CHAPTER II 



INSTINCT AND REASON 



Automatic Actions Blinking in Self-Defense Acting 

 "without Thinking "The Instantaneity of Instinct 

 A Horse's Quick Hearing Relics of Old Habit- 

 Where Instinct Passes Reason Where Instinct Fails. 



IT is only because we are so familiar with ac- 

 tions like taking food or going to sleep, or cough- 

 ing to clear our throats, etc., that we do not 

 regard their operation as evidence of conscious 

 intelligence; but perhaps I may be able to illus- 

 trate the exact parallelism with a difference 

 between such actions, which are performed by 

 instinct, and those which are dictated by our 

 consciousness, if I instance the conduct of a 

 human being when threatened by an enemy. 



Suppose that a man approaches you with a 

 manifestly hostile intent. You read his purpose 

 in his mien, and when he aims a blow at you you 

 avoid it by dodging. If you know little or nothing 

 of the art of self-defense you probably spring 

 backwards several feet or " duck." If you hap- 

 pen to be an expert boxer you may evade the 

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