274 EVOLUTION AND MAN S PLACE IN NATURE 



organism. The vocalising involved in calling the 

 dog s name : and the muscular exertion in getting 

 between the cat and the bird, are executed by the 

 intervention of the brain and motor nerves. In exe 

 cuting these movements, there has been a discharge 

 of nerve energy, the explosion of nerve force from 

 the central organ, which has set the muscular system 

 in action. Continually there are incoming nerve- 

 currents, and outgoing nerve-currents. Everything 

 of this kind is physical, quite apart from the rational 

 exercise peculiar to man, and is accomplished by 

 bodily apparatus, just as are the movements of the cat 

 and of the dog. The forms of reflective exercise are, 

 however, discontinuous, because proceeding from a 

 different cause. The incoming nerve-currents do not 

 account for the thoughts of the man, or for the 

 purpose he forms. The subsequent actions of the 

 man, illustrating his dominion over the animals, are 

 executed by the nerve power and the muscular, within 

 compass of the mechanism. In marking that the 

 thought of the man is not continuous with the move 

 ment of the incoming current, though correlated with 

 it in time ; that the action of intelligence is interposed 

 by the man within his own consciousness ; that the 

 reflective exercise is not even movement in any 

 sense analogous with that recognised in activity of a 

 nerve fibre, we observe that our rational life is distinct 

 from our physical. It is not subject to the laws 

 regulating molecular movement of nerve-fibres, and 

 stimulation of nerve-cells, and explosive discharge 

 of nerve-energy. This presents the negative evidence. 

 Let us take, next, the evidence on the positive side. 

 This is supplied within our consciousness, while we 



