The Respective Standpoints of Psychology and Logic

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1913. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER V TYPICAL STATEMENTS OF THE RELATIONSHIP In the earlier form of the problem in which interest was directed more specifically to the two disciplines in question, the discussion of the relation of psychology to logic took on the guise of a debate as to which was the more comprehensive of the two. The argument savors of a scholastic exercise in determining the intension and extension of concepts, and runs in a circle of futile reiteration because no common standard or criterion is suggested with reference to which the greater or lesser generality may be measured. The argument, in schematic form, has been that psychology as the science of mind includes the study of all the conscious processes, whereas logic deals with only one portion of the field, and that only under the aspect of correct or incorrect reasoning. Thus logic is the less comprehensive of the two and must surrender its independence, for it is related to psychology as part to the whole. Logic retorts that it is the most general of all sciences; that it formulates laws which are prescriptive universally, and treats of those forms and principles of thought which must be employed in every branch of knowledge. Hence psychology, in gathering its data, classifying, systematizing, and drawing conclusions about them, must use the logical forms which are fundamental to all thought. The psychologist as reasoner, then, constitutes only one instance of the procedure which the logician investigates. In this sense logic maintains that it is not dependent upon the field mapped out by the psychologist, and that as the methodology of all the sciences it may be said to be wider and not narrower in scope than psychology. The psychologist replies that the logician must use as the raw stuff of his investigati...