ABSTRACT
One characteristic of life is change, for wherever life is, there is change. This change appears to be determined more from within than from without, more by the inner nature of the living creature than by the external conditions of the environment. The intellectualist’s view of human actions has however been held by many thinkers, and has been of great historical importance. It was, of course, only possible so long as psychology was pursued merely in the philosopher’s study, and so long as its interest was directed mainly towards human behaviour. The myth is but a dramatic crystallisation of a universal human tendency, the tendency to find pleasure and satisfaction in the contemplation of one’s own beauty or prowess or goodness. The chapter considers the “wish” as essentially the same as the “disposition” of other psychologists. The latter term has perhaps the wider connotation, and there are differentiating characteristics of the “wish” as it is viewed by the psychoanalysts.
