Page:Mind (New Series) Volume 6.djvu/117

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FR. PAULHAN, Esprits Logiques et Esprits Faux. 101 it in a less degree than its forerunner. They are : (1) the balanced minds (les dquilibres) ; (2) the thinkers and logicians ; (3) those who push their ideas to an extreme (les outranciers) ; (4) the specialists. The harmony of the first is due to " the spontaneous play of the mind "- 1 Their logic is, in a way, " innate, natural and instinctive," 2 in this distinguishing them from the organisation of the thinkers and logicians, vhich is " voluntary and maintained by principle ". 3 People of various degrees of intelligence belong to this type. But while we find many mediocrities, only a few of the great geniuses are examples, Leonardo and Raphael but not Shakespeare. Lesser men of this type who may have distinguished themselves in literature or painting without the gift of original genius, " vulgarise " the work of the great men. They do not seize upon some characteristic of the master and push it to an extreme like the outranciers : they are too well balanced for that. 4 Some of them " attain to glory by the perfection with which they represent the average opinion and the average taste ". 5 In science their work has higher value. To popularise a work need not take away its scientific character, but it destroys its value as a work of art. Such men are able to make improvements in detail, and qualities of technique are not beyond their reach. But in philo- sophy as in art " to popularise is almost to destroy ". 6 The great geniuses who belong to this type are they in whom "all is harmony, work and life, thought and imagery "." Now it is most important to understand in what this balance or harmony consists which is put forward as the highest achievement of systematic association. I conclude that it means sometimes the perfection of the logic, the absence of contradictions. Thus of the opposite and illogical types M. Paulhan says : " The mind affirms and denies at once, that is the common source of illogical thought". 8 But this kind of harmony is not characteristic of the great artist and leaves unnoticed the distinctive harmony of aesthetic effect. Again, in what does the balanced mind of the good citizen consist who is quite common-place and yet exhibits good sense ; and wherein is it superior to the thinker's ? Surely not in greater absence of contradiction or in greater coherence of thought ! The ordinary man may not indeed be conscious of his contradictions, because he has never brought together his opinions. They are disconnected : how then can he belong to the highest type of systematic association ? But we can discern *what is meant by the balance and harmony of his mind. He is a good man who fulfils his " family duties," etc., and his desires, I suppose, are not at strife. But this is the balance of his character, and the author in this work is concerned with the intellect in abstraction. The harmony of the good citizen's thought is due to different causes. His ideas are not at strife because his sentiments are 1 P. 185. 2 Ibid. 3 P. 143. 4 P. 138. 5 Ibid. " P. 140. 7 Ibid. " P. 253.