26 THE PLAY OF ANIMALS. 



a glance at the most important positions of modern 

 thought. The following points of view may be distin- 

 guished : 



1. The transcendental-teleological conception: (a) 

 the theological, (h) the metaphysical, explanation of in- 

 stinct. 



2. The point of view which repudiates the notion of 

 instinct. 



3. The Darwinian solution, by means of (a) the 

 transmission of both acquired and congenital characters; 

 (b) the transmission of acquired characters only; (c) the 

 transmission of congenital characters only. 



Very early in modern thought we see the theological 

 form of the transcendental-teleological conception of in- 

 stinct brought forward by Descartes. For while he, fol- 

 lowing the Spaniard Pereira, denied to animals a rea- 

 soning intelligence, and considered them as mere ma- 

 chines or automata, he advocated the idea that the 

 apparent intelligent actions of animals are to be traced 

 directly to divine influence. The almost marvellous 

 suiting of means to end seen in the actions of many ani- 

 mals, especially those displaying constructive instincts, 

 furnishes sufficient ground for a similar opinion among 

 many not at all inclined to deny all intellectual life to 

 animals. (The strict Cartesian doctrine was for a long 

 time so influential that the celebrated Leroy, through 

 fear of persecution by the Sorbonne, published his letters 

 on animal intelligence * as the work of a " physician 

 of Nuremberg.") 



The idea that these mysterious instinctive capabili- 

 ties are directly implanted in the animal by God had a 



* Ch. G. Leroy, Lettres philosophiqnes siir I'intelligence et la 

 perfectibilite des aniraaux, 1764, new edition, 1803. 



