124 HUMAN BIOLOGY 



of a problem, instead of being limited to man as has com- 

 monly been assumed in the past, is shadowed forth in the 

 monkeys and definitely and convincingly exhibited by 

 certain of the anthropoid apes. Again, it is clearly indicated 

 that the evolution of insight in the primates in many respects 

 resembles its development during human infancy and 

 childhood. 



(c) Foresight. Entirely inadequately we have described 

 adaptation with bhnd trial, and, by contrast, adaptation 

 with insight. A third variety of behavioral adjustment may 

 now be considered. We shall call it foresight or preadapta- 

 tion. It begins to appear during human childhood and becomes 

 increasingly conspicuous with progress toward maturity. 

 Is it discoverable in other types of primate? The brief reply 

 is: 111 the lemur and tarsier it probably does not appear; 

 even in the monkeys it has not been definitely estabhshed 

 by rehable observation and the chances are that in them, if 

 it appears at all, it is in extremely simple form; in the 

 anthropoid apes it occurs, but much less frequently and 

 in less effective form than in man. 



Instances of ape foresight or preadaptation are not 

 abundant in the Hterature, nor are the best of them com- 

 parable in psychological complexity with such adjustments 

 as those of the man who dons a raincoat because the weather 

 report is unfavorable. On the other hand, the action of the 

 child who hides forbidden candy so that its mother may not 

 confiscate it is closely paralleled by certain adaptive activities 

 in the apes which obviously imply anticipation. 



According to trustworthy reports, an ape, after observing 

 the prospective work of the day, may come to its tasks 

 eagerly or reluctantly. When confronted with a situation 

 which demands planning and proper relating of a succession 

 of acts, it may behave appropriately and successfully. 

 Thus, for example, in the absence of a necessary mechanism 

 it may go in search of it and having located it bring it into 

 use. There are indeed in the systematic experimental litera- 

 ture, as well as among miscellaneous observations, several 

 peculiarly interesting examples of what appears to be antici- 

 pation of events and appropriate preadaptation. But 

 manifestly the apes differ markedly from man in the extent 



