THE EISE OF CONSCIOUSNESS 



tight, and others perform many " clever " actions. 

 But it is absurd to credit plants with conscious- 

 ness of happiness or unhappiness. Therefore all 

 animals cannot possess the gift. 



Next I showed that we cannot draw the line of 

 consciousness between plants and such an animal 

 as the sea-anemone, which behaves like a plant and 

 bears division like a plant. Then, going higher up 

 the animal scale I showed that even the most 

 striking actions performed by insects, such as 

 wasps and ants actions which have often been 

 quoted as evidence of conscious affection and in- 

 telligence are purely instinctive and unintelligent. 

 Going higher still I showed that we are wrong to 

 credit birds with our own conscious sentiments and 

 motives, because, by endeavoring to kill their own 

 young after they have reared them, and by taking 

 no notice of their own young when these have been 

 cast out of the nest, they show that they have not 

 the same feelings. 



Lastly I showed that we cannot even credit other 

 mammals with consciousness such as we possess, 

 because all the actions of horses, dogs, cats, etc., 

 which are ordinarily quoted as evidence of such 

 consciousness, really prove, when examined, to be 

 the outcome of instinct only. Many of these ac- 

 tions would not be performed by mammals if they 

 were conscious of their purport. 



cm] 



