REALM OF UNCONSCIOUSNESS 



and each half becomes a complete individual, 

 as " sensitive " to a touch as the whole was 

 previously? 



The explanation is, of course, that the sea- 

 anemone, like the Sensitive Plant the animal 

 like the plant has acquired the power of re- 

 sponding to a touch for purposes which are use- 

 ful in the struggle of existence. It is a matter, 

 so to speak, of nerves and muscles, with no con- 

 scious brain to direct them, always doing the 

 right thing upon such occasion. Such actions ( 

 are what I call " instinctive " : and although the 

 proceedings of animals higher in the scale of life i 

 become more varied and complex, they are in- //( 

 stinctive too. Man is no exception, so far as most 

 of the things that he does are concerned. How 

 many of us know that on entering a room we 

 turn the handle of our door one way, and on leav- 

 ing turn it the other way, in spite of the fact 

 that most modern door-handles will work either 

 way? We do so from habit automatically and un- 

 consciously ; yet how amazingly clever we should 

 think a dog or a cat to be if it knew how to open 

 an old-fashioned door from both sides by revers- 

 ing the action of its paws ! 



But some actions habitually performed by 

 animals, especially by the higher orders of in- 

 sects, would seem to be more intelligent than this, 

 [41] 



