Excerpt from The Psychology of Industry A recent writer has remarked, somewhat paradoxically, that psychology is a very old science, but it has a very short history. Like most paradoxes the statement contains only that bit of truth it is intended to call attention to. As a science in the strict sense, psychology is not old. The earliest systems of thought, the germ from which have developed modern science and modern philosophy, may be said to have been reared under the inuence of two main motives (i) the desire to gain control over natural processes, in order to satisfy needs and attain ends, and (2) a restless craving to penetrate into the secrets of the universe for the mere satisfaction of knowing and understanding. The second motive would naturally be characteristic only of a few individuals in any community. These became the philosophers of the early civilization. While the science of the practical man, motived by the first of these motives, was in embryo, imposing systems of speculative philosophy were built up. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books.

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