PREFACE 



THE objective processes exhibited in the behavior of the lower 

 organisms, particularly the lower animals, form the subject of the 

 present volume. The conscious aspect of behavior is undoubtedly 

 most interesting. But we are unable to deal directly with this by 

 the methods of observation and experiment which form the basis for 

 the present work. Assertions regarding consciousness in animals, 

 whether affirmative or negative, are not susceptible of verification. 

 This does not deprive the subject of consciousness of its interest, but 

 renders it expedient to separate carefully this matter from those 

 which can be controlled by observation and experiment. For those 

 primarily interested in the conscious aspects of behavior, a presenta- 

 tion of the objective facts is a necessary preliminary to an intelligent 

 discussion of the matter. 



But apart from their relation to the problem of consciousness 

 and its development, the objective processes in behavior are of the 

 highest interest in themselves. By behavior we mean the general 

 bodily movements of organisms. These are not sharply distin- 

 guishable from the internal physiological processes ; this will come 

 forth clearly in the present work. But behavior is a collective name 

 for the most striking and evident of the activities performed by 

 organisms. Its treatment as subsidiary to the problems of con- 

 sciousness has tended to obscure the fact that in behavior we have 

 the most marked and in some respects the most easily studied of 

 the organic processes. Such treatment has made us inclined to 

 look upon these processes as something totally different from the 

 remainder of those taking place in organisms. In behavior we are 

 dealing with actual objective processes (whether accompanied by 

 consciousness or not), and we need a knowledge of the laws con- 

 trolling them, of the same sort as our knowledge of the laws of 

 metabolism. In many respects behavior presents an exceptionally 

 favorable field for the study of some of the chief problems of life. 

 The processes of behavior are regulatory in a high degree. Owing 

 to their striking character, the way in which regulation occurs be- 

 comes more evident than in most other fields, so that they pre- 

 sent a most favorable opportunity for study of this matter. To 



