefeelingsbecomessomewhatgreater,however,itmaybecomeexciting,andwhentheintensitybecomesmaximal,itpassesagainintoverymarkeddepression。Angerismuchmoreemphaticallyexcitingandunpleasantinitspredominantcharacteristics,butwhentheintensityofthefeelingsbecomesgreater,aswhenitdevelopsintorage,itmaybecomedepressing。Thus,excitinganddepressingtendenciesarealwaysmeresecondaryqualities[p。179]connectedwithpleasurableandunpleasurableemotions。Feelingsofstrainandrelaxation,onthecontrary,maymorefrequentlybethechief,oratleasttheprimarycomponentsofemotions。
Thus,inexpectation,thefeelingofstrainpeculiartothisstateistheprimaryelementoftheemotion。Whenthefeelingdevelopsintoanemotion,itmayeasilybeassociatedwithunpleasurablefeelingswhichare,accordingtocircumstanceseitherexcitingordepressing。Inthecaseofrhythmicalimpressionsormovementstherearisefromalternationoffeelingsofstrainwiththoseofrelaxationpleasurableemotionswhichmaybeeitherexcitingordepressingaccordingtothecharacteroftherhythm。Whentheyaredepressingwemayevenhaveunpleasurablefeelingsintermingledwiththem,ortheymayallbeofthiskind,especiallywhenotheraffectiveelementscooperate,forexamplefeelingsofclangorharmony。
11。Languagehaspaidthemostattentioninitsdevelopmentofnamesforemotionstothequalitativesideoffeelings,andamongthesequalitiesparticularlytopleasurableandunpleasurable。Thesenamesmaybedividedintothreeclasses。Firstwehavethoseofemotionsthataresubjectivelydistinguished,chieflythroughthenatureoftheaffectivestateitself,suchasjoyandsorrowand,assubformsofsorrowinwhicheitherdepressing,straining,orrelaxingtendenciesofthefeelingarealsoexhibited,sadness,care,grief,andfright。Secondly,therearenamesofobjectiveemotionsreferringtosomeexternalobject,suchasdelightanddispleasureand,assubformsofthelatterinwhich,asabove,varioustendenciesunite,annoyance,resentment,anger,andrage。
Thirdly,wehavenamesofobjectiveemotionsthatreferrathertooutereventsnotexpecteduntilthefuture,suchashopeandfearand,asmodificationsofthelatter,worryandanxiety。Theyarecombinationsoffeelingsofstrain[p。180]withpleasurableandunpleasurablefeelingsand,indifferentways,withexcitinganddepressingtendenciesaswell。
Obviouslylanguagehasproducedamuchgreatervarietyofnamesforunpleasurableemotionsthanforpleasurable。Infact,observationrendersitprobablethatunpleasurableemotionsexhibitagreatervarietyoftypicalformsofoccurence。andthattheirdifferentformsarereallymore,numerous。
12。Onthebasisoftheintensityofthefeelingswemaydistinguishweakandstrongemotions。Theseconcepts,derivedfromthepsychicalpropertiesofthefeelings,donotcoincidewiththoseofsthenicandasthenicemotions,baseduponthephysicalconcomitants,fortherelationofthepsychologicalcategoriestothepsycho-physicalisdependentnotonlyontheintensityofthefeelings,butontheirqualityaswell。Thus,weakandmoderatelystrongpleasurableemotionsarealwayssthenic,while,onthecontrary,unplesurableemotionsbecomeasthenicafteralongerduration,evenwhentheyareofalowdegreeofintensity,as,forexample,careandanxiety。Finally,thestrongestemotions,suchasfright,worry,rage,andevenexcessivejoy,arealwaysasthenic。Thediscriminationofthepsychicalintensityofemotionsisaccordinglyofsubordinatesignificance,especiallysinceemotionsthatagreeinallotherrespects,maynotonlyhavedifferentdegreesofintensityatdifferenttimes,butmayonthesameoccasionvaryfrommomenttomoment。Thentoosincethisvariationfrommomenttomomentisessentiallydeterminedbythesense-feelingsthatarisefromtheaccompanyingphysicalphenomena,inaccordancewiththeprincipleoftheintensificationofemotionsdiscussedabove(p。177),itisobviousthattheoriginallyphysiologicalantithesisofsthenicandasthenicoftenhasamoredecisiveinfluenceevenonthepsychologicalcharacteroftheemotionthantheprimarypsychicalintensityitself。[p。
