248 PRESENT-DAY RATIONALISM 



of instinct is to show that the idea of Natural Selection 

 having anything to do with it is superfluous. 



Leaving animals and coming to man we observe that 

 all children pass through the various stages of reflex 

 action, instinct and reason, first in concrete matters, then 

 finally with abstract ideas. 



As an illustration of the first, if one places the fore- 

 finger across the open palm of a baby's hand, its fingers 

 at once close upon it, like the tendril of a pea on a stick. 

 Such an act is simply due to reflex action in consequence 

 of the stimulus excited by touch. 



As an example of childish instinct a little child will 

 run away from a stranger like any wild animal, through 

 instinctive fear. 



A little girl in a poor cottage was observed nursing a 

 hearth-brush ; its parents were too poor to buy it a doll — 

 The " maternal instinct " was there but somewhat mis- 

 applied ! 



A child seeing his father going out goes and fetches 

 his stick. It has automatically reasoned that its father 

 will want it on his walk. So far its reason is concerned 

 (like that of all animals) with a concrete matter ; but if it 

 be old enough, it will reason, still automatically, that its 

 father will be pleased at its thoughtfulncss. The child is 

 then entertaining an abstract idea, but it is not conscious 

 of reasoning it out. 



To make my position clearer, and in order to show that 

 conscious reasoning may pass into unconscious automatic 

 reasoning, let us suppose a man looks at his watch. It is 

 11.30 P.M., his usual bed-time. He takes out his watch 

 key and proceeds deliberately, attentively and consciously 

 to wind up the watch. At that moment a servant enters 

 the room, his attention is called to the servant. When 

 he has gone, he cannot be sure that he wound up his watch 



