CHAPTER II 



THE EVIDENCE OF MIND 



6. Inferring Mind from Behavior 



IN this chapter we shall try to show that there exists no 

 evidence for denying mind to any animals, if we do not 

 deny it to all ; in other words, that there is no such thing 

 as an objective proof of the presence of mind, whose 

 absence may be regarded as proof of the absence of mind. 



To begin with, can it be said that when an animal makes 

 a movement in response to a certain stimulus, there is an 

 accompanying consciousness of the stimulus, and that when 

 it fails to move, there is no consciousness? Is response to-** 

 stimulation evidence of consciousness ? In the case of man, 

 we know that absence of visible response does not prove 

 that the stimulus has not been sensed ; while it is probable 

 that some effect upon motor channels always occurs when 

 consciousness accompanies stimulation, the effect may not^ 

 be apparent to an outside observer. On the other hand, if 

 movement in response to the impact of a physical force is 

 evidence of consciousness, then the ball which falls under 

 the influence of gravity and rebounds on striking the floor 

 is conscious. Nor is the case improved if we point out that 

 the movements which animals make in response to stimula- 

 tion are not the equivalent in energy of the stimulus applied ; 

 but involve the setting free of energy stored in the animal 

 as well. True, when a microscopic animal meets an obstacle 

 in its swimming, and darts backward, the movement is 



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