181]
13。Thethirddistinguishingcharacteristicofemotionstheformofoccurence,ismoreimportant。Herewedistinguishthreeclasses。
First,therearesudden,irruptiveemotions,suchassurprise,astonishment,disappointment,fright,andrage。Theyallreachtheirmaximumveryrapidlyandthengraduallysinktoaquietaffectivestate。Secondly,wehavegraduallyarisingemotions,suchasanxiety,doubt,care,mournfulness,expectation,andinmany,casesjoy,anger,worry。Theserisetotheirmaximumgraduallyandsinkinthesameway。Asathirdformandatthesametimeamodificationoftheclassjustmentionedwehaveintermittentemotions,inwhichseveral,periodsofriseandfallfollowoneanotheralternately。Allemotionsoflongdurationbelonghere。Thus,especiallyjoy,anger,mournfulness,andthemostvariousformsofgraduallyarisingemotions,comeinwavesandoftenpermitadistinctionbetweenperiodsofincreasingandthoseofdecreasingemotionalintensity。Thesudden,irruptiveemotions,onthecontrary,areseldomintermittent。Thishappensonlyincasesinwhichtheemotionmayalsobelongtothesecondclass。Suchemotionsofaverychangeableformofoccurence[sic]are,forexample,joyandanger。Theymaysometimesbesuddenandirruptive。Inthiscase,tobesure,angergenerallybecomesrage。Ortheymaygraduallyriseandfall;theyarethengenerallyoftheintermittenttype。Intheirpsycho-physicalconcomitants,thesuddenirruptiveemotionsareallasthenic,thosegraduallyarisingmaybeeithersthenicorasthenic。
13a。Theformofoccurence[sic],then,howevercharacteristicitmaybeinsinglecases,isjustaslittleafixedcriterionforthePsychologicalclassificationofemotionsasistheintensityofthefeelings。
Obviouslysuchaclassificationcanbebasedonlyonthequalityoftheaffectivecontents,whileintensityandformofoccurencemayfurnishthemeansofsubdivision。Theway[p。182]inwhichtheseconditionsareconnectedwithoneanotherandwiththeaccompanyingphysicalphenomenaandthroughthesewithsecondarysense-feelings,showstheemotionstobemosthighlycompositepsychicalprocesseswhicharethereforeinsinglecasesexceedinglyvariable。Aclassificationthatisinanydegreeexhaustivemust,therefore,subdividesuchvaryingemotionsasjoy,anger,fear,andanxietyintotheirsubforms,accordingtotheirmodesofoccurence,theintensityoftheircomponentfeelings,andfinallyaccordingtotheirphysicalconcomitantswhicharedependentonboththepsychicalfactorsmentioned。Thus,forexample,wemaydistinguishastrong,aweak,andavariableformofanger,asudden,agraduallyarising,andanintermittentformofitsoccurence,andfinallyasthenic,asthenic,andamixedformofitsexpressivemovements。
Forthepsychologicalexplanation,anaccountofthecausalinterconnection,ofthesingleformsineachparticularcaseismuchmoreimportantthanthismereclassification。Ingivingsuchanaccountswehaveinthecaseofeveryemotiontodowithtwofactors,first,thequalityandintensityofthecomponentfeelings,andsecond,therapidityofthesuccessionofthesefeelings。Thefirstfactordeterminesthegeneralcharacteroftheemotion,theseconditsintensityinpartandmoreespeciallyitsformofoccurence,whilebothtogetherdetermineitsphysicalaccompanimentsandthepsycho-physicalchangesresultingfromthesense-feelingsconnectedwiththeseaccompanyingphenomena(p。177)。Itisforthisveryreasonthatthephysicalconcomitantsareasaruletobecalledpsycho-physical。Theexpressions“psychological“and“psycho-physical“shouldnot,however,beregardedasabsoluteoppositesinthiscase,wherewehavetodomerelywithsymptomsofemotion。Wespeakofpsychologicalemotionalphenomenawhenwemeanthosethatdonotshowanyimmediatelyperceptiblephysicalsymptoms,evenwhensuchsymptomscanbedemonstratedwithexactapparatus(as,forexample,changesinthepulseandinrespiration)。Ontheotherhandwespeakofpsycho-physicalphenomenainthecaseofthosewhichcanbeimmediatelyrecognizedastwo-sided。
