HUMAN CONTROL 



portant agencies of control of human be- 

 havior. 



Mental processes with their related 

 bodily changes are unquestionably the most 

 significant causal factors in human life, 

 in both our personal and social relation- 

 ships. Among these mental processes are 

 the fabrication of language and other sym- 

 bols, generalization from experience, and 

 the formulation of laws of uniformity of 

 natural processes. The exercise of these 

 functions enables us to project these laws 

 into the future and so to predict coming 

 events. 



With power of prevision and prediction 

 comes ability to shape my present conduct 

 with a view to its probable effect upon the 

 future. In case the external situation per- 

 mits two or more different reactions to an 

 excitation, which of these will be taken 

 is determined by the internal state of the 

 organism at the moment. The discrimina- 

 tion may be made unconsciously, reflexly; 

 and the essential mechanisms of this sort 

 of discriminative reflex are fairly well 

 understood. When, however, the discrimi- 

 nation is made consciously in view of the 

 probable future consequences of each of 

 the possible ways of reacting to the situa- 



[47] 



