120 WARFARE IN THE HUMAN BODY 



produce mutinies at sea, revolutions and anarchy on 

 shore. 



Another illustration of real " inhibition " will be familiar 

 to all physicians and surgeons. A nervous patient visits, 

 say, a urologist, and finds that his cystic reflexes are tem- 

 porarily paralysed. Their action is partly reflex, partly 

 " volitional," or under central control. The sphincter and 

 cystic muscles are antagonistic. The surgeon observes the 

 condition of the patient and, whether he knows it or not, 

 a little thought must make him aware that the patient's 

 whole field of reactive consciousness is occupied by a con- 

 viction of inability. To encourage him vocally would be 

 worse than useless, since the less the patient thinks the 

 better. So he turns his back, which is already a help, and 

 sets a tap running. Relieved from the reactions caused 

 by observation, the patient's volitional tracts are freed while 

 the running water sets up a series of conditioned reflexes 

 which relax the sphincter and permit the cystic muscles to 

 act. So between stimulus and inhibition there is a long 

 series of substituted actions. Such a conclusion is greatly 

 reinforced by the possible opposite effect of the surgeon's 

 action. If the patient knows the trick that is being played 

 upon him there may be increased inhibition, which means 

 that his energy is turned into directions which do not help, 

 but actually hinder, the operation desired. In every case 

 it will be found that substituted action takes place, and that 

 no inhibition is direct. 



It will probably be said that such simple illustrations 

 have no real relevance to such an obscure subject as 

 inhibition. Whether this is true or not the fact remains 

 that this paper is only meant to be suggestively critical of 

 views which do not seem on the face of them to be sound. 

 Students, even the acutest, brought up in the light, or 



