Chapter V

The study of the dreams of the blind thus emphasizes many points of interest in the nature and development of the cortical centres of the human brain; it graphically illustrates the explanatory power of the modern view of their functions; and it presents in a new aspect certain characteristics of their constitution. It shows beyond a question that the power of apperceiving sight-images is in no true sense innate, but is the product of slow development and long training. That the same holds true of other centres is proved by a mass of evidence gathered from many quarters; with regard to the motor centres, it is even experimentally determined by the observation that stimulation of the central convolutions of the brains of puppies fails to excite the appropriate movements of the legs, unless the puppies are already nine or ten days old. These facts will be utilized in the formulation of an important developmental law applicable alike to physiological and to psychological processes.

The "critical period," revealed by the above research, must not be understood as marking the point at which the visual centre begins its life; this indeed occurs at a much earlier age, and this centre from the outset and continuously increases in complexity and stability. Nor was the statement made that there was no difference here relevant, between the loss of vision at different ages before the critical period. That a child who has seen up to the fourth, or the third, or even the second year of life, probably retains some traces of visualizing not attainable by those who attended the school of vision for a shorter time or not at all, is believed on evidence of a general, but not as yet of a specific nature. Among other facts it is indicated by the influence of the age of blinding on the future development of noted blind persons. Similarly, after the critical period, the same processes of growth and assimilation continue, as is evidenced by the vague character and comparatively early decay of the dream-vision of those becoming blind close upon the end of the seventh year. The more time spent in gathering in the provisions, the longer do they hold out. The significance of the critical period lies in its demonstrating a point in the growth of the higher sense-centres, at which a divorce from sense-impression is no longer followed by a loss of their psychical meaning; a point at which imagination and abstraction find a sufficiently extended and firmly knit collection of experiences to enable them to build up and keep alive their important functions; a point where the scholar dispenses with the object-lesson and lives off his capital; a point at which the scaffolding may be torn down and the edifice will stand.

The indication of such a period in the development of the human mind brings clearly into view the dependence of the higher mental processes upon the basis furnished them by the experiences of sensation; it strongly suggests a rational order and proportion in the training of the several faculties of the child's mind; and finally, it prevents the formation and survival of false notions, by substituting certain definite though incomplete knowledge for much indefinite though very systematic speculation.

FOOTNOTES:

[13] A noted blind teacher of the blind says: "Wenn wir ... den Einfluss der Blindheit auf die geistige Thätigkeit des Blinden beobachten, so haben wir Blindgeborene und Blindgewordene ... streng auseinander zu halten."

[14] This applies mainly to intellectual acquirements. The emotional life of those who have lost their sight is often, and with much truth, regarded as sadder and more dreary than that of the congenitally blind; the former regretfully appreciate what they have lost; the latter live in a different and more meagre world, but have never known any other. It is interesting in this connection to trace the influence of the age of "blinding" (_sit venia verbo_) on the mental development of eminent blind men and women. Of a list of 125 blind persons of very various degrees of talent, which I have been able to collect, the age of blinding was (approximately) ascertainable in 114 cases. Of these about 11 are really very distinguished, and 10 of them (the exception is the wonderful mathematician, Nicholas Saunderson) became blind either in advanced youth, middle life, or still later; of the group next in eminence (about 25) the average age of the onset of blindness is in early youth (at nine or ten years); and those earliest blind are generally musicians, who least of all require sight for their calling. The average age of blinding of the rest of the list--whose achievements would for the most part not have been recorded had they not been those of blind persons--is as low as seven years, while that of the musicians (about 15 in the group) is little over three years. All this speaks strongly for the permanent intellectual importance of sight in early education.

[15] Dr. Heermann's observations also enable us to trace the anatomical conditions underlying the power of dream-vision. From ten cases in which post-mortem examinations were held, he concludes that, allowing for much individual difference, after about twenty years the optic nerves degenerate, and often as far back as the chiasma. This shows that the nerve is not necessary for dream-vision, and thus goes to prove that the process is dependent on cerebral organs--a valuable piece of evidence fifty years ago. Esquirol records a case of sight-hallucinations in a blind woman, again indicating the same conclusion.

