DIS TRIE UTION OF MEM OR Y 233 



that pain-sensations or any definite characters should 

 appear in certain forms without existing- (although in 

 a rudimentary form) in the whole animal kingdom. 

 To these we shall reply in the next chapter (p. 251). 

 8. At the end of the chapter on instincts we 

 mentioned that in those animals which possess asso- 

 ciative memory the instinctive reactions may be 

 modified or complicated by the influence of the 

 associations. This influence can be so powerful that 

 the instincts are warped or suppressed altogether. 

 By education and experience the memory of man is 

 filled with a number of associations which can inhibit 

 any reflex or instinctive motor process. To a certain 

 extent these inhibitory associations are necessary for 

 the preservation of the life of the individual. More- 

 over, it is necessary to provide the child with associa- 

 tions which prevent "dissipation," e. g., the cultivation 

 of one or a few instincts at the expense of others. 

 The greatest happiness in life can be obtained only 

 if all the instincts that of workmanship included 

 can be maintained at a certain optimal intensity. But 

 while it is certain that the individual can ruin or di- 

 minish the value of its life by a one-sided develop- 

 ment of its instincts- - e. g., dissipation, it is at the 

 same time true that the economic and social condi- 

 tions can ruin or diminish the value of life for a great 

 number of individuals. 1 



1 It is no doubt true that in our present social and economic condition more 

 than ninety per cent, of human beings lead an existence whose value is far be- 

 low what it should be. They are compelled by want to sacrifice a number of 

 instincts, especially the most valuable among them, that of workmanship, in 



