THE ORIGIN OF THE HUMAN SOUL 253 



the sensory perception of A, the first state of the external con- 

 struction, is the stimulus to b and, consequently, to the produc- 

 tion of the second state of construction B, then we understand 

 why b is released independently of a, when, for example, an 

 insect discovers a ready-made substitute for A, the initial step 

 in its construction, and we also understand why, in cases of ac- 

 cidental damage resulting in the total or partial removal of A, 

 the reaction b is deferred and the reaction a prolonged, until 

 the repair or reconstruction of A is complete ; for, in this sup- 

 position, the addition of A will inhibit a and release b, whereas 

 the subtraction of A will inhibit the appearance of b and con- 

 sequently defer B, until the state of construction A, the sight 

 of which is the stimulus to b, is complete. The fact of regula- 

 tion, therefore, entails sensory control of the serial responses 

 involved in the constructive instinct. Hence, as H. P. Weld 

 of Cornell expresses it: "We may safely assume that even in 

 the lowest forms of animal life some sort of sensory experience 

 releases the (instinctive) disposition and to an extent deter- 

 mines the subsequent course of action." (Encycl. Am., v. 15, 

 p. 168.) 



But it would be going to the opposite extreme to interpret 

 these adjustments of instinct to external contingencies as 

 evidence of intelligent regulation. The animal's ability, for 

 example, to repair accidental damage to a construction, which 

 instinct impels it to build, is rigidly limited to repairs that can 

 be accomplished by a simple continuation of the actual and 

 normal occupation of the moment. If, however, the damage 

 affects an already completed portion of the instinctive struc- 

 ture, and its present occupation is Capable of continuance, the 

 animal is impotent to relinquish this actual occupation of the 

 moment, in order to cope with the emergency. Suppose, for 

 illustration, that the instinctive operations a and b are finished 

 and the animal is in the c-stage of its instinctive performance, 

 then, if the damage is inflicted in the A-portion of the structure, 

 and c can be continued independently of A, the animal cannot 

 relinquish c and return to a, in order to restore the marred 



