Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 5.djvu/120

 I06 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

parallelism is of course a functional one, not structural. Like an}' other parallelism observed in nature, it is good only as far as it goes ; it is scientifically useful as a clue in discovery, but it ought not to be converted into a dogma to which all facts are made to conform. The parallelism between the psychical life of the individual and that of society is not a new perception, but has long been made use of by social thinkers. It has recently been restated by Professor Baldwin as a parallelism in functioning and in development' — the only form, it seems to us, in which it is defensible. Some parallelism between the individual and society is, indeed, almost a necessity of thought. Every attempt to apply psychology in the interpretation of history implies such parallelism. A nation can only be thought of as a functional unity, and so in some sense as an individuality, if thought of as a whole ; therefore, any psychological principle which may be used to interpret some movement, some period of development or transformation, in its history will necessarily be a principle which will applv equally to the life of the individual. Hence those who are quickest to deny all parallelism between the indi- vidual and society will be found, nevertheless, implying such parallelism in their interpretations of histor}'.

Social psychology, then, in regarding social groups as func- tional unities, necessarily regards them as individualities or indi- viduals. It does not say that they are individuals ; it is not called upon to enter upon the metaphysical question as to what constitutes an individual. It holds to the empirical standpoint, and merely says that for purposes of inlcrpretation social groups may be regarded as individuals, because they are found to exhibit the same general laws of function and development. But, while a parallelism in functioning and development may be demonstrable, the social psychologist must ever bear in mind the vast difference between the psychical life of the individual and that of society, especially on the side of structure. The psychical life of the individual is hig'hly unified, both structu- rally and functionally. In all the higher reaches of organic life individual organisms usually present a unified consciousness ;

' Social and Ethical htterprelations of Mental Development, pp. 512-15, 521-3.