Note 673 — PART III THE THEORY OF PLAY

Ibid., p. 411. Here play is called “unconscious imitation necessitated by hereditary impulses.” In this notice Wundt refers to my views expressed in The Play of Animals as though to me “the playful fights of dogs with their young appeared earlier in the evolution of species than genuine fighting among animals.” But this is not my meaning. I insisted on the presence of hereditary impulses, and assumed that these are brought to perfection during a period of youth devoted to play. Play would, on the whole, contribute more to the weakening of existing instincts than to strengthen them or create new ones.