The Memory Idea 279 



insure the course of action taken in that interval being the 

 right one than memory and anticipatory forecast." The 

 present writer's views regarding the significance of the delay 

 made possible by reaction through "distance receptors," 

 while independently formed, find thus most valuable support. 



95. Ideas of Movement 



(3) A very striking difference between man and most of 

 the lower animals lies in the immensely greater number of 

 different movements, each adapted to some feature of the 

 environment, that man is able to perform. When we think 

 of the enormous variety of muscular adjustments of which the 

 human race as a whole is capable, and compare it with the 

 limited power of an earthworm to react upon its surround- 

 ings, the small extent of its motor repertoire, the gulf that 

 separates them is highly impressive. And the conscious 

 experience of an animal must be profoundly modified by the 

 number and variety of the motor coordinations it has under its 

 control ; not only because sensory discriminations in general 

 involve differentiation of motor reaction, but because that 

 breaking up of the crude mass of sense impressions into 

 smaller masses which we call the perception of external 

 objects depends so largely on what the animal is able to do 

 with objects. Think, for example, of a creature able to 

 move in response to its environment, but not able to alter 

 the relative position of different features of that environment ; 

 not able, in plain words, to pick up a single object and move 

 it about. " Objects" for such an animal simply would not 

 exist. There would be a vague background of sensation 

 qualities, but no sharply defined groups of such qualities. 

 An object to the human mind is essentially a bit of expe- 

 rience with which things can be done ; which can be moved 

 about independently of its surroundings, "handled," used 