[16] A further interesting question regarding the dream-vision of the partially blind is, How much must they be able to see in order to dream of seeing? In answering this question, the blind give the name "seeing" to what is really a complex of sensations and judgments, and this same complex may enter into their dreams. Cases occur in which there is only the slightest remnant of sight, and yet this forms a factor in dream-life. It is a very imperfect kind of vision, and acts more as a general sense of illumination, and as an anticipatory sense. Generally speaking, those who know color have more frequent and brighter dream-vision than those who distinguish light and shade only. For example, of those partially blind from birth, such as see color tolerably well (there are sixteen such) have regular dream-vision--of course, no clearer than their best days of sight. Of eleven who have some faint notion of color, three have dream-vision regularly; six have it rarely, while two (almost never or) never have it. Of eleven who can see no color at all, ten have no dream-vision, and one has it occasionally.

[17] That even a comparatively slight disturbance of vision, affecting only a small portion of the visual experience, can leave a permanent trace upon the sight-centre is made very probable by a case (recorded by Dr. McCosh, _Cognitive Powers_, p. 106) of a young man whose defect consisted in his seeing everything double,--a defect which a subsequent operation removed. "If I attempt," he writes, "to recall scenes that I saw while my eyes were out of order, I invariably see them as they appeared during that time, although I may have seen them many times since the operation. For instance, in the case of the minister in the pulpit at home, I see two images of him, no matter how much I may try to get rid of one of them.... My recollection of the office in which the operation was performed, as also of everything in it, is double, although I saw it only twice before the restoration of my sight, and many times after. The objects which I have seen since the operation are always single when recalled."

[18] I have gathered considerable data in regard to the dreams of the deaf, but they are not ready for definite formulation.

[19] From Dr. Hall's manuscript. Dr. Hall had the opportunity of observing her during three short naps, and has incorporated a part of his manuscript into a paper on Laura Bridgman, republished in his _Aspects of German Culture_, pp. 268-270. From this manuscript I take the following illustrations of her dreams, and her method of describing them. They are recorded verbatim.

"_Question._ 'Do you dream often?' _Answer._ 'Very often, many things.' _Q._ 'Did you think hard yesterday to remember dreams for me?' _A._ 'I did try, but I always forget very soon.' _Q._ 'Did you ever dream to hear?' [Her idiom for 'that you could hear.'] _A._ 'Only the angels playing in heaven.' _Q._ 'How did it sound?' _A._ 'Very beautiful.' _Q._ 'Like what?' _A._ 'Nothing.' _Q._ 'Was it loud?' _A._ 'Yes, very.' _Q._ 'What instrument?' _A._ 'Piano.' _Q._ 'How did the angels look?' _A._ 'Beautiful.' _Q._ 'Had they wings?' _A._ 'I could not know.' _Q._ 'Were they men or women?' _A._ 'Don't know.' _Q._ 'Can you describe their dress?' _A._ 'No.' _Q._ 'Was the music fast or slow?' _A._ 'I cannot tell.' On another occasion she was asked, 'Did you ever dream to see?' _A._ 'I could see the sun.' _Q._ 'How did it look?' _A._ 'Glorious.' _Q._ 'What color?' _A._ 'I cannot tell' [with a sign of great impatience]. _Q._ 'Was it very bright?' _A._ 'Yes.' _Q._ 'Did it hurt your eyes?' _A._ 'Yes, they ached.' _Q._ 'What was it like?' _A._ 'Nothing. I saw it with my eyes' [much excited, breathing hard and fast, and pointing to her right eye]. Some days later, after some promptings from her attendants, she renewed the subject of her own accord, as follows: 'I remember once a dream. I was in a very large place. It was very glorious and full of people. My father and mother were standing by. The glorious piano was playing. When I heard the music I raised up my hand so' [standing and pointing impressively upward and forward with the index finger, as the letter g is made in the deaf and dumb alphabet] 'to my heavenly Father. I tried to say God.' _Q._ 'With your fingers?' _A._ 'Yes.' _Q._ 'Where was God?' _A._ 'So' [pointing as before]. _Q._ 'Far away?' _A._ 'No.' _Q._ 'Could you touch him?' _A._ 'No.' _Q._ 'How did you know he was there?' _A._ 'I cannot tell.' _Q._ 'How did you know it was God?' _A._ 'I cannot explain.' _Q._ 'What was he like?' _A._ [After a pause] 'I cannot tell everything to everybody' [half playfully, whipping her right hand with her left, and touching her forehead significantly, to indicate that she was unable adequately to express what was in her mind]. _Q._ 'Could he touch you?' _A._ 'No. He is a spirit.' _Q._ 'Did he see you?' _A._ 'He sees everything. See how melancholy I look because I do not feel interested.' On another occasion she said, 'I often dream that Doctor Howe is alive and very sick,' but no details could be elicited. Again, after imitating the gait of different people, she said, 'I dream often of people walking. I dream many things, but do not remember what I really dream. I used to dream of animals running around the room, and it woke me.'"

