FORM 8 OF CONSCIOUSNESS. 255 



Now some of these minor nervous systems in the higher animals 

 display characteristics which enable us to compare them somewhat ac- 

 curately with the whole fully developed nervous systems of certain of 

 the lower animals which on the basis of our argument by analogy 

 we must, and in fact usually do, agree to have corresponding with them 

 certain lower than human forms of consciousness. 



This being true, it surely follows that if any of these minor nervous 

 systems of ours could be separated from the preeminent part of the 

 nervous system — i. e., the brain — and still live, then these separated 

 minor nervous systems within our bodies would have corresponding 

 with them consciousnesses of low grade, which would be separated 

 from what we may call the preeminent or brain consciousness, but 

 which would nevertheless still be consciousnesses, and within the human 

 body. 



We are led then to ask whether thoroughly disconnected living 

 minor nervous systems can under any conditions exist within the 

 human body, and to this question we find that we must give an affirma- 

 tive reply. 



Suppose you were shown a frog with its head covered so that it 

 could not be disturbed by your movements, and fastened with tapes to 

 a board, but with both legs free. 



Now if I put a drop of weak acid, say on its right knee, it would 

 promptly rub the acid off with the back of the right foot. But sup- 

 pose I fastened this right foot down with tapes, or disabled it per- 

 manently, and then again touched the right knee with acid; the right 

 leg would struggle in the attempt to rub off the acid as it did before; 

 but being unsuccessful because of the binding tapes or injury, after a 

 moment of quiescence or hesitation, it would rub the acid off with the 

 foot on the other side, i. e., the left foot. The common man would be 

 likely to say, offhand, that the fr^g displayed a good deal of in- 

 telligence in this. 



But now suppose I remove the head bandage and show you that 

 the frog's head, and with it its brain, had been entirely removed. Ex- 

 periments show that the frog will act in exactly the way above de- 

 scribed if its brain is extirpated. 



Now when you discovered this fact, if you made any remark, you 

 might properly say : ' What a high degree of intelligence is involved 

 with the mere activities of the spinal cord.' The average biologist, to 

 be sure, usually says not this, but, rather, ' unconscious reflexes simulate 

 the actions due to intelligence ' ; but I submit that he does this solely 

 because of his preconception that the activities of the cortex of the brain 

 are alone concerned with our conscious states. 



The very argument by analogy which leads you to say that other 

 men have consciousnesses because they act thus and so, also leads you 