ClassicsintheHistoryofPsychology——Wundt(1897)Section14OutlinesofPsychologyWilhelmMaxWundt(1897)TranslatedbyCharlesHubbardJudd(1897)
II。PSYCHICALCOMPOUNDS§;14VOLITIONALPROCESSES。
1。Everyemotion,madeup,asitis,ofaseriesofinterrelatedaffectiveprocesseshavingaunitarycharacter,mayterminateinoneoftwoways。
Itmaygiveplacetotheordinaryvariableandrelativelyunemotionalcourseoffeelings。Suchaffectiveprocessesthatfadeoutwithoutanyspecialresult,constitutetheemotionsinthestrictsenseasdiscussedinthelastparagraph。Theprocessmay,inasecondclassofcases,passintoasuddenchangeinsensationalandaffectivecontent,whichbringstheemotiontoaninstantaneousclose;suchchangesinthesensationalandaffectivestatewhicharepreparedforbyanemotionandbringaboutitssuddenend,arecalledvolitionalacts。Theemotionitselftogetherwithitsresultisavolitionalprocess。
Avolitionalprocessisthusrelatedtoanemotionasaprocessofahigherstage,inthesamewaythatanemotionisrelatedtoafeeling。
Volitionalactisthenameofonlyonepartoftheprocess,thatpartwhichdistinguishesavolitionfromanemotion。Thewaytothedevelopmentofvolitionsoutofemotionsispreparedbythoseemotionsinconnectionwithwhichexternalpantomimeticmovements(p。173)appear。Thesemovementsappearchieflyattheendoftheprocessandgenerallyhastenitscompletion;
thisisespeciallytrueofanger,buttosomeextentalsoofjoy,care,etc。Still,inthesemereemotions,thechangesinthetrainofideaswhicharetheimmediatecausesofthemomentarycompletionoftheemotioninvolitionsandalsothecharacteristicfeelingsattendingthesechanges,areallwanting。
Thiscloseinterconnectionofvolitionalactswithpantomimeticmovementsnecessarilyleadsustolookuponthosevolitionswhichendincertainbodilymovementsresultingfromtheprecedingtrainofideasandfeelings,thatis,those[p。184]endinginexternalvolitionalacts,astheearlieststagesinthedevelopmentofvolitions。Theso-calledinternalvolitionalacts,ontheotherhand,orthosewhichclosesimplywitheffectsonideasandfeelings,appearineverycasetobeproductsofamorehighlydevelopedintelligence。
Avolitionalprocessthatpassesintoanexternalactmaybedefinedasanemotionwhichcloseswithapantomimeticmovementthathas,inadditiontothecharacteristicsbelongingtoallsuchmovementsandduetothequalityandintensityoftheemotion,thespecialpropertyofproducinganexternaleffectwhichremovestheemotionitself。Suchaneffectisnotpossibleforallemotions,butonlyforthosewhichtheverysuccessionofcomponentfeelingsproducesfeelingsandideaswhichareabletoremovetheprecedingemotion。Thisis,ofcourse,mostcommonlythecasewhenthefinalresultoftheemotionisthedirectoppositeoftheprecedingfeelings。Thefundamentalpsychologicalconditionforvolitionalactsis,therefore,thecontrastbetweenfeelings,andtheoriginofthefirstvolitionsismostprobablyinallcasestobetracedbacktounpleasurablefeelingsthatarouseexternalmovementswhoseresultsarecontrastedpleasurablefeelings。Theseizingoffoodtoremovehunger,thestruggle,againstenemiestoappeasethefeelingofrevenge,andother,similarprocessesareoriginalvolitionalprocessesofthiskind。Theemotionscomingfromsense-feelings,andthemostwidespreadsocialemotions,suchaslove,hate,anger,andrevenge,arethusbothformenandanimalsthecommonoriginofwill。Avolitionisdistinguishedinsuchcasesfromanemotiononlybythefactthattheformerhasaddedtoitsemotionalcomponentsanexternalactthatgivesrisetofeelingswhich,throughcontrastwiththefeelingscontainedintheemotion,bringtheemotionitselftoanend。Theexecutionofthevolitionalactmaythenleaddirectly,aswasoriginally[p。185]alwaysthecase,orindirectlythroughanemotionofcontrastedaffectivecontent,intotheordinaryquietflowoffeelings。
3。Therichertheideationalandaffectivecontentsofexperience,thegreaterthevarietyoftheemotionsandthewiderthesphereofvolitions。