It is evident that her dreams of hearing and seeing were either merely verbal, or the substitution and elaboration of kindred sensations (sense of jar and heat) which she experienced. For further examples of her dreams see her _Life and Education_, by Mrs. Lamson, pp. 88, 154, 166-168, 218, 223, 224, 226, 286, 290, 303, 304.

[20] _The Lost Senses_, by John Kitto. Dr. Kitto draws an ingenious inference from the sonnet addressed by Milton to his deceased (second) wife, whom he married after the onset of his blindness. From the lines, "I trust to have | Full sight of her in Heav'n without restraint," and "The face was veiled, yet to my fancied sight," etc., he argues that the poet was unable to imagine the face of his wife, which he had never really seen, and so saw the face veiled; but hoped in the future world to have "full sight of her without restraint."

[21] I have evidence to indicate that among the blind (as probably amongst persons at large) women dream more extensively than men, that is, they have more "frequent" and fewer "occasional" dreamers than men. The period from five to nine years is richer in dreams than the period from ten to fourteen years, and from then on a slight decrease with age occurs. It is to childhood, the period of lively imagination and of a highly tinged emotional life (and to women, who present these characteristics more prominently than men), that dream-life brings its richest harvest.

INDEX

Alchemy, 18, 171;
problems of, 19;
modern forms of, 20;
type of occultism represented by, 20.

Analogy, as applied in pseudo-science, 23, 43, 44, 267, 268;
as a logical process, 237, 267, 272;
the natural history view of, 236 sqq., 271;
as characteristic of primitive thought-habits, 239, 241, 247;
in children, 251;
see also, Metaphor, Myth, Numbers, Superstition, Symbolism,
Unusual.

Animal Magnetism; see Mesmer.

Apperception, illustrated by diagrams, 283-295.

Astrology, 18, 171, 266-269;
interest in, 23;
logic underlying, 23.

Attention, misdirection of, 121, 124;
expectant, 294.

Automatic writing, 333.

Automatograph, 309.

Beard, Dr. G. M., 229.

Belief, fixation of, 40, 104, 105;
occult, see Occult;
psychology of, 38, 60.

Bernheim, ----, 230.

Bertrand, ----, 201.

Besant, Mrs., 10.

Binet, ----, 157.

Blavatsky, Mme., 7, 8, 9, 10.

Blindness, 340;
total, 341;
partial, 343, 344;
in dream-life, 361-363, 367, 368;
age of onset and dream-vision, 341-344, 369, 370;
and the imagination, 363, 364;
and special sensibilities, 365-367.

Braid, James, 205;
his early observations, 206, 207;
his historical position, 207, 208;
his method, 207;
his theories, 209, 211;
his relation to phrenology, 209, 210;
his later writings, 211;
detection of unconscious suggestion, 211, 212;
his status, 213.

Brand, ----, 241.

Bridgman, Laura, 366;
dreams of, 347-350.

Census Office, 301.

Charcot, J. M., 69, 228, 338.

Christian Science, 26, 44;
origin of, 27;
principles of, 27-30, 31, 32;
text-book of, 28;
extravagance of, 30, 31, 32;
antagonism to science, 33.

Clairvoyance, 14, 223, 226;
see Puységur.

Clocquet, ----, 214.

Clodd, Edward, 241, 242, 244, 245, 248, 265, 272.

Coincidences, 81, 83, 88, 90;
and chance, 84, 97.

Color, association with sound, 366, 367.

Conjuring; see Deceptions, conjuring.

Contagion, mental, 132-134.

Darlingism, 224.

Darwin, Erasmus, 346.

Davey, ----; see Hodgson and Davey.

Deafness, in relation to dreams, 347.

Deception, as dependent upon objective conditions, 109;
as dependent upon habit, 111;
love of, 111;
historical aspect of, 112;
conjuring, 113, 114-117, 120-128;
as imitation of reality, 116-118;
as dependent upon subjective conditions, 118, 120-128;
and technical knowledge, 13, 128, 148;
analysis of, 129;
as influenced by contagion, 132-134;
liability to, 150;
see also Illusion.

