HUMAN FREEDOM 



dous. Its importance can hardly be exag- 

 gerated. This is the natural basis of the 

 material advances in the history of human 

 civilization. And it is far more than this. 

 I can predict with some degree of as- 

 surance the effect of a proposed course of 

 action upon coming events and upon the 

 behavior of my fellow men. And, what 

 is far more important, I can predict its 

 influence on my own character. By delib- 

 erate choice I can shape (to some degree) 

 my own further mental and moral nature. 

 This gives to us a technique of control, 

 and of self-control in particular, which so 

 far as we can judge is not available to any 

 other species of animals. This theme I 

 have elaborated elsewhere,^ from which 

 the following passage is quoted: 



"I can 'make up my mind' to become a physi- 

 cian, and I can deliberately subject myself to the 

 hardships of the rigorous training necessary to 

 qualify for this profession. It is not within my 

 power as I leave the high school with my 

 diploma, to enter at once into a lucrative prac- 

 tice; but it is within my power to imagine 

 myself doing so ten years hence, to determine 

 that I will do so, and to take the first step 

 necessary to create in myself the capacity to 



^Brains of Rats and Men, p. 359. 



[77] 



