TABOO AND GENETICS 201 



has been fostered by the institutional taboo is 

 uncovered by recent studies of the effect of 

 certain emotions on the human organism. The 

 hfe of woman has long been shadowed by the 

 fact that she has been the weaker sex ; that 

 even when strong she has been weighted by her 

 child ; and that throughout the period of 

 private property she has been the poor sex, 

 dependent on some male for her support. In an 

 age of force, fear has been her strong emotion. 

 If she felt rage it must be suppressed. Dis- 

 appointment and discouragement had also to 

 be borne in silence and with patience. Of such 

 a situation Davies says : 



" The power of the mind over the body is a scientific 

 fact, as is evidenced by hypnotic suggestion and in 

 the emotional control over the chemistry of health 

 through the agency of the internal secretions. The 

 reproductive processes are very susceptible to chemic 

 influences. Thus the influences of the environment 

 may in some degree carry through to the offspring." 

 (2.) 



The studies of Drs Crile and Cannon show 

 that the effects of fear on the ganglionic cells 

 are tremendous. Some of the cells are ex- 

 hausted and completely destroyed by intensity 

 and duration of emotion. Cannon's experiments 

 on animals during fear, rage, anger, and hunger, 

 show that the entire nervous system is involved 

 and that internal and external functions change 