Deleuze, J. P. F., 217.

Deslon, 183, 184.

Dickens, Charles, 350.

Digby, Sir Kenelm, 261.

Dorman, ----, 240, 246, 249.

Drawings, equivocal, 286-295.

Dreams, sensory factors in, 364, 365;
of the blind; see Blindness; see Omens.

Dupotet, ----, 202, 224.

Dyer, ----, 256, 258, 264.

Eccentric opinions, 2.

Eddy, Mary Baker Glover, 27.

Electro-biology, 219.

Englinton, ----, 146.

Esdaile, ----, 215.

Faria, Abbé, 200;
his use of suggestion, 201.

Folk-medicine, 260, 265.

Fox, Margaret and Katie, 138.

Frazer, ----, 254.

Furness, Horace Howard, 142-144, 158, 163.

Galton, Francis, 338, 366.

Gassner, Johann Joseph, 179, 180.

Greaterick or Greatrakes, Valentine, 176-178, 180.

Gregory, William, 222.

Hall, G. Stanley, 347, 348.

Hallucinations, 71.

Hansen, ----, 229.

Heermann, Dr. G., 342, 343.

Hodgson, Richard, 8, 147, 150;
and Davey, 129, 149, 151-157.

Hollerith, ----, 301.

Houdin, Robert, 121, 122.

Husson, ----, 202.

Hypnotism, 67, 171;
history of, 172 sqq., 203, 227, 231-235;
before the Academies, 202-205;
extravagances of, 214, 217-227;
as applied to medicine, 202, 204, 214;
lessons of, 231-235.

Hypothesis, its logical status, 100, 101.

Illusion, 109, 110;
optical, 282, 284;
of ambiguous outlines, 286 sqq.;
see also Deception.

Images, their use in magic, 244.

Inertia, mental, 296, 297-300.

Interest, as creating coincidences, 88-92;
as influencing perception, 119;
in Psychical Research, 56-58, 63, 65.

Involuntary Movements, 307;
illustrations of, 312-321;
influence of bodily position upon, 322-330;
analysis of, 322-330;
varieties of, 334;
effects of object of attention upon, 331-333;
see also Subconscious.

Involuntary whispering, 335, 336.

James, William, 39, 41, 43.

Kellar, Harry, 122, 140, 150.

Keller, Helen, 366;
her account of her dream-life, 353-358;
her mental traits, 351, 352, 359, 360.

Kitto, John, 363, 366.

Knerr, Dr., 141, 142, 145.

Lang, Andrew, 14, 21, 66, 166, 176.

Le Bon, ----, 134.

Lewis, Prof. Carvill, 146.

Liebault, A. A., 216.

Logic, as applied to the occult, 3, 13, 19, 23, 30, 31, 39;
logicality and rationality, 45.

Lubbock, Sir J., 242, 252.

Magic, 242, 257, 265;
sympathetic, 240, 241, 246, 254, 261-263, 273;
correspondences in, 266;
see also Images, Names, Numbers.

Mahatma, 8, 10.

Martineau, Harriet, 221, 222.

McCosh, Dr., 346.

Medicine; see Folk-medicine; see also Superstition.

Mental Community, 80-83.

Mental Telegraphy; see Telepathy.

Mesmer, Friedrich Anton, 14, 25, 36, 43, 180;
his theories, 181, 189;
his practices, 181, 190, 191;
his Parisian career, 182-189;
the commission to examine, 185-187, 192, 193;
his attitude, 187;
caricatures of, 188;
his status in regard to Hypnotism, 191, 192.

Metaphor, in relation to analogy, 248, 264, 270.

Mind, its influence over body, 26, 37, 38;
mortal, 28, 29.

Mind-reading; see Muscle-reading.

Miracles; see Supernatural.

Muscle-reading, 308, 324.

Myth, in relation to analogy, 270.

Names, their use in Magic, 243-245, 257.

Nancy, School of, 230.

Numbers, in Magic, 258;
in relation to analogy, 259.

Observation, defects of, 87, 153-155.

Occult, nature of, 3;
motives that incline to the, 4, 39, 40, 43;
conditions that favor the, 5, 57;
persistence of, 46;
antidote to the, 46.

