The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1894-01-30
ABOUT PSYCHOLOGY.
Mr.. G. W. AtlsInson'a Fifth Talk
M on tho Subject.
ATTENTION" HIS SPECIAL TOPIC
"A Largo aud Interested Audience
Finds itsclfw Repaid Tor Drawing
tho Extremely Dlsasrooablo Wealth.
cr-An Instructive Discourse in Pop.
ular Form OH m Important Science.

Last evening at Fourth street NJ. Z.
church &, W. Atkinson, PHI. D., do.
tllvcrcd his fifth lecture on psychology
before tho Epworth League Training
School. Notwithstanding tho stormy
night, the audience was good and was
remarkably attentive, Tho theme OF
tho lecture was Attention." and tho
subject was hGudlod In an intelligent
and attractive manner. The speaker
started olfby stating that he had shown
IN preceding lecture that montal facts
may exist Of which ono Is not conscious
Mt tho time; but this is accounted for
because tho attention may DO SO fixed
upon particular thought that there is
no consciousness left for tho sensation
to operate on. Ono mRyrcad aloud and
correctly M entire page OF book, and
yet not BIO cogniznnt Of single thought
OF tho author OF tho book he is reading.
Other practical illustrations OF tho
ZANE kind were introduced 10 prove tho
absence OF sensation upon ono's cousci.
( business. lie then gave the following
brief definition OF Attention" "Con.
sciousnoss," said he, "is the knowing
that wo know. Attention Is conscious.
:, ness, and something moro. 1t is con.
aciousness voluntarily applied. under
its law OF limitations, to some deter.
inmate object. It's. in abort, conscious.
ness concentrated" ...
] Tho lecturer proceeded by stating
that to philosophize is to reflect; that
Is, to examine things in thought. Man
employs thought in those particular nc.
tons concerned in tho adaptation of
!, means TO all end. All science, in fact,
is the product OF reflective thought.
! We can, therefore, have no concentrated
thought without attention. All our
Z conscious sensations depend upon it.
Further, our perception depends upon
1T also. We inay SEQ Il horse, but if We
give tho perception no attention, there
ia no sensation, and therefore We arc
not conscious oil having seen the horse;
Indeed, to all intents and purposes, we
have not seon it ut all. What VIC re-
member also depends upon attention,
Tor we may hear or SEQ thousand
things and if We fail to give attention to
them, We cannot therefore remember
them. What We believe, he claimed,
also depends upon attention. We can.
not believe without We understand tho
subject considered, and wo cannot un-
derstand anything unless we first give
Ito it our undivided attention. What
We feel and what we will likewise de-
pend upon attention.
The lecturer next proceeded to prove
Z that the mind can give attention to
J moro than ono object or thing at time.
Some writers say it cannot, but no is
clearly Of tho opinion that it can. These
writers, he said, insist that the mind
can move with such rapidly from one
thing to another that it appears as
Though it was considering several OBJ
5ijects ut the same instant OF time, while
/ in fact is not. He disputed this the
Z DRY with emphasis, and illustrated his
position in tho following manner: We
/. listen to band OF music consisting of
& ten or moro instruments. Ii we give
4 close attention we can readily follow
i several OF the instruments with positive
y distinctness. So we may SEQ and dis
4 ,tinguisll several different colors at one
/; and the same fraction OF time. We can
y also place number OF different articles
I together and easily distinguish them
I mt tho same instant. II tho mind could
apprehend no more than ono object Mt
once, it would DO entirely cut off from
/ the most important part OF its knowl-
I, edge, tho knowledge OF relations, or
every description OF knowledge by syn
4 thesis. We know by experience that
spercepts are often united, and We know
#also9 that we have double and complex
y concepts. How, then, is it possible for
I one to say that tho mind can only give
4 attention to ono thing Mt time?
There are two distinct kinds OF alton
5Stion, voluntary and involuntary, or
rather nonvoluntary. One is depend
4 ent upon the will-the other is not.
.5i5Y on may be reading book, and band
J, OF music begins to play. BY an effort
q ofyour will you endcaver to hold your
1 attention upon the bool,-this is volun-
tary attention.; but at tho same time
1 you find your mind running of alter the