2 5 6 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



to hold that the live and healthy frog with its brain intact has a con- 

 sciousness; and if this argument is worth anything at all it must 

 surely lead you also to say that the frog's spinal cord activities have 

 psychic correspondents. And if this is true of the frog why is it not 

 true of man? 



In my normal life these psychic correspondents of the spinal cord 

 activities, if they exist, are minor psychic systems within the whole 

 psychic system that I call consciousness. And these minor systems 

 are usually unable to affect attention, although occasionally some of 

 them do so when we are quiescent. We do not note the heart throb 

 now, but we may as we are falling asleep. 



We are clearly led thus to see that if disconnection of minor 

 nervous systems from the broad nervous system as a whole can occur, 

 then we may properly assume the existence of minor consciousnesses 

 within the human body. 



This view has been suggested long since, but is rejected, and often 

 with derision, by many of our biologists. But in consideration of 

 the facts above referred to it seems difficult to deny its validity, and 

 in the opinion of the writer its rejection is due merely to an un- 

 warranted hesitation to carry our every-day reasoning to its legitimate 

 conclusion. The preeminent nervous system expresses itself by bodily 

 activities of one kind or another, and notably by certain contractions 

 of the throat and respiratory organs, and movements of the lips which 

 produce speech. The sympathetic system, and other practically, or 

 actually, separated minor nervous systems, express themselves by bodily 

 activities of one kind or another exclusive of these activities of speech. 

 While it is perfectly clear that the consciousness which expresses itself 

 in speech, as well as in various other bodily activities, is the pre- 

 eminent human consciousness, it seems equally clear that there must 

 exist minor consciousnesses which correspond with the activities of 

 minor nervous systems within our own bodies, provided these are, as 

 is the case at times practically, or in some instances actually, discon- 

 nected from the main system of nervous systems. 



Such disconnection as is necessary for the separate existence of such 

 minor consciousnesses within our bodies may evidently result from 

 pathological lesion, or may be due to the use of the surgeon's knife. 

 But it seems probable that this disconnection may occur in a quite 

 different way, and that if we appreciate this fact we are led to under- 

 stand the nature of certain phenomena of consciousness which are 

 usually thought to be most mysterious. 



In the physical world we note disconnections between systems of 

 activity due to the incommensurability of their rhythm. It is highly 

 probable then that certain active minor nervous systems may become 

 disconnected from others as the result of what we may also call an 