Thereisnofeelingoremotionthatdoesnotinsomewayprepareforavolitionalactoratleasthavesomepartinsuchapreparation。Allfeelings,eventhoseofarelativelyindifferentcharacter,containinsomedegreeanefforttowardsorawayfromsomeend。Thiseffortmaybeverygeneralandaimedmerelyatthemaintenanceorremovalofthepresentaffectivestate。Whilevolitionsappearasthemostcomplexformofaffectiveprocesses,presupposingallothers——thatis,feelingsandemotions——astheircomponents,still,wemustnotoverlookthefactthatsinglefeelingscontinuallyappearwhichdonotunitetoformemotions,andemotionsappearwhichdonotendinvolitionalacts。Inthetotalinterconnectionofpsychicalprocesses,however,thesethreestagesconditiononeanotherandformtherelatedpartsofasingleprocesswhichiscompleteonlywhenitbecomesavolition。
Inthissenseafeelingmaybethoughtofasthebeginningofavolition,oravolitionmaybethoughtofasacompositeaffectiveprocess,andanemotionmayberegardedasanintermediatestagebetweenthetwo。
4。Thesinglefeelingsinanemotionthatcloseswithavolitionalactareusuallyfarfrombeingofequalimportance。Certainonesamongthem,togetherwiththeirrelatedideas,areprominentasthosewhicharemostimportantinpreparingfortheact。Thosecombinationsofideasandfeelingswhichinoursubjectiveapprehensionofthevolitionaretheimmediateantecedentsoftheact,arecalledmotivesofvolition。Everymotivemaybedividedintoanideationaland[p。186]anaffectivecomponent。
Thefirstwemaycallthemovingreason,thesecondtheimpellingforceofaction。Whenabeastofpreyseizeshisvictim,themovingreasonisthesightofthesame,theimpellingforcemaybeeithertheunpleasurablefeelingofhungerortherace-hatearousedbythesight。
Thereasonforacriminalmurdermaybetheremovalofanenemy,orsomesuchidea,theimpellingforcethefeelingofwant,hate,revenge,orenvy。
Whentheemotionsare,ofcompositecharacter,thereasonsandimpellingforcesaregenerallymixed,oftentosogreatanextentthatitwouldbedifficultfortheauthoroftheacthimselftodecidewhichwastheleadingmotive。Thisisduetothefactthattheimpellingforcesofavolitionalactcombine,justastheelementsofacompositefeelingdo,toformaunitarywholeinwhichallotherimpulsesaresubordinatedunderasinglepredominatingone;thefeelingsoflikedirectionstrengtheningandacceleratingtheeffect,thoseofoppositedirectionweakeningit。Inthecombinationsofideasandfeelingswhichwecallmotives,thedecidingimportanceinpreparingfortheactofwillbelongstothefeelings,thatis,totheimpellingforces,ratherthantotheideas。Thisfollowsfromtheveryfactthatfeelingsareintegralcomponentsofthevolitionalprocessitself,while,theideasareofinfluenceonlyindirectly,throughtheirconnectionswiththefeelings。Theassumptionofavolitionarisingfrompureintellectualconsiderations,ofadecisionopposedtotheinclinationsexpressedinthefeelings,isapsychologicalcontradictioninitself。Itrestsupontheabstractconceptofatranscendentalwillabsolutelydistinctfromactualpsychicalvolitions。
5。Thecombinationofanumberofmotives,thatis,ofideasandfeelingswhicharedistinguishedinthecompositetrainofemotionstowhichtheybelong,asthosedetermining[p。186]thedischargeoftheact,furnishtheessentialconditionsforthedevelopmentofwill,andalsoforthediscriminationofthesingleformsofvolitionalaction。
Thesimplestcaseofvolitionisthatinwhichasinglefeelinginanemotionofsuitableconstitution,togetherwithitsaccompanyingidea,becomesamotiveandbringstheprocessestoaclosewithitscorrespondingexternalmovement。Suchvolitionalprocessesdeterminedbyasinglemotive,maybecalledsimplevolitions。Themovementsinwhichtheyterminateareoftendesignatedimpulsiveacts。Inpopularparlance,however,thisdefinitionofimpulsebythesimplicityofthemotive,isnotsufficientlyadheredto。Anotherelement,namely,thecharacterofthefeelingthatactsasimpellingforce,ishereusuallybroughtin。Allactsthataredeterminedbysense-feelings,especiallycommonfeelings,aregenerallycalledimpulsiveactswithoutregardtowhetheronlyasinglemotiveorapluralityofmotivesisoperative。Thisbasisofdiscriminationispsychologicallyinappropriateandthecompleteseparationofimpulsivefromvolitionalactsasaspecificallydistinctkindofpsychicalprocesses,whichfollowsverynaturallyfromit,isentirelyunjustifiable。
