BRAIN AND MIND 



difficult to state philosophical beliefs fairly in a phrase 

 at least that matter is paramount, and that all known 

 phenomena are but the observed effects of the inter- 

 actions of matter. "The brain secretes thought as the 

 liver secretes bile" is the famous dictum of Cabanis, 

 thrown full at the heads of the old school of idealists. 



With the pretty turmoil that such an announcement 

 naturally elicited, we have no present concern. In the 

 philosophical byways there are still to be seen and heard 

 reminiscences of the struggle, and no cautious person 

 dare affirm that the problem of the ultimate relations 

 of matter and of the forces that operate on matter has 

 been solved. But, on the other hand, one hazards 

 nothing in affirming that the proximal problem of the 

 dependence of mind upon the functionings of the 

 brain which for our present purpose is all that con- 

 cerns us is settled beyond the range of dispute. No 

 one to-day questions that the brain is, in a very tangible 

 and real sense, the organ of mind; and that upon the 

 proper action of this organ depends the integrity of our 

 thoughts and feelings. 



Waiving all remoter philosophical implications, the 

 acceptance of this belief implies a long advance upon 

 the opinions of our ancestors only a few generations 

 removed, who held that the sole function of the brain 

 is to cool the blood, and that the seat of mind is to be 

 found in the heart. Now we know that, though the 

 heart supplies the all-important blood, without which 

 no functioning is possible, yet that the direct and 

 proximal organ of mind is the brain. If we are to think 

 right, our brains not our hearts alone must be right. 



