From the Unconscious to the Conscious 



and bodily complexity are not closely associated with 

 mental progress. Physically, the insect is very highly 

 evolved, but its consciousness is very greatly in arrear. 

 The exclusive predominance of instinct has put the 

 brake on its progress towards consciousness. There has, 

 in this case, been what looks like a spurring of nature 

 on a wrong road. 



It is indispensable that instinct, sure but limited, 

 should give place to reason, which is indeed hesitating 

 and fallible, but contains infinite capacities for develop- 

 ment. 



It is also indispensable that instinct, fertilised by 

 conscious acquisitions, should evolve by transformation. 

 This is what has occurred in the transition from animality 

 to humanity. 



In Man, accordingly, instinct is duplicated. There 

 remains in him an animal and physiological instinct 

 which plays a less and less important part. There is 

 also a higher instinct which is but another name for 

 intuition. 



Intuition is instinct renovated, idealised, and trans- 

 formed. 



As soon as this has appeared, consciousness has 

 played a great part. Conditioned by the subconscious, 

 it conditions it in turn. From the subconscious it 

 receives its principal capacities and to the subconscious 

 are returned the acquisitions of consciousness; leaving 

 to subconsciousness the duty of preserving these and 

 transmuting them into new capacities. 



But consciousness is still very limited by the condi- 

 tions of cerebral organisation, which is the instrument 

 for psychic activity on the material plane. It can only 

 partly utilise the unconscious potentialities. It can 

 know scarcely anything of the cryptomnesic reserves. 

 /> does not know itself. 



The result of this limitation and ignorance is to 

 favour evolution by causing many efforts in all kinds 



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