Byimpulsiveact,then。wemeanasimplevolitionalact,thatis,oneresultingfromasinglemotive,withoutreferencetothepositionofthismotiveintheseriesofaffectiveandideationalprocesses。Impulsiveaction,thusdefined,mustnecessarilybethestartingpointforthedevelopmentofallvolitionalacts,eventhoughitmaycontinuetoappearalongwiththecomplexvolitionalacts。Tobesure,theearliestimpulsiveactsarethosewhichcomefromsense-feeling。Inthissensemostoftheactsofanimalsareimpulsive,butsuchimpulsiveactsappearcontinuallyinthecaseofman,partlyastheresultsofsimplesense-emotions,partlyasthe[p。188]productsofthehabitualexecutionofcertainvolitionalactswhichwereoriginallydeterminedbycomplexmotives。
6。Whenseveralfeelingsandideasinthesameemotiontendtoproduceexternalaction,andwhenthosecomponentsofanemotionaltrainwhichhavebecomemotivestendatthesametimetowardsdifferentexternalends,whetherrelatedorantagonistic,thentherearisesoutofthesimpleactacomplexvolitionalprocess。Inordertodistinguishthisfromtheimpulsiveactsthatprecedeitinthelineofdevelopment,wecallitavoluntaryact。
Voluntaryandimpulsiveactshaveincommonthecharacteristicofproceedingfromsinglemotives,orfromcomplexesofmotivesthathavefusedtogetherandoperateasasingleunequivocalimpellingforce。Theydifferinthefactthatinvoluntaryactsthedecisivemotivehasrisentododominancefromamonganumberofsimultaneousandantagonisticmotives。Whenaclearlyperceptiblestrifebetweentheseantagonisticmotivesprecedestheact,wecallthevolitionbytheparticularnameselectiveact,andtheprocessprecedingitachoice。Thepredominanceofoneoverothersimultaneousmotivescanbeunderstoodonlywhenwepresupposesuchastrifeineverycase。Butweperceivethisstrifenowclearly,nowobscurely,andnownotatall。Onlyinthefirstcasecanwespeakofaselectiveactinthepropersense。Thedistinctionbetweenvoluntaryandselectiveactsisbynomeanshardandfast。Still,inordinaryvoluntaryactsthepsychicalstateismorelikethatinimpulsiveacts,whilethedifferencebetweenthelatterandselectiveactsisclearlyrecognizable。
7。Thepsychicalprocessimmediatelyprecedingtheact,inwhichthefinalmotivesuddenlygainstheascendency,iscalledinthecaseofvoluntaryactsresolution,inthecaseofselectiveactsdecision。Thefirstwordindicatesmerely[p。189]thatactionistobecarriedoutinaccordancewithsomeconsciouslyadoptedmotive;thesecondimpliesthatseveralcoursesofactionhavebeenpresentedaspossibleandthatachoicehasfinallybeenmade。
Incontrasttothefirststagesofavolition,whichcannotbeclearlydistinguishedfromanordinaryemotionalprocess,thelaststagesareabsolutelycharacteristic。Theyareespeciallymarkedbyaccompanyingfeelingsthatneverappearanywherebutinvolitions,andmustthereforeberegardedasthespecificelementspeculiartowill。
Thesefeelingsarefirstofallthoseofresolutionandofdecision。Thelatterdiffersfromtheformeronlyinitsgreaterintensity。Theyarebothexcitingandrelaxingfeelings,andmaybeunitedundervariouscircumstanceswithpleasurableorunpleasurablefactors。Therelativelygreaterintensityofthefeelingofdecisionisprobablyduetoitscontrastwiththeprecedingfeelingofdoubtwhichattendsthewaveringbetweendifferentmotives。Itsoppositiontothisdoubtgivesthefeelingofrelaxationagreaterintensity。Atthemomentwhenthevolitionalactbegins,thefeelingsofresolutionanddecisiongiveplacetothespecificfeelingofactivity,whichhasitssensationalsubstratum,inthecaseofexternalvolitionalacts,intheinnertactualsensationaccompanyingthemovement。Thisfeelingofactivityisclearlyexcitinginitscharacter,andis,accordingtothespecialmotivesofthevolition,accompaniednowbypleasurable,nowbyunpleasurableelements,whichmayinturnvaryinthecourseofthe,actandalternatewithoneanother。