42 Instinct. 



ject seen would be a flock of birds migrating norths 

 One might affirm migration to be with birds an in- 

 stinctive act, and therefore that the birds had no 

 consideration of the object of their long journey, 

 while the other might believe that they went under 

 the leadership of old birds that had learned, by the 

 slowly accumulated experience of the species, where 

 the best breeding places were to be found and there- 

 fore that the act of migrating is removed from the 

 sphere of Instinct to that of Intelligence. 



But both of these authors agree in this, that In- 

 stinct is simply a teiidency. They do not speak of 

 it as an existence, an entity, but as something like 

 a habit though not gained by the individual by re- 

 peated acts, as habits are. It may be well in pass- 

 ing to say that there are able thinkers who regard 

 instinct as nothing more than the fixed habits of 

 the species, accumulated and transmitted after be- 

 coming fixed by long continuance. 



When we consider Hamilton's definition we have 

 a new element still. He says Instinct is an age^tt. 

 If we understand this language at all, it implies that 

 Instinct is an entity, something as distinct in exist- 

 ence as an element or as Reason, to say the least. 

 And we are inclined to think that this is the com- 

 mon notion. We have frequent attempts made to 

 draw the dividing line between Instinct and Rea- 

 son, which implies that by such writers one is con- 

 sidered as much a distinct agent or agency as the 

 other. Both terms however are often used in a 

 very indefinite manner. But Hamilton adds that 

 this agent, Instinct, /^r/<?r;;/j blindly and ignorant ly 



