ANIMAL AND RATIONAL INTELLIGENCE 155 



nerve centres. Without this, the terms of the problem 

 concerning intelligence cannot be stated. 



It is generally admitted that sensibility is the only 

 phase of discrimination possible for the lower forms 

 of life. This is implied in the reference to the higher 

 mammals as intelligent. Such reference to the highest 

 types of animal is in harmony with the form of the 

 argument for evolution. 



Our difficulties are thus considerably lessened, first, 

 by exclusion of most animals, and also by exclusion 

 of a large mass of correlated facts in the life of higher 

 animals and also of men. It is alleged that man and 

 the higher mammalia are capable of intelligent dis 

 crimination. At the same time, it is admitted that 

 there is no deviation from this law, that sensible ex 

 perience is to be assigned to sensory apparatus. The 

 key to such experience is physiological function. 

 Here we are moving upon strictly scientific lines, and 

 the results have an important bearing on the terms 

 of the main problem. 



The direction to be followed now becomes more 

 obvious. The phenomena of sensibility being classi 

 fied and separated, the phenomena of intelligence 

 alone remain to be interpreted. Let us observe the 

 bearing of this on life experience. Much in animal 

 life that is commonly assigned to intelligence, is with 

 drawn, as having no such significance as has often 

 been supposed. If the antenna of the ant are more 

 sensitive than the tips of our fingers, larger power of 

 discrimination by touch must be attributed to the ant 

 than to man. That the ant is far below the higher 

 mammals in the scale of life, involves no detraction 

 from this acknowledgment of superiority to man him- 



