New-York tribune., 1915-10-31
An Alternative for Preparedness.

Holding chat familiarity with living
amgs breeds sympathy, not contempt"
Professor Robert Yerkes makes a plea in
The Scientific Monthly" for new way OF
working toward peace on earth. Whether
iu peace or in war there are, he argues.
,wo great groups Of facts 10 be considered
hv all concerned in the welfare Of man.
kind. One OF these comprises the phe-
,ourena of physical environment, the other
the phenomena of life and the relation Of
lives. Now. il seems to him that the advo-
estes of preparedness for war misappre-
hend the emotion of fear and exaggerate
it's Importance in the development of ma
ions; that in reality understanding, in
sight and sympathy are much more i'm
portant and must, if properly developed,
lead toward peace.
Briefly, his complaint is this, that,
whereas to-day we worship and foster
physical discovery and technology, biologi-
cal research is not encouraged at all. Yet,
does it not" he asks, "seem reasonable
10 claim iIdl HUMAN bNhGNiOA may DN III
telligentlv controlled or directed only in
the light of intimate and exhaustive
knowledge of the organism, its processes,
and it's relations TO its environment? If
this be true, how pitiably, how shamefully,
inadequate is our knowledge even of our
selves"
Coming down 10 the practical applica-
ton Of his plan for peace, Professor
Yerkes points out how our educational
practices have been modified and meta
morphosed by a better knowledge Of
psychology and physiology, and insists
that "the least, and tho most, we can do
ir the interest Of peace is to provide for
the study Of life, but especially for the
shamefully neglected or imperfectly de-
xcribed phenomena of behavior and mind,
in the measure which our national wealth,
our intelligence and our technical skill
make possible" For this purpose he pro-
poses the establishment Of centres of re-
search such as the Rockefeller Institute,
where vital problems may be studied, out
Of which "there should be developed a
science of behavior and consciousness
which should ultimately constitute a safe
basis for the social sciences, for all forms
OF social endeavor and for universal and
permanent peace"
His scheme Is altogether amiable. but
it's apparent value as an alternative for
readiness in war is somewhat lessened by
one circumstance which he himself recog-
nizes when he observes that 1--WE live more
largely than is generally supposed by in
stinct and less by reason" His safe basis
for social sciences will be useful if men
can be persuaded 20 build upon it and Ia
he governed in future by reason rather
than emotion.
Professor Yerkes unfortunately sets
out with the assumption that physical
struggle Is no longer accepted as either
a necessary or desirable means Of set
Ting differences between individuals" and
draws from this the conclusion that there
is no reason why among nations 1t should
be tolerated" Unfortunately, however,
physical pressure is just as necessary in
settling the differences Of individuals as
ever il was, only II is so general and so
much better distributed than II used 10 be
in primitive times that most Of us are
unconscious Of it. Most Of US arc unques-
tionsbly governed by moral motives and
reason in refrainisg from murdar, 1Ohhery