128 Habit and Instinct. 



reason to suppose that the sequence is in any material 

 respect guided by such accompanying sentience, if it exist. 

 It is just because the actions of the chick do seem to be 

 guided by the results of experience, that we may fairly 

 infer the presence of effective consciousness. 



We have reason to suppose that this effective conscious- 

 ness accompanies the functional activity of the higher 

 brain-centres, probably those of the superficial layer or 

 cortex of the cerebral hemispheres. These are in connec- 

 tion with certain other nerve-centres, the lower brain- 

 centres, and those of the spinal cord ; and these, again, 

 with various parts of the body through the intervention of 

 nerve-fibres, which are divisible into two great groups — the 

 afferent nerves, which transmit currents inwards from the 

 several parts of the body to the nerve-centres; and 

 the efferent nerves, which transmit currents outwards from 

 the nerve-centres to the several parts of the body. 



Now, it is the business of the lower centres to co- 

 ordinate the functional activities of the body by means of 

 outgoing currents along the efferent nerves ; and this co- 

 ordination, effected by the lower centres only, sometimes 

 reaches extraordinary complexity and delicacy. It would 

 seem, however, that their co-ordinating influence lies 

 wholly within the sphere of organic and physiological 

 action. There may be sentience, in the sense above alluded 

 to, but there is no effective consciousness. The co- 

 ordinating activity of these lower centres, in so far as it 

 is not guided and controlled by the influence of the higher 

 centres with their accompaniment of effective conscious- 

 ness, we may describe as automatic ; and we will restrict * 

 the phrase " animal automatism " to organic activity that 



* I say " restrict," because Prof. Huxley has used the phrase in a far 

 broader sense. For a discussion and criticism of his usage, see the Monist for 

 October, 1896. 



