160 THE RIDDLE OF THE UNIVERSE. 



activity : (1) the cell-soul of the individual cells (the 

 " elementary organisms"), and (2) the communal soul 

 of the entire colony. 



III. The tissue-soul fhistopsycliej : third stage of 

 phyletic psychogenesis. — In all multicellular, tissue- 

 forming plants (metaphyta) and in the lowest, nerveless 

 classes of tissue-forming animals (metazoa) we have 

 to distinguish two different forms of psychic activity — 

 namely, (1) the psyche of the individual cells which 

 compose the tissue, and (2) the psyche of the tissue 

 itself, or of the " cell-state" which is made up of the 

 tissues. This " tissue-soul " is the higher psycho- 

 logical function which gives physiological individuality 

 to the compound multicellular organism as a true 

 " cell-commonwealth." It controls all the separate 

 " cell-souls" of the social cells — the mutually depen- 

 dent " citizens" which constitute the community. 

 This fundamental twofold character of the psyche in 

 the metaphyta and the lower, nerveless metazoa is 

 very important. It may be verified by unprejudiced 

 observation and suitable experiment. In the first 

 place, each single cell has its own sensation and 

 movement, and, in addition, each tissue and each 

 organ, composed of a number of homogeneous cells, 

 has its special irritability and psychic unity {e.g., the 

 pollen and stamens). 



A. The plant-soul (phytopsyche) is, in our view, the 

 summary of the entire psychic activity of the tissue- 

 forming, multicellular plant (the metaphyton, as distinct 

 from the unicellular protophyton) ; it is, however, the 

 subject of the most diverse opinions even at the present 

 day. It was once customary to draw an essential dis- 

 tinction between the plant and the animal, on the 

 ground that the latter had a " soul " and the plant 



