Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 6.djvu/740

 726 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

Baldwin it is merely the "circular type of reaction," 1 but still, he seems to think, a "mental" process the first and most obvious criticism of the theory is the fact that we do not imitate every- body indiscriminately ; that we make conscious choice in large measure of the persons whom we shall imitate imitating usu- ally only those whom we consider our superiors or our equals, and imitating our enemies and inferiors only when we believe that it will be to our advantage to do so. An attempt to explain this fact is, however, made by both our authors. M. Tarde's explana- tion is that there is always a conflict between different sugges- tions "an interference between imitation-rays," to use his own phrase in the brain of each individual, which is decided upon either logical or teleological grounds. 2 Thus the beliefs and desires of the individual, which have been themselves acquired by imitation, are the basis upon which discrimination is made between different examples for imitation. 3 Professor Baldwin's explanation is that we imitate those actions, thoughts, and expressions which we can assimilate in the organization of our personal selves. 4 The basis of our choice, he says, is their "fitness for imitative reproduction and application." 5 In other words, the basis of our discrimination is simply the habits of imitation which we have already set up, since we can assimilate, reproduce, and make use of only that which is in part already organized into our personality. We imitate, then, according to Professor Baldwin, simply what we have gotten in the habit of imitating; for it must be remembered that according to him imitation is the method by which the personal self becomes organized. Thus, if we have given the capacity to form habits, the process of imitation itself, when viewed in its entirety, Pro- fessor Baldwin implies, is the explanation of the selective char- acter of our imitations. This theory is certainly ingenious and

1 Mental Development in the Child and the Race, pp. 217, 264-8, 282, 283, 350, 487. " Social Laws, pp. 64, 65, 135, 136.

3 M. TARDE'S book, La Logique sociale, is largely given up to a discussion of this question why one copy is imitated rather than another. We must refer to it rather than attempt to give his argument in full. He seems to me, however, to arrive at a formulation of the problem rather than at a true genetic explanation.

4 Social and Ethical Interpretations, pp. 121, 182-4. 5 Ibid., p. 183.