ss, it is possible that this case may be of no small value, on
account of the great difficulties which are usually met in the attempt
to establish experimentally the more delicate details in this field.

And, returning to the considerations of the first chapter, if we ask
what contributions does this case make toward a solution of the problem
of animal consciousness, we may state the following: The proof which was
expected by so many, that animals possess the power of thought, was not
furnished by Hans. He has served to weaken, rather than strengthen, the
position of these enthusiasts. But we must generalize this negative
conclusion of ours with care,--for Hans cannot without further
qualification be regarded as normal. Hans is a domesticated animal. It
is possible (though the opposite is usually assumed), that our animals
have suffered in the development of their mental life, as a result of
the process of domestication. To be sure, in some respects they have
become more specialized than their wild kin, (e. g., our hunting dogs),
and in their habits they have become adapted largely to suit our needs.
This latter is shown by all the anecdotes concerning "clever" dogs,
horses, etc. But with the loss of their freedom they have also gradually
been deprived of the urgent need of self-preservation and of the
preservation of their species, and thus lack one of the greatest forces
that make for psychic development. And often their artificial selection
and culture has been with a view to the development of muscle and sinew,
fat and wool, all at the expense of brain development.[AP] Our horses
are, as a rule, sentenced to an especially dull mode of life. Chained in
stalls (and usually dark stalls at that,) during three-fourths of their
lives, and more than any other domestic animal, enslaved for thousands
of years by reins and whip, they have become estranged from their
natural impulses, and owing to continued confinement they may perhaps
have suffered even in their sensory life. A gregarious animal, yet kept
constantly in isolation, intended by nature to range over vast areas,
yet confined to his narrow courtyard, and deprived of opportunity for
sexual activity,--he has been forced by a process of education to
develop along lines quite opposite to his native characteristics.
Nevertheless, I believe that it is very doubtful if it would have been
possible by other methods, even, to call forth in the horse the ability
to think. Pres