Abstract
IT has been said by Kant that a science is genuinely scientific in so far as it invo1ve mathematics; and interesting light is thrown on this dictum by considering it in reference to the various attempts that have been made to introduce mathematics into psychology. First came the grandiose effort of the Herbartian to depict mathematically the interaction of ideas. This failed for total lack of experimental support. Then followed the great and very successful attempt of Weber and Fechner to measure sensory discrimination. Much more recently, there has been an invocation of mathematics for the purpose of analysing mental ability. As this last attempt is now very much perturbing psychologists all over the world, let us consider it in a little more detail.
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SPEARMAN, C. The Mathematics of Intellience. Nature 120, 690–691 (1927). https://doi.org/10.1038/120690a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/120690a0
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