Herbart is of course very concerned to demonstrate the superiority of his system over other, traditional conceptions of mind (SW VI: 53). In particular, he wants to head off critics of mathematical psychology who argue that “mathematics merely determines quanta, whereas psychology deals primarily with qualities” (LPs [1850]: 29). He therefore turns from the statics and mechanics of Geist (soul as representing) to the special theory of the “Gemüt” (soul as feeling and desiring), in order to show how the latter can be incorporated into the former (LPs [1850]: 29; SW VI: 56, f.).