METHODS 69 



tremities ; but its contraction at the same time, and quite 

 apart from this phenomenon which is obvious to the eye, 

 acts on all conditions of equilibrium taken together as 

 realized in the whole individual. In other words, in a living 

 being like man, there is not a single phenomenon, however 

 local in appearance, which has not a general rebound in 

 the whole organism. If I close my fist without executing 

 a single other movement, I have no right to think that 

 nothing takes place in the rest of my body relatively with 

 this local movement. Consequently, if I decompose some 

 obvious activity of the whole into a certain number of 

 obvious local activities, I can be sure that my analysis is 

 incomplete. I have neglected the rebound of each partial 

 activity in the organism ; and I can be sure that the sum 

 of all the partial activities I am considering does not strictly 

 represent the total phenomenon which I wish to analyse. 

 So my analysis is bad, whereas with a locomotive a similar 

 analysis would be satisfactory. 



Nevertheless, this descriptive analysis of human activities 

 is indispensable on account of the immense complexity 

 of such activities ; but we ought to be careful not to give 

 it any absolute value. It is impossible to describe com- 

 pletely the flexion of the forearm without taking into account 

 the state of the whole organism in which the flexion has 

 its rebound, while the whole organism, in turn, has its 

 rebound in the conditions of the local phenomenon. 



It is the custom in treatises of physiology to study separ- 

 ately digestion, respiration, circulation, secretion and all 

 the rest, 'although it is very certain that not one of these 

 functions is exercised without the help of the others and 

 without some influence over them. Such a method of 

 analysis is, therefore, factitious, yet it renders great services 

 for its own special need. In the preceding part of our 



