THE INSTINCTS AND THE ACQUIREMENTS OF MAN 239 



certain number of instincts persist in full force. Without 

 them the continued existence of the individual and the 

 species would be impossible. Such are the instinctive delight 

 in food with its corollary the instinctive recognition of food as 

 food, the instinct of curiosity, the imitative, the sporting, the 

 sexual, and the parental instincts. 



397. Of the parental and sexual instincts we need say 

 little. The necessity for their persistence is obvious. The 

 sexual instinct is usually stronger in men than in women. 

 If only for physical reasons no man can procreate offspring 

 unless he has the instinct. In past ages, other things equal, 

 the man who had the instinct best developed had the most 

 offspring. Accordingly it has suffered no regression in him. 

 But women have often been slaves, entirely subject to the 

 will of their masters. They are quite capable of having off- 

 spring even when the instinct is weak or absent. Hence the 

 difference in this respect between the sexes. The parental 

 instinct is, on the other hand, usually stronger in women 

 than in men. The woman who had the instinct weakly 

 developed took, other things equal, comparatively little care 

 of her offspring, and handed on her peculiarity to comparatively 

 few daughters. The man's parental affection was of less 

 importance. Hence again the cause of the difference. 



398. Of the instinctive delight in and recognition of food, 

 also, we need say little. The capacity for recognizing food 

 is least developed in the helpless infant, who is preserved by 

 its mother from errors. In the young of lower animals the 

 recognition is perfect in proportion to their activity at or soon 

 after birth. Sight, scent, and especially taste supply infor- 

 mation. Insects, reptiles, and birds are probably seldom in 

 error ; even the young puppy rarely makes a mistake. As the 

 human being becomes capable of finding and placing objects 

 in its mouth its discrimination becomes keener. This is due 

 in some measure to acquirement, but certainly more to the 

 development of a deferred instinct. A savage who has never 

 seen some odd-looking articles of civilized diet will instantly 

 recognize it as a food when it is placed in his mouth. The 

 child will seldom swallow anything but food ; it will crave 

 for a sufficient quantity, and will rarely swallow an excessive 

 quantity unless starving for some particular constituent of 

 which it has been unduly deprived. Like all inborn traits, 

 the power of discrimination varies in different individuals, 

 and like all products of evolution it is not absolutely perfect. 

 Thus poison concealed in a nutritious substance may not be 

 detected. Nevertheless, considering the great complexity of 



