50 ESSAYS OF A BIOLOGIST 



idea that new types of mind, new modes of thought, 

 new levels of attainment, could be reached by life: 

 the mental difference between low types of men and 

 men of genius is almost as great as that between man 

 and ape. The difference in practical intelligence be- 

 tween a hen, a dog, a chimpanzee, and a man is 

 largely a difference in the complexity of the situa- 

 tions which can be grasped as a whole so that the 

 right way out is adopted as the result of this unitary 

 comprehension.^^ There is no reason to doubt that 

 other types of mental mechanism are possible which 

 would make our grasp of complex situations appear 

 pitiful and hen-like in its limitations, which would 

 enable their possessors to see and solve in a flash 

 where we can only grope and guess or at best calcu- 

 late laboriously and step by step. But this will not 

 take place, first until the community-environment is 

 made as favourable as possible for such development, 

 and secondly until there is begun a deliberate bio- 

 logical encouragement of new possibilities of intui- 

 tion, say, or of communication between mind and 

 mind. 



As regards the second point, the raising of the 

 average as opposed to the upper level of attainment, 

 not much need be said. That part of our civiliza- 

 tion which can be thought of as progressive is largely 

 concerned with this very thing — with making it pos- 

 sible for men to realize in larger measure their in- 

 herent possibilities. Further, in so far as there exists 



"See Kohler, '21. 



