A psychology without heredity.

In view of the fact that at present there is no generally accepted point of view in psychology, it seems necessary that one should state definitely where he stands in the science before he can proceed to the discussion of a specific psychological problem; for unless there is an agreement on a general viewpoint among those who join in the discussion, there is little hope of settling the question at issue. I feel obliged, therefore, to make a confession of my psychological faith before I take up the problem of inheritance of behavior, which is the main theme of the present paper. I shall define psychology as the science which deals with the physiology of bodily mechanisms involved in the organismic adjustment to environment with special emphasis on the functional aspect of the adjustment. (By functional aspect, I mean the effect, or result, or adjustment-value—positive, negative or indifferent—of a response which establishes a new functional relation of the reacting organism to its environment, social or otherwise.) Psychology adopts the methods of the exact sciences, stressing the supreme importance of objective and quantitative experiments for permanent progress of the science. Its subject-matter—behavior—is solely physical and mechanical events. It denies {but does not disregard) the existence of anything mental or subjective; the so-called consciousness, if it exists at all, must be reducible