C. Lloyd Morgan
A pioneering comparative psychologist who established 'Morgan's Canon,' a foundational rule of scientific parsimony in the study of animal behavior.
1852–1936 (age 84)·British ethologist and psychologist·Birthday: February 6
Biography
In the late 19th century, when animal behavior was often explained by attributing human-like thoughts and feelings to creatures, C. Lloyd Morgan introduced a much-needed dose of rigor. A British scientist with interests spanning geology, psychology, and ethics, he is best remembered for Morgan's Canon: the principle that one should never interpret an action as the outcome of a higher mental faculty if it can be explained by a lower one. This simple, razor-sharp idea became a cornerstone of experimental and behaviorist psychology, forcing researchers to seek simpler explanations before assuming complex consciousness. Beyond the Canon, Morgan developed a theory of 'emergent evolution,' proposing that new properties arise at different levels of complexity. His work quietly built the methodological backbone for modern ethology.
#1 When C. Was Born
The biggest hits of 1852
C.'s Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1852Born
1857Started school
1865Became a teenager
President: Andrew Johnson
1868Could drive
President: Andrew Johnson
1870Could vote
President: Ulysses S. Grant
1873Turned 21
President: Ulysses S. Grant
1882Turned 30
First electrical power plant opens in New York
President: Chester A. Arthur
1892Turned 40
President: Benjamin Harrison
1902Turned 50
The eruption of Mount Pelee kills 30,000 in Martinique
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1912Turned 60
Titanic sinks on its maiden voyage
President: William Howard Taft
1922Turned 70
King Tut's tomb discovered in Egypt
President: Warren G. Harding"April Showers" — Al Jolson
1932Turned 80
Amelia Earhart flies solo across the Atlantic
Gas: $0.18/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Night and Day" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: Grand Hotel
1936Died at 84
Jesse Owens wins four golds at the Berlin Olympics
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"The Way You Look Tonight" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: The Great Ziegfeld
Key Achievements
- Formulated Morgan's Canon, a bedrock principle of comparative psychology advocating for simpler explanations of animal behavior.
- Pioneered experimental methods in animal psychology, moving the field beyond anecdotal observation.
- Developed the theory of emergent evolution, influencing philosophy of science and evolutionary biology.
- Authored influential texts including 'An Introduction to Comparative Psychology' (1894) and 'Emergent Evolution' (1923).
Did You Know?
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1899.
He initially trained and worked as a mining engineer and geologist before turning to psychology.
He conducted famous experiments with his dog, Tony, to study trial-and-error learning.
“In no case may we interpret an action as the outcome of the exercise of a higher psychical faculty, if it can be interpreted as the outcome of the exercise of one which stands lower in the psychological scale.”