Asatotalfeeling,thisfeelingofactivityisarisingandfallingtemporalprocessextendingthroughthewholeactandfinallypassingintothemostvariousfeelings,suchasthoseoffulfilment,satisfaction,ordisappointment,orintothefeelingsandemotionsconnectedwiththespecialresultoftheact。Taking[p。190]theprocessasseeninvoluntaryandselectiveactsascomplete,volitionalacts,wemustdistinguishcompulsiveactsfromthemessentiallybytheabsenceoftheantecedentfeelingsofresolutionanddecision。Thefeelingconnectedwiththemotivepassesinthelattercasedirectlyintothatofactivity,andthenintothosewhichcorrespondtotheeffectoftheact。
8。Thetransitionfromsimpletocomplexvolitionalactsbringswithitanumberofotherchangeswhichareofgreatimportanceforthedevelopmentofwill。Thefirstofthesechangesistobefoundinthefactthattheemotionswhichintroducethevolitionslosetheirintensitymoreandmore,asaresultofthecounteractionofdifferentmutuallyinhibitingfeelings,sothatfinallyavolitionalactmayresultfromanapparentlyunemotionalaffectivestate。Tobesure,emotionisneverentirelywanting;inorderthatthemotivewhicharisesinanordinarytrainoffeelingsmaybringaboutaresolutionordecision,itmustalwaysbeconnectedwithsomedegreeofemotionalexcitement。Thiscan,however,besoweakandtransientthatweoverlookit。Wedothisthemoreeasilythemoreweareinclinedtouniteashortemotionofthiskind,attendingmerelytheriseandactionofthemotive,withtheresolutionandexecutioninthesingleconceptofavolitionalact。Thisweakeningoftheemotionsresultsmainlyfromthecombinationsofpsychicalprocesseswhichwecallintellectualdevelopmentandofwhichweshalltreatmorefullyinthediscussionoftheinterconnectionofpsychicalcompounds(§;17)。Intellectualprocessescan,indeed,neverdoawaywithemotionstheyare,onthecontrary,inmanycasesthesourcesofnewandcharacteristicemotions。Avolitionentirelywithoutemotion,determinedbyapurelyintellectualmotive,is,asalreadyremarked(p。186),apsychologicalimpossibility。Still,intellectualdevelopmentexercisesbeyondadoubtamoderatinginfluence[p。191]onemotions,particularlyonthosethatpreparethewayforvolitionalactswhereverintellectualmotivesenterintothem。Thismaybeduepartlytothecounteractionofthefeelingswhichisgenerallypresent,partlytotheslowdevelopmentofintellectualmotives,foringeneralemotionsarethestrongerthemorerapidlytheircomponentfeelingsrise。
9。Connectedwiththismoderationoftheemotionalcomponentsofvolitionsundertheinfluenceofintellectualmotivesisstillanotherchange。Itconsistsinthefactthattheactwhichclosesthevolitionisnotanexternalmovement。Theeffectwhichremovestheexcitingemotionisitselfapsychicalprocessthatdoesnotshowitselfdirectlythroughanyexternalsymptomwhatever。Suchaneffectwhichisimperceptibleforobjectiveobserversiscalledaninternalvolitionalact。Thetransitionfromexternaltointernalvolitionalactsissoboundupwithintellectualdevelopmentthattheverycharacteroftheintellectualprocessesthemselvesaretobeexplainedtoagreatextentbytheinfluenceofvolitionsonthetrainofideas(§;15,9)。Theactthatclosesthevolitioninsuchacaseissomechangeinthetrainofideas,whichfollowstheprecedingmotivesastheresultofsomeresolutionordecision。Thefeelingsthataccompanytheseactsofimmediatepreparation,andthefeelingofactivityconnectedwiththechangeitself,agreeentirelywiththoseobservedinthecaseofexternalvolitionalacts。Furthermore,actionisfollowedbymoreorlessmarkedfeelingsofsatisfaction,ofremovalofprecedingemotionalandaffectivestrain,sothatobviouslytheonlydifferencebetweenthesespecialvolitionsconnectedwiththeintellectualdevelopmentandtheearlierforms,istobefoundinthefactthatherethefinaleffectofthevolitiondoesnotshowitselfinanexternalbodilymovement。
