104 IGNORABIMUS ET RESTRINGAMUR. 



which at first are troublesome and have to be learnt 

 with consciousness and reflection as for instance 

 walking, swimming, singing, and so forth become 

 unconscious only by repetition, practice, and the habit 

 of using the organs. On the contrary, unconscious 

 actions become conscious as soon as we direct our 

 attention to them or our self-observation is attracted to 

 them ; as for instance when we miss a step in going up 

 stairs or touch a wrong note on the piano ; and beyond 

 a doubt, conscious and unconscious actions pass into 

 each other without any distinct line of demarcation. 

 Finally, we see no less plainly by a comparative con- 

 sideration of the soul-life of animals, that their con- 

 sciousness is slowly, gradually, and serially developed, 

 and that a long unbroken series of steps leads from 

 unconscious to conscious existence. From these com- 

 parative and genetic experiences we may draw the 

 conclusion that consciousness, like sensation and voli- 

 tion, like all the other soul-activities, is a function of 

 the organism, a mechanical activity of the cells ; and, as 

 such, is -referable to chemical and physical processes. 

 Hence, if we were in a position to understand force as 

 a necessary function of matter, -we could explain con- 

 sciousness, as well as the soul in general, as a neces- 

 sary function of certain cells. 



How little Du Bois-Eeymond is acquainted with the 

 facts of comparative and genetic psychology, nothing 



