HUMAN NATURE SURPASSING ITSELF: AN INTELLECTUAL BIOGRAPHY OF THE EARLY LIFE AND WORK OF ALEXANDER BAIN (1818-1903) (LIBERALISM, SCOTLAND, ASSOCIATIONISM, BEHAVIORISM

This dissertation examines the contributions of Alexander Bain (1818-1903) to psychology, emphasizing his original temporal interpretation of individual psychology alongside his valuable assimilation into the first modern textbook of psychology (The Senses and the Intellect, 1855; The Emotions and the Will, 1859) of the latest physiological research on the nervous system. The first edition of Bain's textbook is shown to be a pioneering work in developmental psychology. His conceptions drew upon a broad scientific orientation expressed by the metaphor of the organism, which Bain modified in characteristic ways in applying it to Man. Bain made the fulcrum of his psychological theory the natural history of the individual human being, focusing on ontogenetic development and offering a complementary approach to Darwin's phylogenetic one. Bain embraced the newly-won understanding of the goal-oriented behavior of vertebrate organisms and specifically Man's ability to pursue ideal goals. He thereby integrated the higher mental and moral abilities into a single temporal psychological framework of personal growth. The cultural inheritance of acquired characteristics played a crucial role alongside biological inheritance, giving centrality to education and learning in Bain's psychology. His psychology of individual growth also had strong political implications, being a justification for access to participation in society on the basis of merit.;This dissertation discusses Bain's rejection of contemporary political, philosophical, and scientific elements that impeded the explication of his democratic, naturalistic, and developmental approach. The biographical part of the dissertation presents Bain's personal development through 1860 as an exemplification of his conception of the natural history of the individual.