146 Heredity and Social Progress 



became the dominant animal, and the outer 

 organs were remoulded to meet the new situ- 

 ation. A new type of reactions was thus de- 

 veloped, displacing fear. Contact with fire, for 

 example, causes no fear in the outer body. 

 The instinctive act is one of instant withdrawal. 

 The burn acts on the hand in one way; the fear 

 of a burn acts on the mind in another. We 

 have no fears except those due to mental associ- 

 ations. The thought of danger, due to an older 

 reaction, brings mental fear, while the presence 

 of real danger acting on the body gives cour- 

 age. The inner and outer expressions are out 

 of harmony because the outer expression re- 

 flects present reality, while the inner expres- 

 sion reflects only the past of the organism. 

 The acquired characters are made effective 

 through fear, which, in spite of our present 

 environment, retains a place in our thoughts. 



The third agent of acquired characters is 

 reason. We say, " It is either A, B, or C. It 

 is not A ; it is not B ; it is therefore C," reject- 

 ing a larger or smaller series of dissimilars be- 

 fore a similar is accepted. Or, in other words, 

 after a long series of dissimilars we predicate 



