﻿388 
  ANNUAL 
  REPORT 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION, 
  1927 
  

  

  senses. 
  xVU 
  the 
  senses 
  are 
  not 
  necessary 
  to 
  full 
  development 
  of 
  the 
  

   mind, 
  for 
  one 
  sense, 
  or 
  its 
  brain 
  centers, 
  can 
  be 
  trained 
  to 
  substitute 
  

   for 
  another, 
  but 
  a 
  being 
  \Yithoiit 
  sight, 
  hearing, 
  smell, 
  taste, 
  touch, 
  

   or 
  feeling 
  of 
  any 
  sort 
  could 
  not 
  be 
  conscious, 
  or 
  capable 
  of 
  mental 
  

   action. 
  

  

  That 
  consciousness 
  itself 
  is 
  real 
  can 
  not 
  be 
  questioned; 
  in 
  fact, 
  it 
  

   is 
  the 
  only 
  thing 
  of 
  which 
  Ave 
  can 
  be 
  sure, 
  though 
  we 
  firmly 
  believe 
  

   that 
  it 
  represents 
  within 
  us 
  external 
  realities. 
  To 
  deny 
  the 
  evidence 
  

   of 
  the 
  senses 
  is 
  to 
  deny 
  a 
  cause 
  for 
  an 
  effect. 
  Each 
  person, 
  accepting 
  

   his 
  own 
  consciousness 
  as 
  real, 
  by 
  analogy 
  believes 
  that 
  his 
  fellow 
  

   beings 
  possess 
  consciousness, 
  and, 
  going 
  to 
  the 
  bottom 
  of 
  the 
  human 
  

   scale, 
  can 
  not 
  but 
  step 
  over 
  and 
  admit 
  consciousness 
  to 
  the 
  higher 
  

   animals, 
  for 
  certainly 
  dogs, 
  cats, 
  horses, 
  monkeys, 
  seals, 
  and 
  ele- 
  

   phants 
  may 
  be 
  allowed 
  to 
  have 
  an 
  awareness 
  of 
  things 
  much 
  as 
  we 
  

   have, 
  and 
  as 
  for 
  birds, 
  few 
  will 
  deny 
  consciousness 
  to 
  them, 
  while, 
  

   finally 
  no 
  one 
  probably 
  will 
  seriously 
  object 
  to 
  the 
  idea 
  that 
  a 
  fish 
  

   may 
  know 
  something 
  of 
  what 
  is 
  going 
  on 
  about 
  it. 
  But, 
  when 
  it 
  

   comes 
  to 
  the 
  insects, 
  the 
  v.'orms, 
  and 
  the 
  rest 
  of 
  the 
  invertebrates, 
  we 
  

   are 
  inclined 
  to 
  draw 
  the 
  line, 
  and 
  to 
  deny 
  to 
  all 
  creatures 
  of 
  this 
  

   kind 
  the 
  benefits 
  of 
  consciousness. 
  However, 
  we 
  probably 
  constitute 
  

   a 
  biased 
  jury, 
  certainly 
  an 
  ignorant 
  one. 
  Scientifically, 
  which 
  is 
  to 
  

   say, 
  with 
  an 
  opinion 
  based 
  on 
  knovrledge, 
  we 
  can 
  not 
  anywhere 
  draw 
  

   a 
  line 
  through 
  the 
  animal 
  kingdom 
  and 
  assert, 
  to 
  this 
  side 
  is 
  con- 
  

   sciousness, 
  to 
  that 
  there 
  is 
  none. 
  In 
  view 
  of 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  all 
  other 
  

   things 
  at 
  the 
  top 
  of 
  the 
  animal 
  scale 
  are 
  evolved 
  from 
  something 
  at 
  

   the 
  bottom, 
  it 
  is 
  logical 
  to 
  hold 
  that 
  consciousness 
  in 
  some 
  degree 
  is 
  

   coexistent 
  with 
  life, 
  that 
  its 
  rudiment, 
  or 
  its 
  potentiality 
  at 
  least 
  

   is 
  present 
  in 
  the 
  very 
  lowest 
  forms 
  of 
  living 
  matter. 
  Yet, 
  it 
  is 
  

   conceivable 
  that 
  in 
  the 
  perfecting 
  of 
  cell 
  activities, 
  or 
  in 
  the 
  develop- 
  

   ment 
  of 
  mechanical 
  complexit}' 
  in 
  the 
  organization 
  of 
  animals, 
  con- 
  

   sciousness 
  may 
  have 
  emerged 
  somewhere 
  or 
  at 
  various 
  places 
  in 
  the 
  

   course 
  of 
  evolution. 
  However, 
  the 
  mechanical 
  and 
  chemical 
  innova- 
  

   tions 
  adopted 
  by 
  animals 
  at 
  different 
  stages 
  in 
  their 
  progress 
  have 
  

   only 
  broadened 
  their 
  powers 
  and 
  given 
  greater 
  possibilities 
  for 
  the 
  

   utilization 
  of 
  inherent 
  qualities 
  ; 
  they 
  have 
  not 
  created 
  new 
  physiolo- 
  

   gical 
  properties 
  or 
  any 
  new 
  kind 
  of 
  energy. 
  

  

  Though 
  we 
  may 
  be 
  forced, 
  then, 
  to 
  a 
  final 
  belief 
  in 
  "panpsy- 
  

   chism," 
  it 
  is 
  most 
  probably 
  true 
  that 
  in 
  the 
  great 
  majority 
  of 
  living 
  

   things 
  awareness 
  is 
  a 
  mere 
  potentiality, 
  and 
  that 
  almost 
  everywhere 
  

   it 
  has 
  been 
  held 
  in 
  abeyance 
  while 
  other 
  properties 
  of 
  living 
  matter 
  

   have 
  become 
  dominant. 
  It 
  is 
  only 
  here 
  and 
  there, 
  at 
  the 
  ends 
  of 
  

   certain 
  phylogenetic 
  lines 
  of 
  evolution, 
  that 
  consciousness 
  crops 
  out, 
  

   manifesting 
  itself 
  for 
  the 
  most 
  part 
  in 
  the 
  mere 
  rudiments 
  of 
  intelli- 
  

  

  