Clever Hans

IF we would appreciate the interest that has been aroused everywhere by the wonderful horse solving arithmetical problems, we must first consider briefly the present state of the problem of animal consciousness. Animal consciousness cannot be directly gotten at, and the psychologist must therefore seek to appreciate it on the basis of the animal's behavior and with the assistance of conceptions borrowed from human psychology. Hence it is that animal psychology rests upon uncertain...
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IF we would appreciate the interest that has been aroused everywhere by the wonderful horse solving arithmetical problems, we must first consider briefly the present state of the problem of animal consciousness. Animal consciousness cannot be directly gotten at, and the psychologist must therefore seek to appreciate it on the basis of the animal's behavior and with the assistance of conceptions borrowed from human psychology. Hence it is that animal psychology rests upon uncertain foundations with the result that the fundamental principles have been repeatedly questioned and agreement has not yet been attained. The most important of these questions is, "Does the animal possess consciousness, and is it like the human consciousness?" Comparative psychologists divide into three groups on this question.