"Lloyd Morgan's contribution was indeed so outstanding as to warrant our
considering him as one of the founding fathers of both comparative
psychology and ethology. He wrote fourteen substantial books and we can
do little more here than indicate very briefly the variety of topics
which he illuminated and advanced by his studies. First, he had valuable
points to make on the relations between the subjective and the objective
approach. In short, he indicates that both are essential to the
scientific method (Introd. Comp. Psychol., 1894). Then he investigated
the nature versus nurture problem, concluding (in opposition to Wundt)
that from a biological point of view one should restrict the term
'instinctive' to what is, to a greater or lesser degree, congenitally
determined. In this he strongly supported the view that instinct is
fundamentally species-specific behaviour (Habit and Instinct, 1896). As
to the evolution of behaviour, his advice was 'stick to Observation and
leave theorizing about the process of evolution to "armchair
philosophers" ' (Life, Mind and Spirit, 1925). This was remarkable when
we consider that his basic approach was that of a philosopher. He
stressed the need for operational definitions, that is, he emphasized
the importance of stating definitions specifically, and if possible
operationally, since lack of such care can lead to misinterpretation and
misconception (Habit and Instinct, 1896). He invented the term 'trial
and error' as applied to learning, although for a while he spoke of
'trial and failure' and 'trial and practice'; he also made original
observations on the behaviour of dogs and it was upon these that his
conclusions, set out in Animal Behaviour (1900) and The Animal Mind
(1930), were based." From: Thorpe, W. H. (1979) "The origins and rise of
ethology."
