ANTS AND SOME OTHER INSECTS.
WHEN discussing the ant-mind, we must consider that
these
small animals, on the one hand, differ very widely from
our-
selves in organisation, but on the other hand, have
come, through
so-called convergence, to possess in the form of a
social common-
wealth a peculiar relationship to us. My subject,
however, requires
the discussion of so many complicated questions that I
am com-
pelled to assume acquaintance with the work of others,
especially
the elements of psychology, and in addition the works
of P. Huber,
Wasmann, von Buttel-Reepen, Darwin, Romanes, Lubbock,
my
Fourmis de la Sutsse, and many others. Since the
functions ot the
sense-organs constitute the basis of comparative
psychology, I
must also refer to a series of articles entitled
"Sensations des In-
sectes" which I have recently published (1900-1901) in
the Rivista
de Biologia Generate, edited by Dr. P. Celesia. In
these papers I
have defined my position with respect to various
authors, especially
Plateau and Bethe.
Very recently Bethe, Uexkull, and others have denied
the ex-
istence of psychic powers in invertebrate animals. They
explain
the latter as reflex-machines, and take their stand on
the ground of
the so-called psycho-physical parallelism for the
purpose of demon-
strating our inability to recognise mental qualities in
these animals.
They believe, however, that they can prove the
mechanical regu-
larity of behavior, but assume unknown forces whenever
they are
left in the lurch in their explanations. They regard
