88 FUNCTIONAL INERTIA 



The great German physiologist, Albrecht von 

 Haller, had evidently reached the same notion in 

 his exposition of cerebral processes, for, using the 

 term " mutationes," or changes of cerebral substance, 

 he thus expresses himself (translation by Huxley),* 

 " These mutations persist for a long time after the 

 cause which gives rise to them has ceased to operate." 



In the course of reading I found that in 1885 

 Dr. James McKean Cattell had, as regards sense- 

 organs, anticipated my views, for he wrote, f 

 " Inertia is a property of our sense-organs. The 

 molecules of the cells are only set in motion after 

 they have been worked upon by a stimulus of a 

 certain strength and for a certain time, and the 

 motion continues after the stimulus ceases." 



Here the subliminal stimulus and the stimulus of 

 too short duration are alluded to : I have long 

 viewed the insusceptibility to these as cases of 

 anabolic inertia : " the motion continues after 

 the stimulus ceases," this is, of course, katabolic 

 inertia. 



In my first complete communication on the 

 subject of psychic inertia, I said:J "Turning now 

 to examples in which the functional inertia involves 

 consciousness as a factor, we have an example of 

 inertia of katabolism in the positive after-image, 

 the retino-cerebral and conscious effect outliving 



* T. H. Huxley, " Collected Essays/' vol. i. p. 215. (Macmillan, 

 1898.) 



t J. McK. Cattell, Brain, vol. viii. 1885, p. 289. 



J D. F. Harris, " On the Usefulness of the Term Functional 

 Inertia of Protoplasm," Glasgow Medical Journal, April 1901. 



