WHAT IS INTELLIGENCE? 189 



would be destroyed for want of air. In the same way 

 want of air destroys all life in the animal. 



Our consciousness is the cells or individuals con- 

 nected with the senses of sight, hearing and smell. We 

 can see that in the submarine as in the human being. It 

 should not be necessary that the cells of those special or- 

 gans should be bothered with this special work of breath- 

 ing or the pumping of air into the submarine ; those in 

 charge should know that to stop or neglect the work will 

 mean the utter destruction of themselves and the entire 

 individual. 



Understand, now, that the nerve cells are not the cells 

 that do the work, the muscles are the workers or laborers. 

 The nerve cells are those in command. They are to 

 keep the workers informed at all times, not only when to 

 pump air, but how best to pump. Now you can clearly 

 see that it requires just as much conscious intelligence to 

 look after this pumping work as any other work. There 

 must be a conscious intelligence in charge of any special 

 important undertaking like this. Every collection of cells 

 we call a nerve centre or little brain must be a sort of con- 

 scious intelligence. It must be conscious of its work 

 in hand, in the same manner as we are. 



The following statement by Prof. Harris illustrates 

 how information from the world outside of the body is 

 taken and transmitted to the cells within occupied with 

 nothing but thinking, such as the brain cells, and how 

 they may handle the information, and send out orders to 

 certain special nerve centres, whose business it may be to 

 take charge of this particular matter in hand. He says : 



"Centres are, of course, not only executive ; we have 

 centres for the reception of impulses, whether these 

 arouse consciousness or not. Thus we have centres for 

 seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, tasting, and so on. 