Still,wemayhaveabodilymovementasthesecondary[p。192]resultofaninternalvolitionalact,whentheresolutionreferstoanexternalacttobeexecutedatsomelatertime。Insuchacasetheactitselfalwaysresultsfromaspecialexternalvolitionwhosedecisivemotivescomefromtheprecedinginternalvolition,butwhichwemustconsiderasanewprocessdistinctfromtheearlier。Thus,forexample,theformation。ofaresolutiontoexecuteanactinthefutureundercertainexpectedconditions,isaninternalvolition,whilethelater,performanceoftheactisanexternalactiondifferentfromthefirst,butrequiringitasanecessaryantecedent。
Itisevidentthatwhereanexternalvolitionalactarisesfromadecisionafteraconflictamongthemotives,wehaveatransitioninwhichitisimpossibletodistinguishclearlybetweenthetwokindsofvolition,namelythatconsistinginasingleunitaryprocessandthatmadeupoftwosuchprocesses,aninternalandanexternal。Insuchatransitionalform,ifthedecisionisatallseparatedintimefromtheactitself,itmayberegardedasaninternalvolitionalactpreparatorytotheexecution。
10。Thesetwochangesconnectedwiththedevelopmentofwill,namely,themoderationofemotionsandtherenderingindependentofinternalvolitions,arechangesofaggressiveorder。Incontrastwiththesethereisathirdprocessoroneofretrogradation。Whencomplexvolitionswiththesamemotiveareoftenrepeated,theconflictbetweenthemotivesgrowslessintense;theopposingmotivesthatwere,overcomeinearliercasesgrowweakerandfinallydisappearsentirely。Thecomplexacthasthenpassedintoasimple,orimpulsiveact。Thisretrogradationofcomplexvolitional,processesintoimpulsiveprocessesshowsclearlytheutterinappropriatenessofthelimitationoftheconcept“impulsive“toactsofwillarisingfromsense-feelings。Asaresultofthegradualeliminationofopposingmotives,thereare,[p。
193]intellectual,moral,andaesthetic,aswellassimplesensuous,impulsiveacts。
Thisretrogradationisbutonestepinaprocessthatunitesalltheexternalactsofalivingbeing,boththevolitionalactsandtheautomaticreflexmovements。Whenthehabituatingpracticeofcertainactsiscarriedfurther,thedeterminingmotivesfinallybecome,eveninimpulsiveacts,weakerandmoretransient。Theexternalstimulusoriginallyarousedastronglyaffectiveideawhichoperatedasamotive,butnowitcausesthedischargeoftheactbeforeitcanbeapprehendedasanidea。Inthiswaytheimpulsivemovementfinallybecomesanautomaticmovement。Themoreoftenthisautomaticmovementisrepeated,theeasierit,inturn,becomes,evenwhenthestimulusisnotsensed,as,forexample,indeepsleeporduringcompletediversionoftheattention。Themovementnowappearsasapurephysiologicalreflex,andthevolitionalprocesshasbecomeasimplereflexprocess。
Thisgradualreductionofvolitionaltomechanicalprocesses,whichdependsessentiallyontheeliminationofalltheelementsbetweenthephysicalbeginningandendoftheact,maytakeplaceeitherinthecaseofmovementsthatwereoriginallyimpulsiveorinthatofmovementswhichhavesecondarilybecomesuchthroughtheretrogradationofvoluntaryacts。
Itisnotimprobablethatallthereflexmovementsofbothanimalsandmenoriginateinthisway。Asevidenceforthiswehave,besidesthereductionofvolitionalactstopuremechanicalprocessesthroughpractice,asdescribedabove,alsotheappropriatecharacterofreflexes,whichpointtothepresenceatsometimeofapurposiveideaasmotive。Furthermore,thecircumstancethatthemovementsofthelowestanimalsareallevidentlysimplevolitionalacts,notreflexes,tellsforthesameview,sothathere[p。194]toothereisnojustificationfortheassumptionfrequentlymadethatactsofwillhavebeendevelopedfromreflexmovements。Finally,wecanmosteasilyexplainfromthispointofviewthefactsmentionedin§;13(p。172),thatexpressivemovementsmaybelongtoanyoneoftheformspossibleinthescaleofexternalacts。Obviouslythesimplestmovementsareimpulsiveacts,whilemanycomplicatedpantomimeticmovementsprobablycameoriginallyfromvoluntaryactswhichpassedfirstintoimpulsiveandthenintoreflexmovements。Observedphenomenamakeitnecessarytoassumethattheretrogradationsthatbeginintheindividuallifearegraduallycarriedfurtherthroughthetransmissionofacquireddispositions,sothatcertainactswhichwereoriginallyvoluntarymayappearilllaterdescendantsfromthefirstasimpulsiveorreflexmovements(§;19and§;20)。
