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CHAPTER IX. Definitions of Psychology

The Mind and the Brain · Alfred Binet — chapter 12 of 37 · ~70 words · public domain

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DEFINITIONS OF PSYCHOLOGY

Difficulty of defining psychology--Definition by substance--Psychology not the science of the soul--Definition by enumeration: its error--Definition by method contradicts idea of consciousness--Externospection and introspection sometimes confused--Definition by content--Facts cannot be divided into those of consciousness and of unconsciousness--Descartes' definition of psychology insufficient--"Within and without" simile unanalogous--Definition by point of view--Inconsistencies of Ebbinghaus' contention--W. James' teleological theory--Definition by the peculiar nature of mental laws only one possible: why?

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