C. Lloyd Morgan

Conwy Lloyd Morgan ( born February 6, 1852 in London, † March 6, 1936 in Hastings ) was an English zoologist and psychologist and is regarded as the founder of experimental animal psychology.

Life

After studying at the Royal College of Science in London at Thomas Huxley he went from 1878 to 1884 to South Africa to teach at a college in Rondebosch. In 1884 he received at University College, Bristol Professor of Zoology and Geology, 1911 to 1919, he was at this university professor of psychology and ethics. One of his students was Reginald Innes Pocock.

Teaching

Morgan was his experiments with animals to a founder of animal psychology. He was distinguished by meticulous observations and declined animals attributable awareness of a behavior that is also different, could be, for example, through trial and error learning explain. This scientific attitude was reflected in 1894 formulated the so-called Morgan's canon down - ultimately applied otherwise than Occam's razor on the biopsychology. Thus, is not to be explained by a higher mental function ( such as consciousness ) a behavior if it can be explained with simpler functions (such as instinct, conditioning ).

  • In no case june we interpret to action as the outcome of the exercise of a higher mental faculty, if it can be interpreted as the exercise of one Which stands lower in the psychological scale. ( German: In any case, we should act as a result of the exercise of a higher mental faculty interpret if it can also be interpreted as the result of a standing further down the spiritual scale intellectual assets. )

Together with the English philosopher Samuel Alexander Morgan developed the theory of an emergent development ( emergent evolution ), by raising awareness of an evolutionary phenomenon that organic will not let sufficiently explain. Because evolution is both a series of continuous improvements that remain secured by the results ( Resultant ). On the other hand, result in the evolution of entirely new laws and lines of development, by the emergence ( emergent ), are in fact caused by the Ascendant.

Reception

Morgans Emergentism influenced Thorstein Veblen's theory of socio -economic development.

Works

  • Animal Life and Intelligence. In 1890.
  • An Introduction to Comparative Psychology. In 1894.
  • Emergent evolution. Williams & Norgate, London, 1923.
  • Autobiography of C. Lloyd Morgan. In: CA Murchison (Ed.): A History of Psychology in Autobiography. Volume II Clark University Press, Worcester 1932, pp. 237-264.
  • The Emergence of novelity. , 1933.
  • The Law of psychogenesis. Mind ( N. S. ) 1 ( 1892), 72 - 93
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