10a。Forreasonssimilartothosegiveninthecaseofemotions,theobservationofvolitionalprocessesthatcomeintoexperiencebychance,isaninadequateandeasilymisleadingmethodforestablishingtheactualfactsinthecase。Whereverinternalorexternalvolitionalactsareperformedinmeetingeitherthetheoreticalorpracticaldemandsoflife,ourinterestistoomuchtakenupintheactionitselftoallowusatthesametimetoobservewithexactnessthepsychicalprocessesthataregoingon。Inthetheoriesofvolitiongivenbyolderpsychologists——theoriesthatveryoftencasttheirshadowsinthescienceofto-day——wehaveaclearreflectionoftheundevelopedstateofthemethodsofpsychologicalobservation。
Externalactsofwillaretheonlyonesinthewholesphereofvolitionalprocessesthatforcethemselvesemphaticallyontheattentionoftheobserver。
Asaresultthetendencywastolimittheconceptwilltoexternalvolitionalacts,andthusnotonlytoneglectentirelythewholespheresoimportantforthehigherdevelopmentofwill,namely,internalvolitionalacts,butalsotopayverylittleattentiontothecomponentsofthevolitionthatareantecedenttotheexternalacts,[p。195]oratmostonlytothemorestrikingideationalcomponentsofthemotive。Itfollowedthattheclosegeneticinterconnectionbetweenimpulsiveandvoluntaryactswasnotobserved,andthat,theformerwereregardedasnotbelongingtowill,butascloselyrelatedtoreflexes。Willwasthuslimitedtothevoluntaryandselectiveactions。Furthermore,theone-sidedconsiderationoftheideationalcomponentsofthemotivesledtoacompleteoversightofthedevelopmentofvolitionalactsfromemotions,andthesingularideafoundacceptancethatvolitionalactsarenottheproductsofantecedentmotivesandofpsychicalconditionswhichactuponthesemotivesandbringoneofthemintotheascendency,butthatvolitionisaprocessapartfromthemotivesandindependentofthem,aproductofametaphysicalvolitionalfaculty。Thisfacultywas,onthegroundofthelimitationoftheconceptvolitiontovoluntaryacts,evendefinedasthechoosingfacultyofthemind,orasitsfacultyforpreferringonefromamongthedifferentmotivesthatinfluenceit。
Thus,insteadofderivingvolitionfromtheantecedentpsychicalconditions,thefinalresultalone,thevolitionalact,wasusedtobuildupageneralconceptwhichwascalledwillandthisclass-conceptwastreatedinaccordancewiththefaculty-theoryasafirstcausefromwhichallconcretevolitionalactsarise。ItwasonlyamodificationofthisabstracttheorywhenSchopenhauerand,followinghim,manymodernpsychologistsandphilosophersdeclaredthatvolitioninitselfisan“unconscious“occurrencewhichcomestoconsciousnessonlyinitsresult,thevolitionalact。Inthiscase,obviously,theinadequateobservationofthevolitionalprocessprecedingtheact,hasledtotheassertionthatnosuchprocessexists。Here,again,thewholevarietyofconcretevolitionalprocessesissupplantedbytheconceptofasingleunconsciouswill,andtheresultforpsychologyisthesameasbefore:inplaceofacomprehensionofconcretepsychicalprocessesandtheircombination,anabstractconceptissetupandthenerroneouslylookeduponasageneralcause。
Modernpsychologyandevenexperimentalpsychologyisstilltoagreatextentunderthebanofthisdeep-rootedabstractdoctrineofwill。Indenyingfromthefirstthepossibilityofexplaininganactfromtheconcretepsychicalcausalityoftheantecedentvolitionalprocess,itleavesastheonlycharacteristic[p。196]ofanactofwillthesumofthesensationsthataccompanytheexternalact,andmayimmediatelyprecedeitaspalememoimagesincaseswheretheacthasoftenbeenrepeated。Thephysicalexcitationsinthenervoussystemareregardedasthecausesoftheact。