Since
psychology studies activities, its terms are properly verbs, and
adverbs. It needs one noun, individual, or organism, or
the equivalent, as the subject of all its verbs; and, to be sure, it
needs to name any number of objects that act upon the individual or
are acted on by him. But the student will soon encounter an assortment
of other nouns, names of activities and names of qualities, such as
intelligence, memory, imagination, sensation, emotion, consciousness,
behavior. All such nouns are properly verbs or adverbs, with
individual as their subject. . . . We forget that our nouns are merely
substitutes for verbs, and go hunting for the things denoted by
the nouns; but there are no such things, there are only the activities
that we started with, seeing, remembering, and so on.
Intelligence, consciousness, the unconscious, are by rights not nouns, nor even adjectives or verbs; they are adverbs. The real facts are that the individual acts intelligently-more or less so-acts consciously or unconsciously, as he may also act skillfully, persistently, excitedly. It is a safe rule, then, on encountering any menacing psychological noun, to strip off its linguistic mask, and see what manner of activity lies behind. (pp. 56)
Woodworth, R. S. (1929). Psychology (rev. ed.). New York: Holt.
Intelligence, consciousness, the unconscious, are by rights not nouns, nor even adjectives or verbs; they are adverbs. The real facts are that the individual acts intelligently-more or less so-acts consciously or unconsciously, as he may also act skillfully, persistently, excitedly. It is a safe rule, then, on encountering any menacing psychological noun, to strip off its linguistic mask, and see what manner of activity lies behind. (pp. 56)
Woodworth, R. S. (1929). Psychology (rev. ed.). New York: Holt.
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* PAUL K.
BRANDON
[EMAIL PROTECTED] *
* Psychology Department 507-389-6217 *
* 23 Armstrong Hall Minnesota State University, Mankato *
* http://www.mankato.msus.edu/dept/psych/welcome.html *
* Psychology Department 507-389-6217 *
* 23 Armstrong Hall Minnesota State University, Mankato *
* http://www.mankato.msus.edu/dept/psych/welcome.html *
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