THE FEELING OF EFFORT. • 15 



periodically pursuing and overtaking the objects in their leftward flight. Now if we con- 

 vert this periodic voluntary action into permanent action, by holding the eyeballs still in 

 spite of their reflex tendency to rotate, [i. e., by using such an excess of leftward volun- 

 tary innervation as would keep us fixating one object), we ought, if truly conscious of 

 the degree of our voluntary innervation, to feel our eyes actually moving towards the 

 left. And this feeling should produce in us the judgment that we are steadily following 

 with our gaze a leftward moving field of view. As a matter of fact, however, this never 

 happens. What does happen is that the field of view stops its motion the moment our 

 eyes stop theirs.^ Nothing could more conclusively prove the inability of mere inner- 

 vation, (however complex or intense) to influence our perception. Nothing could more 

 completely vindicate the idea that effected movements, through the afferent sensations 

 they give rise to, are alone what serve as premises in our motor judgments.^ 



II. Ideo-Motor Action. 



So far then, so good. We have got rid of a very destructive complication in relegating 

 the feeling of muscular exertion properly so called, to that vast and well known class of 

 afferent feelings, none of whose other members are held by any one to be especially con- 

 nected with the mysterious sentiments of effort and power, which are the subjects of our 

 study. All muscle feelings eliminated, the question stands out pure and simple : What 

 is the volitional effort proper ? What makes it easy to raise the finger, hard to get out 

 of bed on a cold morning, harder to keep our attention on the insipid image of a proces- 

 sion of sheep when troubled with insomnia, and hardest of all to say No to the temp- 



1 The subject of optical vertigo has been best treated by " effected " and ought to have given us afferent sensations 



Breuer in Strieker's Medizinische Jahrbiicher, Jahrg. 1874. strong enough to prevent our being deluded by the 



1 Heft. (See also 1875, 1 Heft). Hoppe's more recent work image passing over the retina. No doubt we get these 



" Die Scheinbewegungen," I have not seen. I ought to say afferent sensations and kuVA sufficient practice yioxxXA rightly 



that Mach (Grundlinien der Lehre von den Bewegungsemp- interpret them. But as the experiment is actually made, 



findungen, 1875, pp. 83-5) denies that in his case fixating a neither they nor the moving image on the retina, (which far 



point causes the apparent movement of objects to stop. His overpowers them in vivacity of impression,) are expected. 



case is certainly exceptional, but need not invalidate in the When we intend a movement of the eyes, the world being 



least our theory. The eye-motions in all cases are reflex supposed at rest, we always expect both these sensations, 



results of a sensation of subjective whirling of the body due Whenever the latter has come unexpectedly we have been in 



most probably to excitement of the semi-circular canals. presence of a really moving object, and every moment of our 



Thin is not arrested in any one by fixing the eyes; and per- lives moving objects are giving us unexpectedly this experi- 



sisting in Mach with a constant field of view, may in him be ence. Of prolonged unexpected movements of the eyes we 



sufficient to suggest the judgment that the field follows him never under normal circumstances have any experience 



in his (light, whilst in the average observer the further addi- whatever. What wonder then that the intense and familiar 



tion of a moving retinal image may be requisite for the full sensation pf an unexpectedly moving retinal image should 



production of that psychic impression. All the feelings in wholly overpower the feeble and almost unknown one of an 



question are rather confused and fluctuating, while the nausea unexpected and prolonged movement of the eyeballs and be 



which rapidly supervenes stands in the way of our becoming interpreted as if it existed alone. I cannot doubt however 



adepts in their observation. that with sufficient practice we should all learn so to attend 



'' Let it not be objected that the involuntary rightward to and interpret the feelings of the moving eyeballs as to 



motion of the eyeballs which misled us, after standing still, reduce the retinal experience to its proper signification, 

 into the impression that the world was moving, was 



