94 NATURAL SELECTION iv 



the same way and as perfectly as their parents did, instinct 

 would be proved in their case ; now it is only assumed, and 

 assumed, as I shall show further on, without any sufficient 

 reason. So, no one has ever carefully taken the pupae of a 

 hive of bees out of the comb, removed them from the presence 

 of other bees, and loosed them in a large conservatory with 

 plenty of flowers and food, and observed what kind of cells 

 they would construct. But till this is done, no one can say 

 that bees build without instruction, no one can say that with 

 every new swarm there are no bees older than those of the 

 last brood, who may be the teachers in forming the new 

 comb. Now, in a scientific inquiry, a point which can be 

 proved should not be assumed, and a totally unknown power 

 should not be brought in to explain facts, when known 

 powers may be sufficient. For both these reasons I decline to 

 accept the theory of instinct in any case where all other 

 possible modes of explanation have not been exhausted. 



Does Man possess Instincts 



Many of the upholders of the instinctive theory maintain 

 that man has instincts exactly of the same nature as those of 

 animals, but more or less liable to be obscured by his reason- 

 ing powers ; and as this is a case more open to our observation 

 than any other, I will devote a few pages to its consideration. 

 Infants are said to suck by instinct, and afterwards to walk 

 by the same power, while in adult man the most prominent 

 case of instinct is supposed to be the powers possessed by 

 savage races to find their way across a trackless and previously 

 unknown wilderness. Let us take first the case of the infant's 

 sucking. It is sometimes absurdly stated that the new-born 

 infant " seeks the breast," and this is held to be a wonderful 

 proof of instinct. No doubt it would be if true, but Unfortu- 

 nately for the theory it is totally false, as every nurse and 

 medical man can testify. Still, the child undoubtedly sucks 

 without teaching, but this is one of those simple acts depend- 

 ent upon organisation, which cannot properly be termed 

 instinct, any more than breathing or muscular motion. Any 

 object of suitable size in the mouth of an infant excites the 

 nerves and muscles so as to produce the act of suction, and 

 when, at a little later period, the will comes into play, the 