Occult Healing, 25, 26, 33, 34;
varieties of, 34, 35;
by absent treatment, 36;
extravagances of, 35, 37.

Od, 225.

Omens, 243, 253;
by contraries, 250;
in dreams, 255-257.

Oudet, Dr. ----, 204, 215.

Palmistry, 18;
interest in, 23;
logic underlying, 23.

Perception, 106, 108, 110;
as determined by interest, 119;
and expectation, 120.

Personal interpretation of events, 17, 40-42, 56, 84.

Pétetin, ----, 197, 198;
his transposition of the senses, 199.

Phrenology, 18, 171;
interest in, 23;
logic underlying, 23.

Physiognomy, 18.

Podmore, Frank, 10, 162, 164, 167.

Prepossession, 44, 120, 126, 127, 130, 131, 151, 162-166, 296,
297-300;
a noteworthy illustration of, 301-304.

Pseudo-science, 5, 20, 21, 24;
temper of, 22;
practical aspect of, 18, 21, 25;
varieties of, 35.

Psychical Research, the programme of, 50;
the trend of, 51, 62, 75-77;
interests contributing to, 56-58, 63, 65, 66;
the problems of, 67;
relation to Psychology, see Psychology.

Psychology, scope of, 51;
relation to Psychical Research, 52-56, 58-61, 64, 65, 76;
difficulties in teaching, 298.

Puységur, Marquis A. M. J. Chastenet de, 194;
his discovery of somnambulism, 194, 195;
his views and status, 196, 197.

Quackery, 25.

Reichenbach, Baron, 225.

Rydberg, ----, 266, 267.

Salpêtrière, 202, 228, 231.

Scherer, ----, 366.

Science, the spirit of, 48;
the nature of, 49;
and error of, 69.

Sensation, and perception, 106, 107.

Seybert Commission, 140, 141, 158.

Sidgwick, Mrs., 141, 157.

Sight; see Vision.

Signatures, doctrine of, 264.

Sinnett, A. P., 10, 11.

Slade, Henry, 139, 140, 141.

Somnambulism, artificial, 197, 198.

Spiritualism, 12, 27, 44, 125;
manifestations of, 13, 128, 131;
origin of, 14, 15, 137, 166, 167;
doctrines of, 15, 161, 165;
present status of, 16, 18, 169;
fraud disclosed in, 140, 141, 142-145, 146, 157, 159.

Spiritualists, temper of, 16, 17.

Statistics, in relation to mental problems, 84-86.

Subconscious, 70, 79, 92, 108, 128, 129, 308.

Suggestion, 230;
unconscious, 68, 174, 186, 199, 211, 233.

Sully, James, 111, 345.

Supernatural, divergence between report and fact, 153, 155, 158;
conflict with science, 174.

Superstition, 252, 254, 258;
in relation to analogy, 253;
in medicine, 259.

Survivals, 240, 248, 269, 274.

Symbolism, in relation to analogy, 248, 249, 270.

Sympathy; see Magic, sympathetic.

Telepathy, 72, 73, 78;
logical status of, 74;
evidence for, 96-98, 103;
validity as an hypothesis, 99;
inclination toward, 104.

Theosophy, 7, 27;
Mr. Hodgson's investigation of, 8, 9;
alleged miracles of, 9, 10;
doctrines of, 11, 12.

Thought-habits, in children and savages, 251, 271, 272.

Triplett, Norman, 117, 123.

Tylor, ----, 167, 240, 242, 250, 253, 256, 267, 270, 273.

Tyndall, ----, 135.

Unconsciousness of defects, 79, 80;
see also Subconscious.

Unknown, attitude toward the, 49.

Unusual, in relation to analogy, 250, 260.

Vision, its nature, 276, 337;
subjective and objective, 276;
subjective factor in, 277, 279, 280, 283, 288-295;
interpretation in, 285, 286-295;
education of the visual centre, 341, 345-347, 369, 370;
its function in dreams, 339.

Visualizing power, 338.

Zöllner, ----, 139.

The Riverside Press
_Electrotyped and printed by H. O. Houghton & Co._
_Cambridge, Mass., U. S. A._

* * * * *

Transcriber's Note:

Obvious typographical errors were repaired, but period spellings and hyphenation inconsistencies were retained.

End of Project Gutenberg's Fact and Fable in Psychology, by Joseph Jastrow