162 ME. DARWIN'S CRITICS v 



that nervous matter has attained a certain degree 

 of organisation, just as we know the other 

 " actions to which the nervous system ministers," 

 such as reflex action and the like, to be. As I 

 have ventured to state my view of the matter 

 elsewhere, " our thoughts are the expression of 

 molecular changes in that matter of life which is 

 the source of our other vital phenomena." 



Mr. Wallace objects to this statement in the 

 following terms : 



"Not having been able to find any clue in Professor Huxley's 

 writings to the steps by which he passes from those vital pheno- 

 mena, which consist only, in their last analysis, of movements 

 by particles of matter, to those other phenomena which we term 

 thought, sensation, or consciousness ; but, knowing that so 

 positive an expression of opinion from him will have great weight 

 with many persons, I shall endeavour to show, with as much 

 brevity as is compatible with clearness, that this theory is not 

 only incapable of proof, but is also, as it appears to me, 

 inconsistent with accurate conceptions of molecular physics." 



With all respect for Mr. Wallace, it appears to 

 me that his remarks are entirely beside the ques- 

 tion. I really know nothing whatever, and never 

 hope to know anything, of the steps by which the 

 passage from molecular movement to states of 

 consciousness is effected ; and I entirely agree 

 with the sense of the passage which he quotes 

 from Professor Tyndall, apparently imagining that 

 it is in opposition to the view I hold. 



All that I have to say is, that, in my belief, 

 consciousness and molecular action are capable of 



